PRE (Preston) - MEC (Meols Cop)

[PR1Berske]

Afternoon forum

Going to the FA Cup match on Saturday between Southport and Barnet, SO, just checking...


Is it broadly correct that Preston - Burscough - Meols Cop is acceptable

whilst

Is it broadly correct that Preston - Wigan - Meols Cop is not acceptable?


Many thanks

 

[LexyBoy]

Meols Cop has Preston as an associated Routeing Point, so the only permitted routes are:
- The shortest route and routes up to 3 miles longer than the shortest;
- Direct trains (not applicable)

I'm sure that via Wigan must be more than 3 miles longer, so I'd expect via Burscough to be the only valid route (unless an easement allows it - not clear from my quick look).

However, National Rail Enquiries, the "definitive source of rail information", shows Wigan as being a valid route, so I'd be happy travelling this way.

Not sure what you mean by "broadly correct" though... permitted routes are defined precisely between two stations; all tickets routed "Any Permitted" will be valid on all permitted routes between the stations shown on the ticket.

 

[PR1Berske]

Cheers Lexy Boy

I'll stick with Burscough as the route of least potential hassle

 

[yorkie]

Terms like "broadly" and "acceptable" make me wonder what the question is: do you want to know if it's valid (as defined in the NRCoC/Routeing Guide) or whether a guard would accept it?

If a route looks reasonable to a guard, that guard will accept it without checking the Routeing Guide. If a route looks unreasonable to a guard, then one of several things could happen (such as the guard calling Control to check the Routeing Guide, looking it up him/herself, or maybe using previous knowledge that a route is invalid), ultimately it is the Routeing Guide that will determine whether or not the ticket is valid.

 

[strange6]

Can't speak for virgin train staff but I know all my Northern collegues would OK your route VIA Wigan so make sure you get a Northern Service from preston ( Blackpool to Liverpool Lime Street) to Wigan NW and then get a Southport Train from Wigan Wallgate. When I guarded on the Southport - Manchester services a few years back, I came across quite a few people going your way and accepted their tickets no problem. Reason? Because I know going VIA Burscough is a pain due to the infrequent services from Preston.

 

[PR1Berske]

Tbh, it's a bit from column a, a bit from column b.

I have experienced guards whose attitude is a little.....harder......when it comes to the rules and that doesn't always mean "accurately reflecting the regulations he has access to".

(Note, this is not a "all guards are bar-stewards" auto-rant)

I write a regular groundhopping column for a football website to trying to make my way through the timetables and routing maps of England always leaves me with a slight doubt about whether I'm making the right journey

On reflection, it does seem odd to go down as far as Wigan to pick up a train I'd be catching anyway from Burscough.

 

[raildude]

Rail tickets are accepted on the express X2 bus between Preston and Southport.

Note: Valid rail tickets are accepted on Stagecoach bus service X2 from Southport to Preston. See bus timetable leaflet for details.

Bus runs every 30 mins from outside the station, then get a local train to Meols Cop.

 

[scrapy]

NRE shows it to be valid via Wigan. Get a print out of your journey details from there and you should be fine.

Wigan is the shortest route, as surely they don't expect you to walk 3/4 mile between stations in Burscough. What about less able bodied people?

 

[Gathursty]

Burscough Bridge and Junction stations aren't too faraway from each other to walk imo, but to let the train do the donkey work, go to Wigan and change.

Last time I did the change, it took about 10 mins to walk between them but I think there should be a bit more signage pointing towards Burscough Junction.

 

[snail]

Rail tickets are accepted on the express X2 bus between Preston and Southport.

Bus runs every 30 mins from outside the station, then get a local train to Meols Cop.

Wouldn't that be over-travelling on a Meols Cop ticket though? I think you would need tickets for Preston-Southport and Southport-Meols Cop to cover it.