Euston to Milton Keynes with my travel Pass

[Tibbs]

I need to go to Milton Keynes, and there are 2 services, fast with Virgin (MK First Stop) and Slow via London Midland.

I have an Annual Travel Card that takes me as far as Watford Junction. Coming home I'll only want to go as far as Watford.

Now, a MKC Return to Euston costs £24.40 (inc my railcard discount), which seems to be any route as I can select fast & slow trains on the radio buttons on trainline.

A return from Watford to MK is £9.85 (inc my railcard discount), which is a significant saving! it say on it "This ticket allows travel on any permitted route." When selecting return routes it lets me pick the 20 minute Virgin option for this fare as I think some Virgin trains stop in Watfrod evenings and weekends.

Could I get on a Virgin Train with my annual card that takes me to Watford and use the WFJ - MKC return to cover the rest of the route?

I'm sure I read on here that to use two tickets the train has to stop at the joining station, but if one is a travel card they don't?

/edit also since I won't have to go through any barriers, but there are often ticket inspectors on the platform to Virgin Trains, would I have issues getting on the train in the first place?

 

[LexyBoy]

You can use the WFJ-MKC ticket in combination with your Travelcard Season to travel on any train between Euston and Milton Keynes, there is no need for the train to stop. (NRCoC condition 19c).

/edit also since I won't have to go through any barriers, but there are often ticket inspectors on the platform to Virgin Trains, would I have issues getting on the train in the first place?

Someone who uses the route more often can say better than I, but Virgin have had to be "reminded" of the validity of such combinations before so I would hope they had learned their lesson.

 

[Tibbs]

That's going to save me so much money!

I love this site already - I've picked up so many useful tips.

 

[Wolf_359]

LM have the fast Crewe/Birmingham (Leaves at xx40 ish) throughout the day. This Service only calls at WFJ then MKC.

This service is not much slower that the Virgin Service.

 

[island]

That's going to save me so much money!

I love this site already - I've picked up so many useful tips.

Save more by not using thetrainline with its booking fees that most other sites don't charge.

 

[Tibbs]

Save more by not using thetrainline with its booking fees that most other sites don't charge.

Oh I don't buy anything from them I just use their app For finding the train times

 

[island]

Oh I don't buy anything from them I just use their app For finding the train times

No problem, just checking

 

[Tibbs]

No problem, just checking

It was only when I saw the advert on LM trains for their app that I even knew you could buy from anywhere other than the train line online!

I saw a post on here for a site that when I went had a frog which looked quite good. I'll check them out next time as you have to go to LM's website to actually buy the tickets.

 

[Greenback]

It was only when I saw the advert on LM trains for their app that I even knew you could buy from anywhere other than the train line online!

I saw a post on here for a site that when I went had a frog which looked quite good. I'll check them out next time as you have to go to LM's website to actually buy the tickets.

Sadly, it seems that quite a few people believe that the trainline is the only option for buying tickets online. No doubt it's because of their high profile advertising campaigns, which the other providers either can't, or won't match.

I think that the sheep they use din their TV ads refer more to the people who don't realise there are alternatives, rather than the people who don't use the trainline!

 

[yorkie]

/edit also since I won't have to go through any barriers, but there are often ticket inspectors on the platform to Virgin Trains, would I have issues getting on the train in the first place?

My understanding is that there are fewer incidents with gateline staff rejecting valid tickets at Euston. None have been reported on this forum for quite some time, as far as I am aware. (There are far more problems with other TOCs such as FCC - many more than are reported on this forum). If you do have problems, ask questions, gather evidence, speak to a manager, be polite but assertive. We will always help people who are in the right to make a complaint (providing the complainant is acting reasonably)