Through fares to heritage railways & priv

[davetheguard]

A couple of questions about through fares from the national network to heritage railways:

1. Are any of them available at a priv rate, and if so, which ones?

2. With specific regard to the through West Somerset Railway product (WSR AWAYDAY), is it available from Taunton station? The GWR website gives a fare of £21.10 on the WSR AWAYDAY webpage; however if I try to book online (destination: West Somerset Railway), it will not give a price from Taunton - but it will from say, Exeter.

3. Are these through fares available on special event days, e.g. Galas etc.

Thanks in advance.....

 

[Paul Kelly]

The fare from Taunton is a Bus/Admission only fare, neither standard nor 1st class and not valid for travel on National Rail: http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=TAU&dest=K938&tkt=EDA so that may explain why some systems have trouble selling it.

 

[Sprinter153]

I'm not sure about through fares but according to ATOC/RSTL these railways offer a discount to Priv holders:

- Bala Lake Railway
- Bluebell Railway
- Bodmin & Wenford Railway
- Brecon Mountain Railway
- Bure Valley Railway
- Colne Valley Railway
- Crich Tramway Village - Home of the National Tramway Museum
- East Lancashire Railway
- Embsay Steam Railway
- Ffestiniog Railway (includes Welsh Highland Railway, Caernarfon)
- Great Central Railway
- Heathrow Express
- Isle of Wight Railway
- Kent and East Sussex Railway
- Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
- Llanberis Lake Railway
- Mid-Hants Railway (Watercress Line)
- North Norfolk Railway
- North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway
- Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
- Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway
- Severn Valley Railway
- Snowdon Mountain Railway
- South Devon Railway
- Strathspey Railway
- Swanage Railway
- Talyllyn Railway
- Vale of Rheidol Railway

 

[philthetube]

Sort of on topic,

I have a priv through LUL, is this valid on the Windermere steamers, I know that the ones originally issued by BR are.

I asked and was told by ticket staff that it is not valid but they did not seem sure, I did not pursue it though I would like to know.

Help would be appreciated.

 

[steamybrian]

Through ORDINARY tickets are available from Southern Railway stations to stations on the Spa Valley Railway only via Eridge.
Privilege tickets on the Spa Valley Railway are only issued on standard train service dates at their stations to their members, HRA pass holders and some Train Operating company employees.

 

[davetheguard]

I'm not sure about through fares but according to ATOC/RSTL these railways offer a discount to Priv holders:

- Bala Lake Railway
- Bluebell Railway
- Bodmin & Wenford Railway
- Brecon Mountain Railway
- Bure Valley Railway
- Colne Valley Railway
- Crich Tramway Village - Home of the National Tramway Museum
- East Lancashire Railway
- Embsay Steam Railway
- Ffestiniog Railway (includes Welsh Highland Railway, Caernarfon)
- Great Central Railway
- Heathrow Express
- Isle of Wight Railway
- Kent and East Sussex Railway
- Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
- Llanberis Lake Railway
- Mid-Hants Railway (Watercress Line)
- North Norfolk Railway
- North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway
- Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
- Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway
- Severn Valley Railway
- Snowdon Mountain Railway
- South Devon Railway
- Strathspey Railway
- Swanage Railway
- Talyllyn Railway
- Vale of Rheidol Railway

In addition I've bought them on the West Somerset Railway - twice in the last 18 months.

 

[Haywain]

Whilst through tickets may be offered to heritage railways, many of them are in effect the same as combined entry tickets to other attractions and may not have a Priv discount (this looks to be the case for the WSR ticket). Some do, but I believe it will depend on the actual ticket type, rather than simply the description. The acceptance of Priv by the heritage railway is not likely to affect its availability on the through ticket.

 

[davetheguard]

The fare from Taunton is a Bus/Admission only fare, neither standard nor 1st class and not valid for travel on National Rail: http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=TAU&dest=K938&tkt=EDA so that may explain why some systems have trouble selling it.

I made use of this Taunton to West Somerset Railway through fare yesterday to access the WSR's Gala; £21.10 from Taunton (though I actually bought it in advance at Exeter St. David's).

Through fares are available from all over the Great Western Railway network including Bristol TM £34.00; Guildford £79.10; London Paddington £95.80; Oxford £80.10; & Plymouth £39.60. Railcard discounts apply, but at a non standard rate.

The ticket includes return travel by GWR to Taunton; return travel on the half hourly (hourly Sundays) number 28 bus from Taunton station to Bishop's Lydeard station; and unlimited travel on the West Somerset Railway. However, these tickets are not valid on Santa Special days; and a small supplement may be payable on Gala Days. I was told yesterday that on Gala Days it only acts as a Day Return over the whole line rather than as a Rover.

A further bonus yesterday was GWR running a class 150 DMU shuttle between Taunton & Bishop's Lydeard; and the ticket was accepted on board that too.

 

[janb]

Sort of on topic,

I have a priv through LUL, is this valid on the Windermere steamers, I know that the ones originally issued by BR are.

I asked and was told by ticket staff that it is not valid but they did not seem sure, I did not pursue it though I would like to know.

Help would be appreciated.

I would say not, based off the following,
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/privilege-ticket-authority-card-other-services.pdf

 

[philthetube]

I would say not, based off the following,
http://content.tfl.gov.uk/privilege-ticket-authority-card-other-services.pdf

Thanks for this, though as it is accepted on both the Snowdon Mountain Railway and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway I am not sure if I can rely on it concerning Windermere ferries.

 

[Haywain]

Thanks for this, though as it is accepted on both the Snowdon Mountain Railway and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway I am not sure if I can rely on it concerning Windermere ferries.

But are those railways correctly accepting your PTAC?

 

[philthetube]

yes, I both went up Snowdon last year and bought a through ticket for the Ratty from Preston Ticket office. I know others who have also travelled on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

Thinking about it, it is also available on the Ffestiniog.

 

[Haywain]

yes, I both went up Snowdon last year and bought a through ticket for the Ratty from Preston Ticket office. I know others who have also travelled on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

Thinking about it, it is also available on the Ffestiniog.

You were sold tickets. That doesn't confirm that they are intended to be available to you. I can buy a priv ticket to travel to a destination in Zone U1256 at some offices, but that is because the staff don't know the rules, not because I am entitled to buy it.

 

[philthetube]

you could have a good point there, though on both Ffestiniog and Snowdon I have bought tickets from their own offices.

Just a bit of useless information, Snowdon Mountain Railway is the only original signatory of the priv scheme still in existence.

 

[Haywain]

Even at their own offices it's not necessarily right! By example, I was given a Priv discount on the Taeri Gorge Railway (now Dunedin Railways) in New Zealand but there is clearly no entitlement to a discount in the entire southern hemisphere for a TOC New Entrant! The message is that if you are refused you only have a case where your employer or the scheme have specifically told you that a discount exists.