All Lines Rover purchasing

[Lukeo2311]

I plan on using an All Lines Rover in January, I plan to buy it from Liverpool Lime Street, will I be able to purchase it in advance in December from the travel centre and just say the dates I want, I've never purchased one before as it'll my last chance on my 16-25 railcard to purchase one!!

I am aware you can use it on the sleeper to and from Inverness and just pay the berth supplement, I plan to purchase the berth supplement and use my Australian debit MasterCard and pick it up in the ticket machines at Lime Street but I'm worried it will not recognize my Australian issued debit MasterCard to pick the supplement up from the machine.

 

[Bungle965]

I am pretty sure that you can, why don`t you make a guard`s day and buy it from him/her and earn them a nice bit of commission?
Sam

 

[Lukeo2311]

I might even purchase it from Bromborough Rake (nearest station to where I'm staying) if it is possible to do it in advance from there

 

[gray1404]

Its a shame you couldn't have got a Britrail pass from Australia.

 

[Lukeo2311]

I'm still a UK citizen but I have Australian Citizenship too, so I am a dual citizenship holder!! There is too much hassle in getting BritRail Pass in my opinion!

 

[Flying Snail]

I'm still a UK citizen but I have Australian Citizenship too, so I am a dual citizenship holder!! There is too much hassle in getting BritRail Pass in my opinion!

? Order online, arrives by post/courier.

I had more difficulty getting a ticket office clerk to issue an ALR.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I have never had a problem buying an All Line Rover from a booking office though I've never purchased more than a few days in advance. The bigger issue might be with the Inverness sleeper supplement; knowledge of how to issue them is very poor at the majority of stations and the number available for use by Rover ticket holders is, I understand, subject to a rather small quota. It's also the sleeper that has the most consistently high loadings year-round. Just something to bear in mind.

 

[Richard_B]

I'm still a UK citizen but I have Australian Citizenship too, so I am a dual citizenship holder!! There is too much hassle in getting BritRail Pass in my opinion!

To quote the Britrail website :

Am I eligible for a BritRail Pass?
You can buy a BritRail Pass if you are not a UK resident. Anyone who has lived in the United Kingdom for the last six months or more is not entitled to buy a BritRail Pass.

Residency not citizenship seems to be the determining factor. Maybe you can get one after all.
http://www.britrail.com/plan-your-trip/faqs/

 

[Lukeo2311]

Looking at the prices for the BritRail Passes, I'd be paying around the same for an All Lines Rover. I might give the sleeper a miss if I am unable to acquire a berth, I just don't want to be wasting money! I've renewed my 16-25 railcard for the last time so I wanted to make the most of the 1/3 off an All Lines Rover

 

[Flying Snail]

Looking at the prices for the BritRail Passes, I'd be paying around the same for an All Lines Rover. I might give the sleeper a miss if I am unable to acquire a berth, I just don't want to be wasting money! I've renewed my 16-25 railcard for the last time so I wanted to make the most of the 1/3 off an All Lines Rover

I don't know where you are looking but you have your sums wrong, Britrail is significantly cheaper than ALR even with a railcard, Britrail also give a discount for 16-25 as well as the same discount during low season (Nov-Feb) on adult passes, this is useful as adult passes are also available as 1st class.

ALR 7 day is £318.80 with railcard. (£483 std, £731 1st without railcard)

from ACP (britrail.net) priced is AUS$ (other websites/currencies can have different prices)

8 Day Consecutive Adult Low Season is $388 / £233 or $577 / 347 for First Class.


Add in delivery and adjusting for the extra day a 1st class Britrail is about the same price as a Std ALR.

The Flexi-Pass is more expensive at $478 / £287 Std, $712 / £428 1st for 8 Days out of 1 Month.

The Std is still cheaper than an ALR and is much better value if you were planning to spend some days on the ALR in one area where local rovers could be used instead.

I would highly recommend going for 1st, particularly if you are making a number of long trips on VT, EC, EMT, GWR, XC, HT, GC or the ATW Premier service.

The berth supplement on the Caley Sleeper is the same £75 but with a 1st class ticket you get a solo berth and breakfast included.

By far the easiest way to book the Sleeper supplements is on the CS website sleeper.scot I wouldn't even think of using a booking office for them these days, had plenty of clerks struggle with them over the years.

Night Riviera berths have to be done in a booking office still however, last few times I used Paddington who had no trouble with them, non-FGW offices may struggle with it.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Britrail is significantly cheaper than ALR even with a railcard, Britrail also give a discount for 16-25 as well as the same discount during low season (Nov-Feb) on adult passes, this is useful as adult passes are also available as 1st class.......... Add in delivery and adjusting for the extra day a 1st class Britrail is about the same price as a Std ALR.

Just a thought - would the Britrail pass also allow him to avoid the time restrictions that apply to the All Line Rover these days?

 

[AlterEgo]

Just a thought - would the Britrail pass also allow him to avoid the time restrictions that apply to the All Line Rover these days?

Yes.


.

 

[robbeech]

My better half is Australian and has an Australian debit card and works in the machines for collecting pre booked tickets so you shouldn't have issues there. Last time I used the sleeper on an ALR was July, I bought the berth supplement online and collected in the normal way, I never showed my ticket once. Just the berth supplement. That was to board at Glasgow, no checks at Euston, and 2 days later the berth supplement but not ticket was checked at Euston and again the guy at Aberdeen on the gate at arrival was only bothered about that bit.

 

[Gareth Marston]

FYI CS hold sleeper berths back only for sale on their own website which booking clerks at stations have no access to. Nearly every time I book CS the availability via STAR and CS website never match.

 

[Lukeo2311]

I have booked my berth supplement on the Sleeper website, much easier than doing it at a station en route. I will be purchasing my ALR from Liverpool Lime Street on the day I start use with it, I renewed my 16-25 railcard and I don't to be wasting that money on not making use of it!

 

[Parallel]

I am pretty sure that you can, why don`t you make a guard`s day and buy it from him/her and earn them a nice bit of commission?
Sam

I didn't realise you could do that.

I've asked a guard to purchase a ticket before and when he asked which one, I asked for the ALR (but for in a couple of days) and he said it wasn't possible.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I didn't realise you could do that.

I've asked a guard to purchase a ticket before and when he asked which one, I asked for the ALR (but for in a couple of days) and he said it wasn't possible.

I never had to try that but I suspect it probably is possible. However what was not possible was on-train in-advance renewal of season tickets. That may be what prompted the response. As for the new generation of TIS I have no idea.

 

[philthetube]

I wouldn't want to end up with a paper version.

 

[maniacmartin]

A guard may be reluctant to accept a debit card payment for an expensive ticket like this if they have an older Avantix ticket machine, as these machines do not check in real-time that you have the funds available