Nearly went very wrong...

[maxbarnish]

Sunday 17 November Woolwich 14.39 To Charing Cross was cancelled
14.47 service was running only to London Bridge - well Cannon St but that was no use for me, so London Bridge it was.
I changed there and arrived in Charing Cross at 15.30.

I am usually level headed, but I got a sense of panic for once. I had to get the 16.03 to Exeter SD at Paddington on an advance ticket - was a through journey.

In my head, I knew I'd be OK. All the advice I'd ever learnt on here - which is greatly appreciated - told me that I'd be able to get next GWR train if I missed it.

But staff at Woolwich Arsenal said they couldn't guarantee I could do this as it was a different train operator - I knew that was incorrect in theory - and they said it would be at GWR's discretion - and you know there's been plenty of bad reports on GWR on here. So, in my heart I was really unsure what would happen. They said some 'good' TOCs may allow it - and they said Virgin was one of the best - irrelevant to my journey on GWR. Not sure that matches my experiences....

So I tried to rush through the Underground and get across London and onboard in 13 minutes less than the minimum connection, and thought I was going to make it when my laces came underdone at Paddington in the tube station. Lost a minute, then still should have got it, but the platform closed early - it is an intercity I suppose. I'd have got it otherwise.

Approached the GWR desk feeling pretty nervous about what would happen - but to give them credit, it was no issue at all. They stamped the ticket for the next train to Exeter, although the ink was a little faint, which did lead to quite a detailed examination at Exeter gateline but no real issues.

Next time - I need to be less anxious about these things - that's my lesson to learn - things going wrong at least with tickets and missed connections is probably less common than I'd think.


I'll be putting in a Delay Repay claim with Southeastern and think it'll be a pretty straightforward one.

 

[hkstudent]

Sunday 17 November Woolwich 14.39 To Charing Cross was cancelled
14.47 service was running only to London Bridge - well Cannon St but that was no use for me, so London Bridge it was.
I changed there and arrived in Charing Cross at 15.30.

I am usually level headed, but I got a sense of panic for once. I had to get the 16.03 to Exeter SD at Paddington on an advance ticket - was a through journey.

In my head, I knew I'd be OK. All the advice I'd ever learnt on here - which is greatly appreciated - told me that I'd be able to get next GWR train if I missed it.

But staff at Woolwich Arsenal said they couldn't guarantee I could do this as it was a different train operator - I knew that was incorrect in theory - and they said it would be at GWR's discretion - and you know there's been plenty of bad reports on GWR on here. So, in my heart I was really unsure what would happen. They said some 'good' TOCs may allow it - and they said Virgin was one of the best - irrelevant to my journey on GWR. Not sure that matches my experiences....

So I tried to rush through the Underground and get across London and onboard in 13 minutes less than the minimum connection, and thought I was going to make it when my laces came underdone at Paddington in the tube station. Lost a minute, then still should have got it, but the platform closed early - it is an intercity I suppose. I'd have got it otherwise.

Approached the GWR desk feeling pretty nervous about what would happen - but to give them credit, it was no issue at all. They stamped the ticket for the next train to Exeter, although the ink was a little faint, which did lead to quite a detailed examination at Exeter gateline but no real issues.

Next time - I need to be less anxious about these things - that's my lesson to learn - things going wrong at least with tickets and missed connections is probably less common than I'd think.


I'll be putting in a Delay Repay claim with Southeastern and think it'll be a pretty straightforward one.

Calm down next time, as long as your journey is fulfilling minimum connection time (can validate via National Rail / any TOC's journey planner), and no matter how many tickets you have split (or even using Oyster PAYG), you should be able to get on the next service (same operator, need permission if another operator) without any extra cost.
If I were you, I would not rush for the next service, causing yourself into great distress (unless you have to be at the final destination in time). Keep calm, walk at your pace. Train travel should be stress-free.
There's even no compulsory requirement on endorsing tickets (unless you are using oyster/contactless PAYG, which may need to verify the journey history at the ticket office in London) if your first leg is late and are not taking alternative TOC service.
Just jump on the train if the next service is leaving at the imminent time, you can't afford to be delayed further by queueing at ticket office.

 

[DaveB10780]

Did you have to go to Charing X? My route from London Bridge to Paddington would be Jubilee to Baker St then Bakerloo cross platform. Takes about 20 mins.

 

[221129]

you should be able to get on the next service (even in another operator) without any extra cost.

This is incorrect.

 

[hkstudent]

This is incorrect.

Opps, my bad. It was a mistyping. (Revised)

 

[yorkie]

To be clear, there is only one operator of direct Paddington to Exeter service so it is true that you could take any train without having to get the ticket endorsed in this case.

It isn't true to say you can automatically get on the train operated by another operator; you will be allowed to do so if you would otherwise be stranded, or if ticket acceptance is in place. You may also be allowed to do so at the discretion of staff on the train or if the ticket is endorsed, but this isn't guaranteed and you could be asked to wait for a train operated by the contracted operator.

It is true that you dont need to get the ticket endorsed; I wouldn't do so if visiting a ticket office or information desk would make me even later. However if I had spare time to do so, then I would do on the basis that it may make future interactions with staff along the journey easier. If station staff refused to endorse the ticket I would obviously board the next valid train regardless.

You are entitled to claim delay repay from the operator whose train was delayed/cancelled which caused the delay; this does apply for the whole journey (regardless of number of tickets held).

It's unlikely that you will be refused travel on a later train but if you are, and are not confident in arguing, you could pay again under duress and claim a refund. If doing this, I would purchase from the TOC that was incorrectly asking you to pay, so that your refund request is straightforward. It is very rare that this happens, however.

While any issues with ticket acceptance or delay repay are not the responsibility of the retailer, it may be worth booking with a retailer you trust, for peace of mind. A good retailer would back you up, where appropriate, if applicable. I'm aware of cases on this forum where that has happened. But it's rare that it comes to that.

There is also the Rail Ombudsman to support you if a TOC is mistreating you (though their track record hasn't been as good as I had hoped it would be). And of course people on this forum can help too.

So yes I agree with others that you should relax, don't risk injuring or stressing yourself by rushing too much.

The chances of you being mistreated on any particular journey are low, but if it happens, a resolution should be possible in nearly all cases.

 

[westv]

Edit: I didn't read one of the posts correctly!

 

[andythebrave]

Anecdotally, I travelled on split advance tickets EMT & connections from Horsforth to Flitwick last year and the first train of the day from Horsforth (on a Sunday) was cancelled meaning the booked service direct from Leeds to Bedford was missed.
I went to Leeds info point and the Northern staff printed out an itinerary on XC to Sheffield etc etc and stamped it.
Later delays meant I also missed the connection at Sheffield but the bit of paper saw me through.
In anticipation of the delay and repay compensation I upgraded to 1st all the way then got it back 3 weeks later.