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Can I travel on an earlier train on an advance ticket

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Jxmack

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Going to euston tomorrow from lichfield trentvalley by London midland. Have got an advance ticket. On the ticket it says booked train only, but there is no time on the ticket or collection receipt, and you can't reserve a seat on this train.had booked the 1413 but would like to go on the 1313

My return journey is via birmingham new st and I have a seat reservation for that journey and so I know I have to go on that train.

Could do without getting a fine.

On some of the forums it says if the train is not reservable then it's fine, would be grateful for official take on it as I. Can't find it on the London midland website.

Thanks
 
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causton

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In the top left of the ticket, does it say Off-Peak Single, Super Off-Peak Single etc?

If it says Advance Single, or just Advance, or something like Advance, then the answer is no unfortunately. You should have the time printed either at the bottom of that ticket or on a separate reservation coupon, so double check you have all your tickets!
 

Jxmack

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It says advance, but there is no time. I have all my tickets as I have rung customer services at trainline who I bought the ticket through.

I have no reservation for that journey as it's not a reservable train
 

Jxmack

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Yep it says valid only with reservation, but you can't reserve a seta on the outward train and so I don't have a seat reservation
 

swt_passenger

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Yep it says valid only with reservation, but you can't reserve a seta on the outward train and so I don't have a seat reservation

Advance fares that are limited to booked train only don't always come with an allocated seat. A number of TOCs issue reservation coupons with asterisks printed where the coach and seat numbers would normally be, but you still have to use the booked train.
 

Jxmack

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How do they know though if the time isn't on it, sorry if I'm being a bit thick!
 

causton

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It says "Issued as two coupons" in the top right so there should be a second with the train time. There would be no reserved seats but it would say Coach * Seat ***.

Double check there is definitely no reservation. Did you get the collection receipt print out and if so was it on card or a paper roll?

...if you can't find it, take a copy of your booking confirmation on your phone or email as the important part of the ticket - what train it's for - is currently missing!
 

Jxmack

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This is all that I had. When I rang trainline tonight to question it, as I panicked when it said issued as 2 coupons and I didn't have another on for the outward, they said I had them all and that the 4 coupons on the collection receipt includes the collection receipt .....
 

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Jxmack

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Trainline said I don't have a. Second part of the ticket as I can't reserve a seat
 

Urban Gateline

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Unfortunately they are wrong, in more ways than one, the ticket says that a reservation comes with it even though you cannot specifically reserve a seat, you have reserved a seat on that specific train.
 

Jxmack

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So what do I do tomorrow when I don't have the second part of the ticket as it only printed what I've attached
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Will they accept the email booking
 

causton

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Take your booking confirmation with you, if you can pop into the ticket office to see if they can issue you with an Authority to Travel form or give your confirmation a stamp to authorise travel. If not the guard should be more than understanding.

This is a known problem with the Shere machines we have, unfortunately:
a) Tickets very occasionally get stuck in the chute or the side of the collection tray stuck in a groove.
b) People never realise, as you said, the 4 coupons means 5 coupons. How confusing!

If you have to buy a new ticket which I sincerely doubt will happen, Customer Services should understand and sort out the refund of any additional fares.
 

blue87

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Appears the reservation for the outward bound leg of your journey is missing have you a phone number for Trainline.com
 

yorkie

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b) People never realise, as you said, the 4 coupons means 5 coupons. How confusing!
People may well get confused about this because it depends on the machine!

Some machines count the collection receipt as a coupon, some do not. http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1526290&highlight=coupons+receipt#post1526290 (this is typical of the fragmented rail industry!)
Would just like to find out for sure if the receipt is or is not included in the coupon number.
I'm sorry there isn't a straightforward answer to this question. It depends on which train company owns the ticket machine. It may also depend on some other factors.

At my local station there are East Coast machines and Northern machines. A set of tickets printed there on an East Coast machine has a collection receipt where the count of coupons excludes the receipt itself. If printed there on a Northern machine, the count includes the receipt.
 

causton

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People may well get confused about this because it depends on the machine!

Some machines count the collection receipt as a coupon, some do not.

This is probably technically as the collection receipt prints on a paper roll if available, so would be weird to include the paper receipt as a "coupon". But when it looks just like one of your tickets...!
 

Jxmack

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Thanks for all your help.

It doesn't make it easy for those who don't get the rail industry!
 

Hadders

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Causton's advice is sound. I once misplaced a mandatory seat reservation for a long distance journey. A trip to the booking office saw a replacement one issued (hand written too!)

One other thing - don't use the trainline for booking tickets. They're never cheaper (despite their claims) and add on booking fees which train company websites don't do.
 

John @ home

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People may well get confused about this because it depends on the machine!

Some machines count the collection receipt as a coupon, some do not.
This is probably technically as the collection receipt prints on a paper roll if available, so would be weird to include the paper receipt as a "coupon".
Neither the VTEC nor the Northern machines at Leeds station print collection receipts on a paper roll. Both use National Rail orange stock.

VTEC continue the East Coast tradition of excluding the collection receipt from the count. I've not used a Northern machine this year, but in December 2015 their machines still included the collection receipt in the count of coupons.
 

Haywain

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Thanks for all your help.

It doesn't make it easy for those who don't get the rail industry!

You need to travel on your booked train this afternoon. I would also advise carrying your booking confirmation which will carry the same booking/collection reference number as the ticket. That should be sufficient to keep any guard happy. And to correct something mentioned by a previous poster, you have reserved a place on that train but you are not guaranteed a seat.
 

Tetchytyke

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You need to ring Trainline again. There should be a coupon with your LM advance ticket. It will look like the one you have from London to Birmingham, it will state a train time but coach ** and seat **. Your ticket is not valid without this coupon.

Aim to get to the station a bit sooner with your booking reference, and talk to the ticket office staff there.
 
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blakey1152

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Causton's advice is sound. I once misplaced a mandatory seat reservation for a long distance journey. A trip to the booking office saw a replacement one issued (hand written too!)

One other thing - don't use the trainline for booking tickets. They're never cheaper (despite their claims) and add on booking fees which train company websites don't do.

And don't use Southeastern's website either....as it's rubbish!
 
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