Arriva Trains Wales advance tickets - slow to appear?

[HughT]

Does anyone know (or can hazard an informed guess...) why ATW uniquely still isn't offering Advance fares beyond 29? All other operators (I'm pretty sure it's "all") are now booking Advance fares into September. But ATW has been "stuck" on 29 July for some time. Which is annoying as I'm planning to travel on 30 July!

And yes, I have emailed Customer Services. A response is awaited (I only sent the enquiry last weekend).

Seems rather strange (or suspicious).

 

[trainophile]

Shame no-one has replied to this as I am having the same quandary. What the **** is going on?

 

[Hardcastle]

Does anyone know when reservations will be open for travel on & after July 30th for Arriva trains Wales advances it's now only 5 weeks when i want to travel.

 

[hh5]

There's a thread here about it as well if you haven't already seen. Really really hoping someone has some info about this because it's so annoying!! Very poor, getting close to under a month now too.

 

[Merseysider]

Looks like there’s engineering work somewhere on their network literally every day of the month until the end of August.

Might have something to do with it.

 

[janb]

Now open until 3rd August which is relevant for the OP
https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/advance/

 

[HughT]

Yes, that's a lot of engineering works - although nearly all of them are overnight or Sundays, which would affect only a small percentage of Advance tickets.

Anyway, the GOOD NEWS is that Advance tickets for 30 July have now been loaded. According to Trainline, they still have nothing after 5 August, whilst every other operator is booking until mid-September. But at least they haven't totally forgotten about them!

I'm sure the fact that Arriva is giving up the franchise before long has nothing to do with it...

EDIT: Apologies to janb - whose message must have been posted as I was writing mine. Thanks for spotting that.

 

[Gareth Marston]

ATW are waiting on NR timetable confirmation simple as that.

 

[Wallsendmag]

This is about to get a whole lot worse.

 

[Joe Paxton]

This is about to get a whole lot worse.

How so?

(Guessing it's Network Rail still struggling to keep up?)

 

[Wallsendmag]

Got it in one

 

[HughT]

I take the point about the late notifications from NR. But speaking as the OP, it's worth pointing out that many other operators who offer Advance tickets have been keeping close to a 12-week booking period, even though their own timetables are far from confirmed. Indeed, they make it quite clear that the times remain subject to change (and then provide ways for people holding Advance tickets to make changes if need be). Now, I'm not saying that ATW's approach is "wrong", or that the other TOCs are "right". Merely pointing out that others have come up with different ways of tackling the core problem.

What is unarguable is that many people will have booked "regular" fares during the past month or so, having come to the conclusion that all the Advances have been sold, or that there aren't ever going to be any. I couldn't find any explanation on the ATW website about release dates for Advances when I first posted the question on this forum (or when I emailed ATW Customer Services before that - response awaited). So ATW will have benefitted financially from NR's late notification...

 

[causton]

As lots of people have forgotten about this:

If customers buy a ticket on a train that is subsequently cancelled, rescheduled, or where a seat reservation will not be honoured, they can decide not to travel and have a full refund with no administration fee.

Where Advance tickets have not yet gone on sale, customers can still buy Anytime, Off‐Peak and Super Off‐Peak tickets where they are available. If customers buy one of these and later discover a cheaper Advance ticket on sale for the same journey, they should book the Advance ticket and ask for a refund on the original ticket – there will be no admin fee.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/184755.aspx

Edit: Just seen it shows on that page what dates they expect to know finalised timetables by, and therefore a rough guess of when the Advances should be released.

 

[HughT]

I plead guilty to not knowing about that. Thanks for the reminder! I suspect any question as to what this piece of info is doing in the "service_disruptions" section of the NR website (it's presumably not specific to this particular period of chaos?) is something best transferred to the "Fares Advice and Policy" forum

 

[mallard]

Of course, there's still the cost of posting the ticket back to the seller, the financial burden of having to pay for two seperate tickets while you wait for the refund (which has no deadline and may well be subject to the usual "administrative errors" that plague railway compensation/refund processes) and the fact that if the timetable for a connecting service isn't "finalised", but the main-line express is, the advance fares may well sell out to "direct" passengers before "connecting" passengers get a chance to book...

 

[danm14]

As lots of people have forgotten about this:


http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/184755.aspx

Edit: Just seen it shows on that page what dates they expect to know finalised timetables by, and therefore a rough guess of when the Advances should be released.

Would it not be a better idea to not purchase any ticket until Advances become available, then if they don't become available purchase the Anytime/Off-Peak ticket (at the same price you would have paid for it in advance) on the day of travel.

That way you aren't out of pocket at any time, and you pay no more than you need to to travel that day?

 

[Gareth Marston]

Would it not be a better idea to not purchase any ticket until Advances become available, then if they don't become available purchase the Anytime/Off-Peak ticket (at the same price you would have paid for it in advance) on the day of travel.

That way you aren't out of pocket at any time, and you pay no more than you need to to travel that day?

Indeed totally true however many people are convinced they get discount on all fares by "buying in advance" and "everything is cheaper on the internet".

 

[Paul Kelly]

That isn't a reason for National Rail Enquiries to be encouraging customers to buy walk-up tickets in advance though, when they're the same price on the day. I suppose a valid reason is that you might want a seat reservation and wish to book early to get the best choice, but if your train's going to be cancelled a seat reservation is not much use. It seems to me there's something a bit fishy about the advice to book walk-up fares in advance, almost as if it's trying to protect the revenue flow for TOCs and retailers, but I wouldn't want to accuse them of that as it could just as well be just a bit of confusion.

 

[Gareth Marston]

That isn't a reason for National Rail Enquiries to be encouraging customers to buy walk-up tickets in advance though, when they're the same price on the day. I suppose a valid reason is that you might want a seat reservation and wish to book early to get the best choice, but if your train's going to be cancelled a seat reservation is not much use. It seems to me there's something a bit fishy about the advice to book walk-up fares in advance, almost as if it's trying to protect the revenue flow for TOCs and retailers, but I wouldn't want to accuse them of that as it could just as well be just a bit of confusion.

Internet retailers have always offered walk on fares even months ahead beyond the T - 12 horizon and the great British public believing everything on the internet is cheaper has bought them. It's not new.