CIV tickets

[Birkonian]

I'm travelling to Belgium in December and have already booked my connection from London to Liverpool. The Avanti app shows tickets to/from London Eurostar (CIV). I booked an advance from London Eurostar (CIV) to Liverpool Lime Street accordingly. Since then I'e been in conversation with The Man in Seat 61 who thinks that my ticket may not offer the protection I thought. Is he correct and if so why display CIV on the ticket if there is no CIV protection which is very misleading.
I'm confident that I could argue the point at Euston if necessary but hopefully it won't be necessary. To confuse matters I've now found out that Avanti offer fares for London International (CIV) for identical prices.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Tickets to/from London Eurostar (CIV) are only supposed to be sold through Eurostar's Domestic Sales team (which was closed a few years ago) or on their website (which hasn't been possible since they switched to a new reservations system.)

Other retailers should only issue tickets to/from London International (CIV), which begs the question as to why London Eurostar (CIV) still exists.

I can see the argument for suggesting that full CIV protection isn't available, given they're ticketed separately, but that's a limitation of GB railway retailing and I'm not aware of any issues resulting from same.

 

[Birkonian]

Thanks, I infer that you think I'll be o.k. I'll certainly argue my case if necessary. Next time I'll book to London International (CIV). it is much easier to book on the Avanti app because some station staff are unfamiliar and I can choose my seat online.

 

[Watershed]

Thanks, I infer that you think I'll be o.k. I'll certainly argue my case if necessary. Next time I'll book to London International (CIV). it is much easier to book on the Avanti app because some station staff are unfamiliar and I can choose my seat online.

There's no difference, in terms of validity or protection in the event of delays, between tickets to/from London Eurostar (CIV) and London Eurostar (CIV).

I agree with the Man in Seat 61 that buying a separate CIV ticket doesn't, legally speaking, imbue the CIV protection you would have with a through ticket (e.g. an Interrail pass). That being said, staff are likely to be prepared to let you travel on a later departure.

The bigger issue would be if you missed the last train of the day and needed a hotel - I wouldn't be confident that one would be arranged by the relevant train company, nor would I be confident that you would have legal recourse if this happened.

 

[Birkonian]

I have 1 hour 40 mins from Eurostar arrival to Avanti departure so that is a decent safety net for delays.

 

[Haywain]

I suspect that most TOCs wouldn't need a CIV ticket to allow you to travel on a later train in the event of Eurostar disruption. These days I think the biggest advantage of CIV tickets is the availability of Off Peak rates at peak times, as there's generally little to no saving where Advance tickets are concerned.

 

[Birkonian]

I suspect that most TOCs wouldn't need a CIV ticket to allow you to travel on a later train in the event of Eurostar disruption. These days I think the biggest advantage of CIV tickets is the availability of Off Peak rates at peak times, as there's generally little to no saving where Advance tickets are concerned.

Yes, to my knowledge Virgin/Avanti have never offered Euro High Savers just CIV tickets at the same prices as tickets to Euston.

 

[CyrusWuff]

I suspect that most TOCs wouldn't need a CIV ticket to allow you to travel on a later train in the event of Eurostar disruption. These days I think the biggest advantage of CIV tickets is the availability of Off Peak rates at peak times, as there's generally little to no saving where Advance tickets are concerned.

With the caveat of not taking the proverbial, of course! Such as the person whose Eurostar was cancelled so they put them on the next one, which arrived in London just as their onward connection was due to depart. Rather than heading straight to the appropriate London station, they spent several hours in London prior to doing so and had to buy a new ticket for their onward journey.