PBO - KGX 3 days a week

rekrap · 14 Apr 2011

Hello

I am about to start commuting from Peterborough to London and was hoping for some nuggets of information... I only need to be in London 3 days a week (I will only know which days the week preceding) and will want to get an early train c. 06:30 and return 16:30 on those days.

What is the best way of buying those tickets? Season ticket is the most flexible but I will waste so much money that way.

Please help!

RailUK Forums

yorkie · 14 Apr 2011

I was going to suggest a carnet if you didn't mind using only FCC (they have some fast trains at roughly the right time for you) but I don't think they apply to you as they don't seem to be available from Peterborough! You could try contacting FCC to see if the scheme will be extended.

Other than that, all I can think of is either a Season ticket, or daily tickets, but perhaps someone else will come along with another idea.

Aictos · 14 Apr 2011

yorkie said:
I was going to suggest a carnet if you didn't mind using only FCC (they have some fast trains at roughly the right time for you) but I don't think they apply to you as they don't seem to be available from Peterborough! You could try contacting FCC to see if the scheme will be extended.

Other than that, all I can think of is either a Season ticket, or daily tickets, but perhaps someone else will come along with another idea.

The closest station to Peterborough to use these carnets is Huntingdon which is only 10 to 15 minutes down the line, would it not be worth getting a ticket between Peterborough and Huntingdon then using the carnets from Huntingdon to Kings Cross?

Mike395 · 14 Apr 2011

I'd probably be inclined to suggest St Neots rather than Huntingdon as IIRC a few of the 'fasts' to Peterborough call there during the peaks, but skip out Huntingdon

LexyBoy · 14 Apr 2011

PBO-KGX Anytime day return (FCC only) is £48, so even 3 days a week a weekly Season works out cheaper at £133 (again, FCC only). A monthly is better value, £510.80 (£42.57 per day based on 12 day's use).

A weekly "Any Permitted" ticket is £155.80 which seems much better than the daily ticket at £98 (!!).

Looking at those times tomorrow, it's cheaper to buy Advances/Off Peak singles, so I suspect this could be cheapest if you can buy a week in advance - it is a lot of hassle though (and extra cost if you miss your booked train).

north · 14 Apr 2011

yorkie said:
I was going to suggest a carnet if you didn't mind using only FCC (they have some fast trains at roughly the right time for you) but I don't think they apply to you as they don't seem to be available from Peterborough! You could try contacting FCC to see if the scheme will be extended.

Other than that, all I can think of is either a Season ticket, or daily tickets, but perhaps someone else will come along with another idea.

I don't think the FCC carnets are only valid on FCC. The one's from Stevenage are routed "Any Permitted". They used to be called "FCC Carnet O peak" but are now called "Carnet Off Peak". Surely this means they can be used on East Coast from Stevenage to London?

HST Power · 14 Apr 2011

north said:
I don't think the FCC carnets are only valid on FCC. The one's from Stevenage are routed "Any Permitted". They used to be called "FCC Carnet O peak" but are now called "Carnet Off Peak". Surely this means they can be used on East Coast from Stevenage to London?

My neighbour went to London yesterday. He took a train from Letchworth to Stevenage then got the East Coast service to Kings Cross with his FCC ticket, so I'm sure they can be used.

Aictos · 14 Apr 2011

MikeW said:
I'd probably be inclined to suggest St Neots rather than Huntingdon as IIRC a few of the 'fasts' to Peterborough call there during the peaks, but skip out Huntingdon

All FCCs stop at Huntingdon including the 'fast FCCs', the only service at the moment in the morning peak which starts from Huntingdon is the 06:40 to Kings Cross and the only service which terminates at Huntingdon in the evening peak is the 17:31 arrival which forms the 18:04 back to Kings Cross.

So apart from these 3 services, ALL FCC services call at Huntingdon as it's a important commuter railhead.

yorkie · 14 Apr 2011

north said:
I don't think the FCC carnets are only valid on FCC. The one's from Stevenage are routed "Any Permitted". They used to be called "FCC Carnet O peak" but are now called "Carnet Off Peak". Surely this means they can be used on East Coast from Stevenage to London?

Ah, they are routed Any Permitted? In that case they are valid on EC.

Indeed, a Peterborough-Huntingdon *season* plus a Huntingdon to London carnet would be valid on a non-stop East Coast train, as per condition 19 of the Conditions of Carriage.

island · 14 Apr 2011

Carnet from Peterborough to London Terminals is £376. Huntingdon to London Terminals appears to be £166. Peterborough to Huntingdon 7-day season is £32. All are routed ANY PERMITTED. No prizes for guessing the next step!

amcluesent · 14 Apr 2011

But EC doesn't stop at the station where you'd change from one ticket to another?

Mike395 · 14 Apr 2011

amcluesent said:
But EC doesn't stop at the station where you'd change from one ticket to another?

Not necessary if one is a season

(and the other isnt)

Aictos · 14 Apr 2011

island said:
Carnet from Peterborough to London Terminals is £376. Huntingdon to London Terminals appears to be £166. Peterborough to Huntingdon 7-day season is £32. All are routed ANY PERMITTED. No prizes for guessing the next step!

Problem there is the Carnets cannot be brought from Peterborough so the best option is simply to buy a Peterborough to Huntingdon ticket then buy the carnets for Huntingdon to Kings Cross either at Huntingdon or online.

How do I buy a Carnet booklet?

Buy Carnet train tickets online, or ask at the ticket office of participating First Capital Connect stations.
Which stations is Carnet available from?

Carnet train tickets are currently available from the following stations:

Royston
Letchworth Garden City
Huntingdon
St Neots
Hitchin
Stevenage
Welwyn Garden City
Hatfield
Potters Bar
Hertford North
Bedford
Luton
Luton Airport Parkway
St Albans

How can I use my Carnet ticket?

To use a train ticket, fill in the travel date in permanent ink before you start your journey.

Carnet train tickets are only available from certain stations and are only valid between the station printed on the ticket and London.

clagmonster · 14 Apr 2011

yorkie said:
Ah, they are routed Any Permitted? In that case they are valid on EC.

Indeed, a Peterborough-Huntingdon *season* plus a Huntingdon to London carnet would be valid on a non-stop East Coast train, as per condition 19 of the Conditions of Carriage.

Not neccessarily true, there was the Group Save thread a while back (please don't start it again) whereby tickets not stating an operator restriction were because the issuing company(ies) failed to comply with condition 10 by not printing said restriction on the ticket. That said, I can't see anything restricting the operator in the Carnet restrictions, so I don't think this is the case here. I think they are valid on everyone's trains.
http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/tickets-and-fares/peak-tickets/carnet/carnet-terms/

glynn80 · 14 Apr 2011

island said:
Carnet from Peterborough to London Terminals is £376. Huntingdon to London Terminals appears to be £166. Peterborough to Huntingdon 7-day season is £32. All are routed ANY PERMITTED. No prizes for guessing the next step!

How did you calculate the PBO to KGX Carnet fare of £376.00?

You can't be referring to the FCC Carnet as that has no PBO option, however I did see that EC also operate a Carnet Scheme, but I couldn't get to a figure of £376 using their pricing structure either.

island · 14 Apr 2011

glynn80 said:
How did you calculate the PBO to KGX Carnet fare of £376.00?

You can't be referring to the FCC Carnet as that has no PBO option, however I did see that EC also operate a Carnet Scheme, but I couldn't get to a figure of £376 using their pricing structure either.

Well, I just took it from Avantix. But it's calculated as five return journeys for the price of four, and the anytime return is £94. Four times that is £376.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I don't think there's anything stopping an arbitrary station from selling a carnet.

glynn80 · 14 Apr 2011

island said:
Well, I just took it from Avantix. But it's calculated as five return journeys for the price of four, and the anytime return is £94. Four times that is £376.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I don't think there's anything stopping an arbitrary station from selling a carnet.

You do realise the EC Carnet is for 5 tickets and the FCC Carnet is for 10 tickets!

Thus your previous comparison of £376 vs £166+£32 actually should be £752 vs £166+£32.

It really does go to show how much money RUK can end up saving people!

bb21 · 14 Apr 2011

glynn80 said:
You do realise the EC Carnet is for 5 tickets and the FCC Carnet is for 10 tickets!

Thus your previous comparison of £376 vs £166+£32 actually should be £752 vs £166+£32.

It really does go to show how much money RUK can end up saving people!

Huntingdon - London Terminals
Route Any Permitted
CNP Carnet Peak (Standard Class Single)
£16.60

Peterborough - London Terminals
Route Any Permitted
CAS Carnet 5 STD (Five Anytime Return Tickets)
£376.00

I'm afraid island was correct.

glynn80 · 14 Apr 2011

Do apoligise, I have just seen EC's Carnet is a return product as opposed to the more traditional single ticket variety!

bb21 · 14 Apr 2011

Even so, this is still sooooo correct. :lol:

glynn80 said:
It really does go to show how much money RUK can end up saving people!

amcluesent · 15 Apr 2011

I'm tempted to try this as my PBO-KGX season expires on Sunday and with all the holidays coming up, I was looking for a way to make a few cheap trips until May 3.

Aictos · 15 Apr 2011

Just a small note, the FCC carnets are only available/valid from certain stations to Kings Cross and are only valid on FCC services.

Meaning you can only buy them at the following stations/online to use between the following stations and Kings Cross only, they cannot be used on East Coast services nor can they be used from Peterborough.

Which stations is Carnet available from? Carnet train tickets are currently available from the following stations:

Royston
Letchworth Garden City
Huntingdon
St Neots
Hitchin
Stevenage
Welwyn Garden City
Hatfield
Potters Bar
Hertford North
Bedford
Luton
Luton Airport Parkway
St Albans

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding regarding these carnet tickets.

north · 15 Apr 2011

ajax103 said:
Just a small note, the FCC carnets are only available/valid from certain stations to Kings Cross and are only valid on FCC services.

Meaning you can only buy them at the following stations/online to use between the following stations and Kings Cross only, they cannot be used on East Coast services nor can they be used from Peterborough.

Which stations is Carnet available from? Carnet train tickets are currently available from the following stations:

Royston

Letchworth Garden City

Huntingdon

St Neots

Hitchin

Stevenage

Welwyn Garden City

Hatfield

Potters Bar

Hertford North

Bedford

Luton

Luton Airport Parkway

St Albans

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding regarding these carnet tickets.

Where is it documented that the carnets are *only* valid on FCC?

island · 15 Apr 2011

I would like to know that too. They are routed ANY PERMITTED; surely they would be routed FCC only if they were restricted to FCC services.

Aictos · 15 Apr 2011

I was told this by one of the Revenue Team Leaders who ought to know these things, I've also fired off a email to the FCC Fares and Pricing Manager for a final answer which ought to resolve everyone's questioning.

HST Power · 15 Apr 2011

ajax103 said:
I was told this by one of the Revenue Team Leaders who ought to know these things, I've also fired off a email to the FCC Fares and Pricing Manager for a final answer which ought to resolve everyone's questioning.

Good call. Though we may have a while to wait as they always seem to take ages!

Aictos · 15 Apr 2011

Bearing in mind I was watching a TV show the past hour, I' got the reply within minutes.

Basically all the current carnet are 'Inter Available' and can be used on either East Coast or FCC services between Stevenage and Kings Cross not Peterborough as the carnet is not currently available from there.

Equally the carnet tickets are available to use on both East Midlands Trains and FCC services on services from Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras.

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding so far.

north · 15 Apr 2011

ajax103 said:
Bearing in mind I was watching a TV show the past hour, I' got the reply within minutes.

Basically all the current carnet are 'Inter Available' and can be used on either East Coast or FCC services between Stevenage and Kings Cross not Peterborough as the carnet is not currently available from there.

Equally the carnet tickets are available to use on both East Midlands Trains and FCC services on services from Bedford, Luton and Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras.

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding so far.

Thanks for confirming this. Just to be really pedantic surely they great northern ones are valid to Moorgate as well as Kings Cross. The tickets are to/from London Terminals.

island · 15 Apr 2011

ajax103 said:
Basically all the current carnet are 'Inter Available' and can be used on either East Coast or FCC services between Stevenage and Kings Cross not Peterborough as the carnet is not currently available from there.

Just to be clear: are you saying that the combination of season ticket plus carnet ticket I mentioned in post #10 is allowed or not? If not, why not?

Aictos · 15 Apr 2011

island said:
Just to be clear: are you saying that the combination of season ticket plus carnet ticket I mentioned in post #10 is allowed or not? If not, why not?

I'm sure the ticketing whizz kids can verify this but I was of the understanding that the above ticket combination would only be valid if the train actually stopped there, seeing as East Coast don't stop at Huntingdon I can't see how the above would be valid.

As a example, if I were to travel from Hertford to Finsbury Park and wanted to use a travel card from Crews Hill, I would have to make sure the train I boarded stopped at Crews Hill.

PBO - KGX 3 days a week

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