Club 55 query

[ian1944]

Scotrail's Club 55 ticket is a flat-rate (£19) return between any two stations in Scotland. I would like to travel from Edinburgh to Stranraer but return from Girvan - would this be permitted? Apart from time-of-day restrictions which wouldn't apply, the only prohibition shown on the website is BOJ.

 

[dzug2]

Whether there are special rules for club55 I don't know - but starting short is normally regarded as equivalent to breaking the journey so would not be allowed,

 

[sheff1]

Whether there are special rules for club55 I don't know - but starting short is normally regarded as equivalent to breaking the journey so would not be allowed,

Regarded by whom ?

 

[hairyhandedfool]

The NRCoC has the following written in Condition 16 (starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations):

....However, these rights may not apply to some types of ticket for which a break of journey is prohibited....

 

[John @ home]

The NRCoC has the following written in Condition 16 (starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations):

....However, these rights may not apply to some types of ticket for which a break of journey is prohibited....

That is true, and the sentence continues:

However, these rights may not apply to some types of tickets for which a break of journey is prohibited, in which case the Ticket Seller must make this clear when you buy your ticket.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/NRCOC.pdf

So we have three rights set out at the beginning of Condition 16:

• the right to start a journey at any intermediate station,
• the right to break a journey at any intermediate station, and
• the right to end a journey at any intermediate station.

In the case of a £19 Club 55 Return Edinburgh - Stranraer, we know from brfares.com that the Restriction Code TI does not restrict any of these rights. (Unfortunately Code TI appears to be absent from the National Rail site.)

But the autumn 2013 ScotRail 55 ticket terms and conditions include:

Can I break my journey?

You cannot break your journey other than for connectional purposes.

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/club-55-terms-and-conditions.html

Therefore we know that the second of these three rights is not available with this ticket.

I have not yet had time to study all the information made available at the time of purchase for the autumn 2013 ScotRail Club 55 tickets, so I cannot yet say with certainty whether these tickets carry the right to start and/or end a journey at an intermediate station.

But I can say that for the spring 2013 ScotRail Club 55 promotion, I undertook precisely that exercise before buying a Carlisle - Forres Club 55 return ticket and using it from Haymarket to Forres on the outward leg and from Forres to Carlisle on the return leg.

As usual my advice is to print all the relevant documents and to carry them with you on your journey. I hope ian1944 enjoys his visit to Stranraer and Girvan.

 

[ian1944]

Given the doubt, I rang Scotrail and one of their "Customer Relations Advisors" said that starting short would not be permitted. So I'm going to do things the other way round, stopping short at Girvan and returning from Stranraer. I assume the Girvan will have no check, if that's not so I'll plead sudden debilitating claustrophobia.

 

[34D]

Given the doubt, I rang Scotrail and one of their "Customer Relations Advisors" said that starting short would not be permitted. So I'm going to do things the other way round, stopping short at Girvan and returning from Stranraer. I assume the Girvan will have no check, if that's not so I'll plead sudden debilitating claustrophobia.

Or even just ask where you can go to smoke? (though that isn't as good as it is in England)

 

[bb21]

No need to resort to excuses. Guards around there are friendly enough and I seriously doubt anyone would take exception to you stopping at Girvan on the outward. If you are unsure, ask the guard on the way there. I would be astonished if the guard said no.