Excessing a Rail & Sail ticket

[ajdunlop]

Hello all,
I have a Rail & Sail ticket for travel from Basingstoke to Dublin which I bought through the Stenaline call centre (I would have used the official RailSail call centre but they appear to now be thetrainline!). Stena only appear to do bookings to stations in the Republic if going via Holyhead and to the north if going via Stranraer / Cairnryan so I went with that with the intention of getting a Dublin to Ballymoney ticket at Connolly Station.
However I have been wandering if it would be possible to excess my ticket to change the destination to one in the north? If it is what are the chances of my local ticket office having a clue what I'm on about and doing it?

 

[wintonian]

Hello all,
I have a Rail & Sail ticket for travel from Basingstoke to Dublin which I bought through the Stenaline call centre (I would have used the official RailSail call centre but they appear to now be thetrainline!). Stena only appear to do bookings to stations in the Republic if going via Holyhead and to the north if going via Stranraer / Cairnryan so I went with that with the intention of getting a Dublin to Ballymoney ticket at Connolly Station.
However I have been wandering if it would be possible to excess my ticket to change the destination to one in the north? If it is what are the chances of my local ticket office having a clue what I'm on about and doing it?

In theory I can't see a problem but I would expect considerable difficulty in getting this done at Basingstoke or indeed any SWT station.

Try Euston/ New Street or Chester and if all else fails then ask arriva at holyhead on the way out.

 

[bkhtele]

If excess does not work, you can buy tickets to N.Ireland online via Irish rail web site and collect the tickets at Connelly station, Dublin Cheaper!

 

[island]

I very much doubt you'll find a staff member capable and willing to issue that ticket. I agree with bkhtele's recommendation of buying an advance from Irish Rail, although it will only issue to Belfast Central and you will need a further ticket from Northern Ireland Railways to get to Ballymoney.

 

[ajdunlop]

Why would they not be willing if it is possible? Just too much effort?

 

[ajdunlop]

Also buying separate tickets to Belfast then another to Ballymoney will be much more expensive. Think I will give the excess a go this side of the Irish Sea and failing that wait till I get to Dublin (apparently the machines at Connolly will issue them even if no one is around). It is amazing how little Irish Rail promote the Enterprise and looking at the the preview for their new website I can't find any mention it exists. Translink however have a proper web booking system covering the whole of Ireland (providing you start in the north).

 

[island]

The TVMs at Connolly will not, unless they've been recently upgraded, issue tickets to any NIR station other than Newry, Portadown, Lisburn, Lurgan, Botanic, or Belfast Central. If the booking office is closed, the gateline attendant will either issue you the ticket on a manual excess pad or phone up someone to go and open the booking office.

 

[barrykas]

I've just looked on Journey Planner and the only fares between Basingstoke and Ballymoney are routed via Holyhead, so I dunno why Stena are suggesting going via Stranraer!

Fares range from £46.50 to £103.00 depending on whether you take Stena or Irish Ferries.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[ajdunlop]

Yea, I really don't get why Stena limit you to certain routes. I have found that the Journey Planner is really poor at getting good combinations for journeys of this length and including ferrys. It is usually worth using the planner as far as Dublin or Belfast and then looking up timetables separately for onward travel.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Also how did you get JP to show journeys to Ballymoney? It only seems to allow me to look up Ballymena (stop before B'money).

 

[barrykas]

Also how did you get JP to show journeys to Ballymoney? It only seems to allow me to look up Ballymena (stop before B'money).

Different Journey Planner...I was using the replacement for RJIS (Rail Journey Information System) at work, though could equally have checked the fare on the ticket machine just as easily.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[ajdunlop]

Well that was stupidly easy and surprisingly quick, just went to Amazingstoke ticket office after work. Total cost for the whole journey £46, bargain! It's amazing how different experiences can be at ticket offices depending in who is serving you and how busy it is.

 

[bkhtele]

Very different - I've been told we don't sell these tickets any more, no journeys to Belfast available, must buy a ticket to Stranraer + ferry, can't be that cheap and even after the clerk check with Scotrail - you can only buy those ticket from Scottish stations! All wrong of course. Not looking forward to compulsory reservation on trains from Jan!!

 

[wintonian]

Very different - I've been told we don't sell these tickets any more, no journeys to Belfast available, must buy a ticket to Stranraer + ferry, can't be that cheap and even after the clerk check with Scotrail - you can only buy those ticket from Scottish stations! All wrong of course. Not looking forward to compulsory reservation on trains from Jan!!

Which TOC and station?

Well that was stupidly easy and surprisingly quick, just went to Amazingstoke ticket office after work. Total cost for the whole journey £46, bargain! It's amazing how different experiences can be at ticket offices depending in who is serving you and how busy it is.

SWT can do them though unless the clerk has been arrond a while it can take some time and then the 'control ticket' seems to be the main issue in my experence - had an intersting time trying to get one at Wterloo a while back after the station I traveld from strugled with that bit, with Waterloo demanding a copy and the identity of the clerk who sold it! I didn't oblige ofcourse.

Sent from my HTC Desire S

 

[ajdunlop]

From Jan what changes? Do you have to have reservations for the whole journey? I do have reservations this time as I thought there was a danger one of the trains could be busy. I can see this being annoying when it stops you leaving a bit earlier because you know in advance of some disruption and you want to avoid missing the ferry.

 

[barrykas]

SWT can do them though unless the clerk has been arrond a while it can take some time and then the 'control ticket' seems to be the main issue in my experence

I'd love to issue Control Tickets with Rail-Sea-Rail tickets, but my TIS shows them as costing £3.00 for some bizarre reason, and won't let me override the fare.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[embers25]

Given the new Rail Sail insists on control tickets complete with a Stena/IF reservation number on that could be an issue. Tho I suppose a hand written one may work?! Does anyone have the number needed by ticket office staff to call Stena to get a reservation as last time I was at Woking even the experienced staff had no clue how to get an official reservation?

 

[barrykas]

Given the new Rail Sail insists on control tickets complete with a Stena/IF reservation number on that could be an issue. Tho I suppose a hand written one may work?! Does anyone have the number needed by ticket office staff to call Stena to get a reservation as last time I was at Woking even the experienced staff had no clue how to get an official reservation?

The phone number can be found in the relevant section (Shipping Links, then the appropriate route) of The Manual. However, the sections in question don't appear to have been substantively updated for some time, and I was led to believe that the requirement for a Sea Control ticket was removed when CRS was replaced back in 2004, as ferry reservations can be done through NRS.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[wintonian]

Given the new Rail Sail insists on control tickets complete with a Stena/IF reservation number on that could be an issue. Tho I suppose a hand written one may work?! Does anyone have the number needed by ticket office staff to call Stena to get a reservation as last time I was at Woking even the experienced staff had no clue how to get an official reservation?

Will that mean you will now have to get the ferry your booked on meaning you can't spend a sometime in Holyhead on the way out and get a later ferry?

Mind you I don't know why anyone would want to.

The phone number can be found in the relevant section (Shipping Links, then the appropriate route) of The Manual. However, the sections in question don't appear to have been substantively updated for some time, and I was led to believe that the requirement for a Sea Control ticket was removed when CRS was replaced back in 2004, as ferry reservations can be done through NRS.

Cheers,

Barry

Are you looking at NFM10?

I believe the Holyhead routes have been updated ver recently.

 

[ajdunlop]

I am a little confused. What is a 'Control Ticket'?
Also come January with Rail&Sail I would need to have a reservation for a particular ferry, but I thought that was the case now. Or are reservations also required for the trains and if so all of the trains or an 'and connections' type?

 

[bkhtele]

Which TOC and station?







SWT can do them though unless the clerk has been arrond a while it can take some time and then the 'control ticket' seems to be the main issue in my experence - had an intersting time trying to get one at Wterloo a while back after the station I traveld from strugled with that bit, with Waterloo demanding a copy and the identity of the clerk who sold it! I didn't oblige ofcourse.

Sent from my HTC Desire S

FGW, Swindon. When I persist they find they can sell me the tickets often with my help! I end up making sure the ferry I want to travel on is booked and then travel on a valid route without reservations. Seat 61 has a good section on the new ticket prices and guidelines from Jan 2012.

 

[barrykas]

Looking on the (rail) Journey Planner for Rail-Sea-Rail fares after 2nd January, there will be two new ticket types:

• SLD - SailRail Standby : These are walk-up tickets, but with compulsory reservations on the ferry and all reservable services, and can be bought up until the departure of the connecting train. No break of journey permitted, except on the Return leg if the ferry service is disrupted.
• SLA - SailRail Advance : Must be booked by 1800 the day before travel. Reservations compulsory on the ferry and all reservable services. No break of journey permitted, except on the Return leg if the ferry service is disrupted.

In both cases, the reservation coupons act as the control ticket for the ferry.

HTH,

Barry