Advance Tickets on Railair London Heathrow to Southampton (via Woking) First and SWR.

[Titfield]

I am travelling from LHR T5 to Southampton in July.

I am contemplating travelling by Railair Link. There are some very attractive fares on advance tickets with a railcard discount but these tickets are valid for a specific train only.

I am bit concerned that my flight may be late or I may even get through arrivals earlier than anticipated and be able to get an earlier bus and train than the one the ticket is valid on.

In any case choosing which time train to book is quite a challenge

Am I better off buying a flexible ticket - though the fare differential is very considerable - or do the on train staff not enforce the validity rules in the circumstances I have outlined.

Advice please.

 

[Benjwri]

There is no legal right to travel on a later train in these circumstances. Regardless of if train staff can be lenient, I wouldn't bank on it as there is always the chance the you come across one that isn't.

 

[yorkie]

I am travelling from LHR T5 to Southampton in July.

I am contemplating travelling by Railair Link. There are some very attractive fares on advance tickets with a railcard discount but these tickets are valid for a specific train only.

I am bit concerned that my flight may be late or I may even get through arrivals earlier than anticipated and be able to get an earlier bus and train than the one the ticket is valid on.

In any case choosing which time train to book is quite a challenge

Am I better off buying a flexible ticket - though the fare differential is very considerable - or do the on train staff not enforce the validity rules in the circumstances I have outlined.

Advice please.

You may be best waiting until you are through passport control and then making a booking. Unfortunately, they are paper ticket format only, so you'd also need to allow time to collect the ticket.

If you want to buy in advance, then your best bet is to either get a walk-up ticket, or allow plenty of time (and visit a pub in Woking to kill the time).

 

[paul1609]

Depends on the time of your arrival at heathrow as the service is only 2 hourly but Id recomend considering a National Express service direct from T5 to Southampton. If you buy a standard ticket you can ammend it up until the time of travel for a £5 plus the difference in fare or you can buy a fully ammendable ticket this far in advance for a fraction of the rail fare. Journeytime is just under 2 hours.

 

[DelW]

If you want to buy in advance, then your best bet is to either get a walk-up ticket, or allow plenty of time (and visit a pub in Woking to kill the time).

The Herbert Wells (Wetherspoons) is a five minute walk from the back (northern) entrance to Woking station. I tend to regard it as an automatic choice for extended connections at Woking, and it usually has a decent range of real ales on. Other pubs are available.

The coach will drop you off outside the southern entrance, but there's a subway that's outside the gate line.