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Britrail pass question

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DJ737

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G'day

A couple of questions for the on train staff that frequent this forum :

How many Britrail Passes do you encounter?

Do you think it would be better if an Overseas visitor railcard was introduced instead of the Britrail Pass, say a 90 day validity for a price of about £30 allowing 33% off normal railfares?

Just putting this out there.

Cheers
DJ737
Melbourne, Australia
 
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Intermodal

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The way I see it - there are many options for "x in y" validities for the BritRail pass which could be bought in multiple that in most cases would be more advantageous for the customer in terms of price and simplicity over a railcard, especially one on a stay of five days to a month in the UK. Are you actually proposing this railcard instead of the pass - if so, why?
 

bb21

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I vote for BritRail over railcard-discounted adult prices any time.

BritRail is exceptional value, expecially in First Class. You're unlikely to get better value if you need to travel long distance and require flexibility.
 

AlterEgo

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How easy are these to actually purchase? I'll admit I haven't seen one in the last year. (I deal with tickets but am not actually front line staff in the way a guard is). I understand you need to be an overseas resident, is that right?
 

bb21

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They are not good value if you are mainly travelling short distances or travelling around the home counties near London and only make one/two trips a day, which seems to be what many tourists do.

On the other hand, they're fabulous if you do long journeys and/or potter around on the network all day.
 

lyesbkz

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How easy are these to actually purchase? I'll admit I haven't seen one in the last year. (I deal with tickets but am not actually front line staff in the way a guard is). I understand you need to be an overseas resident, is that right?

Yes, and they must be posted abroad to your country of residence (which can be difficult if your country has a poor postal system). They also charge extortionate postage fees in the region of €50 for some countries.

Do you think it would be better if an Overseas visitor railcard was introduced instead of the Britrail Pass, say a 90 day validity for a price of about £30 allowing 33% off normal railfares?

No. I think the point of the BritRail is for tourism, and the periods provided are good for such a purpose while 90 days seems a bit excessive anyway.
 

Deerfold

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They are not good value if you are mainly travelling short distances or travelling around the home counties near London and only make one/two trips a day, which seems to be what many tourists do.

On the other hand, they're fabulous if you do long journeys and/or potter around on the network all day.

So presumably they're not a cheaper option if they only cover what a tourist would need to do but do encourage more travel - sounds perfect for what it is.
 

hairyhandedfool

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How many Britrail Passes do you encounter?

Since I started working for Northern Rail about 5-6 years ago.......no idea, maybe 4-5, but then I wouldn't expect to see that many as I work in a ticket office.
 

SWT_USER

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Do you need to have a foreign/ another EU passport to use one? If I did and had an address abroad would I be allowed to use it?
 

trentside

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Do you need to have a foreign/ another EU passport to use one? If I did and had an address abroad would I be allowed to use it?

And along the same lines, if you hold two passports (e.g. one British, one foreign) but don't have an address abroad, you wouldn't be able to obtain one?
 

hairyhandedfool

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You have to reside abroad (you might be asked for proof by rail staff apparently), I'm not sure about having a 'foreign' passport though.
 

bb21

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You have to reside abroad (you might be asked for proof by rail staff apparently), I'm not sure about having a 'foreign' passport though.

The residence criteria is not always enforceable.

How about someone with permanent residence in the UK and permanent residence in other countries?

The T&Cs on BritRail website say

BritRail Terms and Conditions said:
Purchase Restrictions

Pass or ticket holders must be non-UK residents, unless sharing a BritRail Guest Pass. BritRail and its representatives may ask at any time for proof of foreign residency and reserve the right to confiscate the ticket or pass in such circumstances. The BritRail ticket is non-transferable and must only be used by the person or persons specified on the ticket.

It depends on whether "non-" applies to "UK" or "UK residents". This is not clear. A person with both British and foreign residence can produce proof of foreign residence, by virtual of having a foreign passport, in the majority of cases.
 

DJ737

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G'day

The railcard was just an idea I had, I thought it might be better value for those tourists that might do something like Canterbury, Windsor etc in the South East and then just do a round trip to Scotland stopping in York and Newcastle on the way.

Britrail passes are available to anyone resident outside UK, irrespective of the passport held. I have used them the past and only hold a UK passport.

Our local agent Railplus sells then as well as normal advance and walkup tickets thru their website : http://www.railplus.com.au/uk-by-rail/ at an exchange rate £1=$2, the current rate is £1=$1.48 :roll:

Cheers
DJ737
Melbourne, Australia
 

BorisWiffWaff

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So, you order the ticket in your name to a friends or relatives overseas and they post it on. The letter is addressed to you so I assume that is proof you live overseas....
 

bb21

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So, you order the ticket in your name to a friends or relatives overseas and they post it on. The letter is addressed to you so I assume that is proof you live overseas....

Don't forget that you need to be able to prove foreign residence in order to have the ticket validated before use at one of the railway stations.
 
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