[Trivia] What’s the most complicated / Expensive ticket you’ve bought on board

Saperstein · 6 Feb 2020

Following on from the ticket fraud thread

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...r-a-single-journey.199886/page-2#post-4424672

I thought I’ve have a go at this. What’s the most complicated / expensive ticket anyone’s bought on-board under normal circumstances, meaning not under challenge where you could have bought earlier.

I’ve tried buying tickets from North Wales to Sussex before with a warrant but was told I couldn’t buy on board because of the underground.

Guess they couldn’t encode the ticket with the Maltese cross?

Saperstein.

RailUK Forums

Mathew S · 7 Feb 2020

Years ago, 1990s, I attempted to buy a Daysaver (I think they were called back then) train & tram ticket from Wigan to Bury. Asked the guard, who said the ticket didn't exist. I pointed out that I'd bought one the week before. He said he'd go to check, and retired to the rear cab never to be seen again.

I didn't think it was that complicated to be honest, but in Northern-land some things never change... :rolleyes:

sportzbar · 7 Feb 2020

Mathew S said:
Years ago, 1990s, I attempted to buy a Daysaver (I think they were called back then) train & tram ticket from Wigan to Bury. Asked the guard, who said the ticket didn't exist. I pointed out that I'd bought one the week before. He said he'd go to check, and retired to the rear cab never to be seen again.

I didn't think it was that complicated to be honest, but in Northern-land some things never change...

To be honest guards are given a day at most on local tickets whilst training. Ticketing especially on Northern with all the differing PTE areas they pass through is a minefield. On my third day on my own I had one involving a return from Littleborough to Droylsden using train and metrolink. I was honest and explained how difficult (at the time ) multi-modal tickets were on the basic machines we had. Luckily it was a journey that the passenger made twice a week and by now knew exactly how to produce the ticket ( serch for a 4 digit code instead of Metrolink stop). This was something I hadn't been trained to do ( if I had it must have been a quick 30 sec gloss over). But like they say everyday's a school day on the railway....

BucksBones · 7 Feb 2020

An LNR guard I was chatting to the other day reckoned he could sell me a ticket to anywhere in Europe.

Bletchleyite · 7 Feb 2020

BucksBones said:
An LNR guard I was chatting to the other day reckoned he could sell me a ticket to anywhere in Europe.

I doubt it, but he could certainly sell to anywhere in the UK. I don't think LNR use bog-roll tickets, so cross London is also possible.

I'm trying to think, but I don't think I've ever bought anything complex on-board, as most journeys I've made in my youth started at a Merseyrail station (so staffed for the full period of service) and then Trainline launched (followed by all the others) so I've preferred to purchase online to avoid silly arguments when wanting something complex.

I have bought simple but expensive tickets on-board in advance before to offer the staff the commission (and some guards do go through offering booking office services for that reason), but they've never been anything complex, just long-distance Off Peak Returns.

BucksBones · 7 Feb 2020

Deleted - weird formatting error

Statto · 7 Feb 2020

A few years ago i tried to buy a North Wales Rover all zones from the guard on the Bidston-Wrexham train, the guard's ticket machine didn't have the code for the all zones ticket programed in[only 2 zones were programed] so i got off at Shotton as planned & brought the rover from the ticket office there.

BucksBones · 7 Feb 2020

Bletchleyite said:
I doubt it, but he could certainly sell to anywhere in the UK. I don't think LNR use bog-roll tickets, so cross London is also possible.

I did question it but he was adamant! I'm inclined to doubt it as well though.....!

They do indeed use proper tickets

Journeyman · 7 Feb 2020

I work for a mobile ticketing supplier. Depending on which printer is connected (our kit does both paper roll and magnetic card), our equipment can issue any ticket, any reservation and any supplement available in the country, on train. At least in theory.

There are a few limitations, but not many.

daveshah · 7 Feb 2020

BucksBones said:
I did question it but he was adamant! I'm inclined to doubt it as well though.....!

They do indeed use proper tickets

If LNR are using one of the smartphone based solutions, and without significant Internet access restrictions, he could probably just go onto the DB (or whatever) website and buy you an eTicket for anywhere in Europe!

plugwash · 7 Feb 2020

Saperstein said:
I’ve tried buying tickets from North Wales to Sussex before with a warrant but was told I couldn’t buy on board because of the underground.

The same happened to a group I was with on a Journey from Cheadle Hulme to Letchworth (in the time after northern brought in the "bog roll" machines, but before they brought in penalty fares). In the end the northern guard sold us tickets to London and told us to upgrade them on the train to London, it then took some persuasion to get the Virgin train manager to actually do said upgrade.

My understanding is that the underlying issue is that TFL don't want to upgrade their ticket barriers to support the "bog roll" tickets.

Springs Branch · 8 Feb 2020

Saperstein said:
...... What’s the most complicated / expensive ticket anyone’s bought on-board under normal circumstances, meaning not under challenge where you could have bought earlier.....

I'm pretty sure a similar question has been asked before on this forum. A member posted that they'd bought a 14-Day All Line Rover from a guard (possibly on a Northern or EMT DMU).

Not sure whether it was the First Class or Standard manifestation of the ALR, but must count as one of the most expensive possible (is there a limit to the duration of season tickets you can buy on-board trains?). Apparently the transaction was completed with no problem, and an easy boost for the guard's commission that day.

Goofle · 8 Feb 2020

I bought one from Kyle of Lochash (leaving on the lunchtime train) to Plymouth (arriving after around 4pm the following day). Fortunately I wasn’t paying for it (rail warrant) myself. I had the option of taking a hire car but preferred the idea of the train, much to the confusion of others!
I can’t remember the cost but I do remember grimacing slightly...

SeanG · 8 Feb 2020

It took two people and half an hour to sell me a Ffestiniog round Robin at Sheffield last August

Alfonso · 8 Feb 2020

Bought a return to London International on board no problem (legitimately, I had a Eurostar ticket with me). Not very expensive but not too common in East Devon

[.n] · 8 Feb 2020

Ones that I have succeeded in the end buying (have failed on plenty of other options, including not being able to buy a ticket at my destination station ticket office, after having tried at various points en-route)

Expensive: Over £300 (weekly season ticket / long distance tickets)
Unusual: Rovers (for areas covered by the train I was on) ; Tickets with I think the code is D50 discount (wheelchair, non railcard) ; tickets to non rail destinations (that weren't Plusbus) ; Excess fare tickets

vlad · 8 Feb 2020

I think my most complicated ticket is a Cheshire Day Ranger, paid for with a mixture of voucher and card. The bloke didn't have any problem finding the ticket on his machine but told me I'd have to pay the balance of the ticket in cash (he did figure out how to take a partial card payment after about 10-15 minutes).

It might just be that I buy less complicated tickets on board rather than at a station (or maybe EMR guards just know what they're doing) but I've found that ticket offices are more likely to tell me that what I want doesn't actually exist. I've given up buying a through ticket to the Severn Valley Railway from Wolverhampton, for example, as it's not worth the argument.

Marton · 8 Feb 2020

I have bought a First open return. Current price over £500. It was much less then.

6026KingJohn · 8 Feb 2020

Many years ago in the days of Rail Riders (my children are now in their 40s, which shows how long ago). We had just renewed our annual subscription, which included a voucher offer, and the children had got their vouchers as well. We boarded a single unit rail car at Looe and asked for two adult and two child returns to Plymouth using our club membership and vouchers. The guard looked at us, the first people he came to, and our vouchers, then said "I'll come back to you, I've got to think about this." After dealing with the rest of the passengers he came back and said "O.K. here are the tickets, I'm putting all the vouchers in as warrants, let the office sort it out." I think we only paid about £3-4 in actual cash.

306024 · 8 Feb 2020

Many years ago too, I had a ticket for the Warsaw to Kiev sleeper train. Only to discover that it had the wrong date on it (a day later). The woman at the international ticket window at Warsaw spoke a little English, and together with my Thomas Cook travellers phrase book I managed to get a refund for the wrongly dated ticket which I had bought in the UK, but was told to I could only get a new ticket for that night from the conductor on the train.

The Polish conductor spoke no English but the phrase book had the appropriate words for a sleeper berth. After lots of pointing and shrugging I was sold a ticket, for a fraction of the price of my wrongly dated ticket. Result.

Ended up sharing a berth with a Russian language professor from Vladivostok, who translated Russian into Chinese for a living (where do you begin?!), but whose English was very good too. In the compartment next door were two girls, a Swiss social worker en route to Turkmenistan, and a Dutch student who was about to start studying media studies in Norwich (!). A marvellous journey I’ll never forget.

47271 · 8 Feb 2020

I've had a few instances when I've got on a Highland Main Line service and asked for a return to Charing Cross in Glasgow, and been quoted something like £200. We then have to go through the selections until it's clear that I don't want to go to London.

No criticism of Inverness based conductors, but it's funny how many have never heard of a very busy Glasgow city centre station one stop out of Queen Street, while selling tickets to odd places like Achanalt, Kinbrace or Scotscalder will come as second nature to them!

IamTrainsYT · 9 Feb 2020

Plockton to broadbottom. came to £150 and took around 13 hours

sheff1 · 9 Feb 2020

There used to be guard on XC who announced he would sell tickets for onward or future travel to anyone who wanted one. I bought some from him, including Plusbus & so on, and he took great delight in selling things he had never sold before.

Unfortunately I am guessing he has now retired as I have not seen him for quite some time.

[Trivia] What’s the most complicated / Expensive ticket you’ve bought on board

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