Advance tickets but train not scheduled?

[jamie_r]

Hello,

On Monday (29/06) I'm travelling on a booked advance ticket to from Paddington to Cardiff, and my ticket says that I am booked for the 15:15 service. However, everywhere I have checked there is no longer a 15:15 service to Cardiff operating out of Paddington, with the closest service I can find departing half an hour later. Has my train been cancelled, and if so what do I do? I checked the printed timetable and it still has my train in it, but I can't book a ticket on said train any longer and it doesn't appear on Realtime trains. It appears on the timetable for the following Monday and last Monday, but not for the 29th!

What do I do? I've seen a few posts about booking tickets in advance of timetable changes which mention posting them back to the TOC but I can't see my tickets reaching them in time!

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[Muzer]

There is indeed normally a 1515, but that week it appears to only go as far as Swindon. I suspect they perhaps had a late change to their engineering works plans, or a dodgy bit of stock/crew allocation, or something? It's very odd for this sort of thing to happen on a weekday, maybe someone else knows more.

I would say your best bet would be to contact FGW, but I'm not sure they'd get back to you in time. Your next best bet would be to catch a service as close as possible to the one you booked, and if possible talk to the guard before boarding. Maybe also talk to ticket office staff. Basically, try and talk to as many people as you can to get it sorted.

 

[bb21]

I don't think you would have any problem getting a train that either departs Cardiff around the time of your original departure or arrives Paddington around your original arrival time.

I wouldn't object to asking FGW what to do. Their twitter team can be very helpful.

 

[yorkie]

What do I do?

What do you want to do? It's not clear from your post...

Your choices appear to be to take the 1500 (due to arrive 1745) or the 1545 (due to arrive 1748) or, of course, a refund if you choose not to travel.

What was your originally scheduled arrival time?

I've seen a few posts about booking tickets in advance of timetable changes which mention posting them back to the TOC but I can't see my tickets reaching them in time!

If you wish to send the tickets back for a refund, your refund rights are detailed in NRCoC Condition 26. You don't have to post them; you can hand them in at Cardiff Central. You can post them, I'd do so as soon as possible but the rule is "within 28 days" but I'd get proof of postage and send it sooner rather than later.

 

[sammyg901]

Glastonbury related? I think they usually make changes to Cardiff services to free up some capacity

 

[greatkingrat]

Glastonbury related? I think they usually make changes to Cardiff services to free up some capacity

Yes, the 1515 from Paddington terminates at Swindon, then runs ECS to Castle Cary to form an additional 1748 back to Paddington.

 

[jamie_r]

It had to happen on the only occasion I'm making this journey, didn't it?! Sorry, I should have made my intentions clearer yorkie, I still want to travel, and my original arrival time was due to be around 5:25, but I was unsure what to do as I have tickets that say they're valid on one service only, and seat reservations which I imagine only exist for the 15:15 train which won't get me to Cardiff!

 

[MarlowDonkey]

but I was unsure what to do as I have tickets that say they're valid on one service only, and seat reservations which I imagine only exist for the 15:15 train which won't get me to Cardiff!

As others have said, you would have to ask FGW. At the very least, you should be able to travel in your reserved seat to Swindon and wait for the next train.
There might even be a possible claim for Delay Repay, based on your original scheduled arrival in Cardiff.

 

[jamie_r]

I tweeted First Great Western and they advised that I'd be able to catch the train 14:45 or the 15:45, and have reserved me seats on the 15:45 (I don't think I'll make the connection from Liverpool Street to Paddington in the 24 minutes from when my first train arrives to make the 14:45). Will a conductor take the same view as the Twitter team have? I'm concerned that they wouldn't know there's no 15:15 on Monday and that they might think I've just missed my train.

In terms of delay repay, I did look this up as I thought I might be eligible as my train has been cancelled, and the minimum delay would seem to be around half an hour, although over the course of the past month the train in question has rarely been on time (average delay of seven minutes), so the delay could well be longer. Would I therefore be eligible for any delay repay?

 

[yorkie]

I tweeted First Great Western and they advised that I'd be able to catch the train 14:45 or the 15:45, and have reserved me seats on the 15:45 (I don't think I'll make the connection from Liverpool Street to Paddington in the 24 minutes from when my first train arrives to make the 14:45)

It's becoming a bit more clear now, but it's always best to make it clear what your entire journey is and what the full itinerary is.

I agree, based on what you've posted so far, that the 1545 is the best option for you.

Will a conductor take the same view as the Twitter team have? I'm concerned that they wouldn't know there's no 15:15 on Monday and that they might think I've just missed my train.

I doubt the Guard would not be aware of these changes, if they are unaware just tell them.

In terms of delay repay, I did look this up as I thought I might be eligible as my train has been cancelled, and the minimum delay would seem to be around half an hour, although over the course of the past month the train in question has rarely been on time (average delay of seven minutes), so the delay could well be longer. Would I therefore be eligible for any delay repay?

FGW do not do Delay Repay. Their compensation scheme is less generous and is not based on a 30 minute delay, but a 60 minute delay (with various exclusions). You said earlier you were due to arrive at approx 1725, so the train would have to be further delayed in order to qualify for delay compensation.

 

[clagmonster]

I tweeted First Great Western and they advised that I'd be able to catch the train 14:45 or the 15:45, and have reserved me seats on the 15:45 (I don't think I'll make the connection from Liverpool Street to Paddington in the 24 minutes from when my first train arrives to make the 14:45). Will a conductor take the same view as the Twitter team have? I'm concerned that they wouldn't know there's no 15:15 on Monday and that they might think I've just missed my train.

I think what I would do in this case is print out your Twitter conversation with FGW and take it with you. Hopefully, in the unlikely event of problems, that will put you straight.

 

[_ollie_]

Hi Jamie.

There has been some messaging via Tyrell (the internal system for service alterations/line updates) that our train managers can see, the alterations for Monday have been put in there with the instruction to allow tickets on trains either side of the original booked train, so you shouldn't have any issues on Monday.

Unfortunately the alterations to services for Glastonbury went into the system later than they usually would this time round.

 

[bnm]

Would that be because FGW cocked up their Advance Purchase fares in the May fares round?

The question is, why were the service alterations made late this year? It's not as if the dates for the Pilton village fete were not known about a long time ago.

 

[34D]

If your 15:25 arrival time into Cardiff is key, then I would also ask if they can allow you to travel on Anglia on an earlier train. Given the disjoint, I'd be asking for them to give you a new itinerary (and potentially a new ticket at no cost to yourself too)

 

[jamie_r]

Thanks for your help everyone, it was greatly appreciated! I ended up catching the 15:45 which had seats reserved for me, and the conductor even explained the reason I couldn't catch my original train, which thanks to you I knew anyway.

As a result of my travels, I do however have another question. I caught the 21:00 Greater Anglia service from Liverpool Street home, and despite my tickets stating a seat reservation, the type of train that took me home didn't have any seat reservations on it, and I couldn't see any coach numbers either. The RealTimeTrains website says that the service was 'timed for' a Class 321 EMU - if said train didn't have reservable seats does this mean I was incorrectly giving a reservation, or was there a timetable change? It didn't affect me anyway, but I am slightly curious about it.

 

[bb21]

The 2100 would not have any reservations for specific seats, only a space on that particular train. Do you have a reservation with "Coach * Seat *"? That is the clue when no reservation labels would be put out.

 

[yorkie]

he RealTimeTrains website says that the service was 'timed for' a Class 321 EMU - if said train didn't have reservable seats does this mean I was incorrectly giving a reservation, or was there a timetable change? It didn't affect me anyway, but I am slightly curious about it.

A timetable change seems most likely. The train goes through to Norwich on various other days I chose at random.

Note, however, that 'timed for' doesn't necessarily mean 'diagrammed for' that stock.