BritRail London Plus Pass (not to be confused with BritRail Pass)

[moonrakerz]

Am I correct in saying that a BritRail London Plus Pass can be used on part of a journey just as "normal" split tickets can ?

I have friends from the USA visiting. They wish to come to Warminster from London (WAT). The cheaper London Plus Pass will cover them as far as Salisbury. If they buy a return from Salisbury to Warminster as well - OK ????
They also wish to travel to Gt Malvern from Paddington. The pass covers them as far as Worcester Foregate St, so a return from Worcester to Gt Malvern as well - OK again ???

Many thanks......

 

[ainsworth74]

According the NRCoC:

19. Using a combination of tickets

You may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover the entire
journey and one of the following applies:

(a) they are both Zonal Tickets (unless special conditions prohibit their use);
(b) the train you are in calls at a station where you change from one
ticket to another; or
(c) one of the tickets is a Season Ticket (which for this purpose does not include
Season Tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport
executive or local authority) or a leisure travel pass, and the other ticket(s) is/are not.

You must comply with any restriction shown on the tickets relating to travel in the trains of
a particular Train Company or Train Companies (see Condition 10).

If you do not comply with this Condition, you will be treated as having joined the train
without a ticket and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply, either to the entire
journey, or from the last station where the train stopped at which at least one of the
tickets was valid.

For the purposes of this Condition, a “leisure travel pass” means any multi-journey ticket
(excluding Season Tickets) valid for:
(i) at least 7 consecutive days; or
(ii) at least 3 days in a period of at least 7 consecutive days
and includes rover tickets, travel passes, flexipass tickets and Britrail passes.

And there is nothing there to suggest that combining such a ticket with normal tickets will cause an issue, so I would say go ahead.

 

[dzug2]

One minor point - only day returns are available for those extension journeys. If they are not returning the same day they'll need to buy singles on each day.

Not a problem - but could cause slight confusion if they don't realise what is needed

 

[moonrakerz]

Thanks for those comments - reinforced my thoughts, I was already aware of the day ret only thing on those two lines - HOWEVER............

having done a bit more looking at the Ts & Cs for this pass I am now totally confused.

The map (http://www.britrail.com/images/stories/britrail-map.pdf) shows the geographical limits for this pass...............but....another site says the pass is not valid West of Didcot.......another says it is not valid on ANY FGW service. Some of the stations shown on this map, I believe, are only reachable on FGW.
Some sites say it is usable on the Heathrow Express, others say it isn't, another says that you get vouchers with the pass for the Heathrow Express.

If this site is correct (http://www.raileurope.com/rail-tickets-passes/britrail-london-plus-pass/index.html?), it will meet their needs perfectly, but if it isn't...........ad:ad:

Is there actually an OFFICIAL site for these passes ? All the ones I have come across appear to be just commercial outfits selling rail tickets in general.
There is also quite a wide variation in prices with some sites offering cheaper passes for "Seniors".

:? :? :? :?

 

[Flying Snail]

Thanks for those comments - reinforced my thoughts, I was already aware of the day ret only thing on those two lines - HOWEVER............

having done a bit more looking at the Ts & Cs for this pass I am now totally confused.

The map (http://www.britrail.com/images/stories/britrail-map.pdf) shows the geographical limits for this pass...............but....another site says the pass is not valid West of Didcot.......another says it is not valid on ANY FGW service. Some of the stations shown on this map, I believe, are only reachable on FGW.
Some sites say it is usable on the Heathrow Express, others say it isn't, another says that you get vouchers with the pass for the Heathrow Express.

If this site is correct (http://www.raileurope.com/rail-tickets-passes/britrail-london-plus-pass/index.html?), it will meet their needs perfectly, but if it isn't...........ad:ad:

Is there actually an OFFICIAL site for these passes ? All the ones I have come across appear to be just commercial outfits selling rail tickets in general.
There is also quite a wide variation in prices with some sites offering cheaper passes for "Seniors".

:? :? :? :?

britrail.com/ACP Rail International are the official retailers on behalf of ATOC. As they are not sold in the UK none of the TOCs are directly responsible for Britrail products, at privatisation these controlled former BR tickets were basically contracted out to a third party reseller.

The map on that site should be correct. That ticket was at one time a NSE only ticket which is the reason for the large variation in validity on different lines although they have changed the boundaries somewhat recently. Before they were merged into FGW it was only valid on Thames Trains services out of Paddington, with the merging of the two franchises there is now no simple way of defining which services are GW and which are Thames so the restriction has gone.

The wider area England/GB passes are valid on HEX, however the London Plus is not. London Plus passes issued to those outside Europe come with 2 coupons for use on HEX, Gatwick Express or Stansted Express which can be used on days the pass is not otherwise used for. This would suggest the pass is also not valid on Gatwick/Stansted Express and I have no idea why the vouchers are not given to European purchasers.

 

[First class]

The official ATOC content:

BritRail London Plus Pass is a flexible pass that permits the holder to choose the travel days within the period of validity.

Validity
Pass must be validated within 6 months of the date of purchase. Passes are available for 2 or 4 days of travel within 8 days or 7 days of travel within 15 days. Available in 1st or Standard Class.

BritRail Euro London Plus Pass: The BritRail Euro London Plus Pass is only available to European residents living outside the UK.

Territory and boundaries
South East England. The Boundary Stations of the London Plus Pass are: Harwich, Kings Lynn, Huntingdon, Bedford, Long Buckby, Stratford-upon-Avon, Worcester Foregate Street, Bedwyn, Salisbury, Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth.

Discounts Available
Children 5 - 15 pay half the adult fare. Children under 5 travel free.

Promotions
The Pass comes with 2 extra coupon vouchers valid on the Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted Express. In order to take advantage of the reduced rates on Eurostar, travellers must present a valid BritRail pass at the time of purchase (does not use up a travel day on the pass). The BritRail Euro London Plus Pass does NOT contain 2 Airport Express coupons.

 

[moonrakerz]

I think I am slowly getting (part of) the story.

The proper name for the item is: "BritRail London Plus Pass" and the "official" agent for these is Britrail.com

A BritRail London Plus Pass is NOT valid on the Heathrow Express.
Purchasers of a BritRail London Plus Pass are supplied with 2 vouchers to use on the Heathrow Express IF they come from outside of Europe. (Which partially explains the comment in the quote from ATOC - except that according to Britrail, there is no such thing as a "BritRail Euro London Plus Pass" [my highlighting]; perhaps there used to be ?).