FCC evening peak

[Carefree]

Hi. Am sure FCC evening peak restrictions have been covered many times here, but the whole thing is so complex I'm going to see if anyone has a simple answer...

If travelling on a Bedford to West Hampstead Thameslink cheap day return, to what extent is my return travel restricted between 1630 and 1901 on a weekday? As far as I'm aware, there are no direct trains during the evening peak - thus any journey I make (without doubling back) would need to be via a stop at Elstree & Borehamwood.

And does the type of off-peak ticket I hold make a difference to the answer? ie. do the same time restrictions reply if making the same return journey using a Travelcard? I recently travelled using a Bedford to West Brompton cheap day return, and no less an authority than FCC's own online ticketing site suggested I travel using this ticket on a train their timetable insists is peak (West Hampstead Thameslink 1632 to St Albans 1659; St Albans 1708 to Bedford 1750 - the latter being 'peak'). Ready for a battle, I printed off a screen grab for presentation at the gate, but I was just waved through at 1750 with my off-peak ticket.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Mike395]

If travelling on a Bedford to West Hampstead Thameslink cheap day return, to what extent is my return travel restricted between 1630 and 1901 on a weekday? As far as I'm aware, there are no direct trains during the evening peak - thus any journey I make (without doubling back) would need to be via a stop at Elstree & Borehamwood.

The restriction code for all Cheap Day Returns (and the Day Travelcard also) from Bedford into the London zonal area is LS - this prohibits you from returning on any train departing St Pancras between 1630 and 1901 inclusive. There used to be (a few years ago now) a loophole allowing you to bypass this restriction by joining further north on the line - but this has now been amended by the addition of the wording 'regardless on where you join or leave the service'.

Not sure on why the West Brompton CDR came up on the journey planner as valid in the evening peak, as it has the same restriction code - maybe a bug in thetrainline's system? (FCC use thetrainline as their online booking engine)

 

[bb21]

If travelling on a Bedford to West Hampstead Thameslink cheap day return, to what extent is my return travel restricted between 1630 and 1901 on a weekday? As far as I'm aware, there are no direct trains during the evening peak - thus any journey I make (without doubling back) would need to be via a stop at Elstree & Borehamwood.

Not permitted to join such a service regardless of the destination of the train.

Bedford Stations - West Hampstead
Off-Peak Day Return
£18.50

Restriction Text Extract:

Restriction : LS
Restriction applies: Monday to
Friday only. No travel
restrictions on other days.

OUTWARD TRAVEL
Valid on the train shown and
all later services:
Bedford 0910
Flitwick 0920
Harlington 0924
Leagrave 0929
Luton 0914*
Luton Airport Parkway 0916
Harpenden 0922
St Albans 0929
Radlett 0934
Elstree & Borehamwood 0938
Mill Hill Broadway 0943
Hendon 0931
Cricklewood 0935
West Hampstead Thameslink 0939
Kentish Town 0943
St Pancras International 0930
Farringdon 0935
City Thameslink 0932
London Blackfriars 0934
London Bridge 0942

* - NOT valid on the 0919 East
Midlands Train service

RETURN TRAVEL
NOT valid on any services
which are scheduled to depart
London Kings Cross, London St
Pancras Intl, Moorgate or pass
through London St Pancras Intl
between 16.30 and 1901 (inc),
regardless of where you join
or leave the service.

And does the type of off-peak ticket I hold make a difference to the answer? ie. do the same time restrictions reply if making the same return journey using a Travelcard?

In general, different ticket types can have different restriction codes so the answer is "yes". However in this case, the Off-Peak Day Travelcard also has restriction code LS so the restriction is the same as above. That said, I believe that you are permitted to travel as far as Elstree & Borehamwood using the travelcard without any time restriction in the evening peak as it is in-boundary and such journeys are not restricted in the evening peak on a travelcard. It does not give you any advantage though as you are not permitted to join any service originating from St Pancras, etc, between those hours, regardless of the time it reaches Elstree & Borehamwood.

I recently travelled using a Bedford to West Brompton cheap day return, and no less an authority than FCC's own online ticketing site suggested I travel using this ticket on a train their timetable insists is peak (West Hampstead Thameslink 1632 to St Albans 1659; St Albans 1708 to Bedford 1750 - the latter being 'peak'). Ready for a battle, I printed off a screen grab for presentation at the gate, but I was just waved through at 1750 with my off-peak ticket.

There are three types of Off-Peak Day Return fares for this flow.

Bedford Stations - West Brompton
Route West Hampstead
Off-Peak Day Return
£21.10

Bedford Stations - West Brompton
Route +Any Permitted
Off-Peak Day Return
£24.00

These two tickets have restriction code LS, and bears the same restriction as detailed above. You can see that there is no restriction in the outbound portion from Bedford towards London direction in the afternoon so it is not restricted at that time.

Bedford Stations - West Brompton
Route Bletchley
Off-Peak Day Return
£20.60

Restriction Text Extract:

Restriction : C0
Restriction applies: Monday to
Friday only. No travel
restrictions on other days.

OUTWARD TRAVEL

By any train scheduled to
arrive London Terminals or
Kensington Olympia at or after
0950.

RETURN TRAVEL

By any train

You can see that there is no restriction on this ticket from Bedford in the afternoon either.

A common misconception is the concept of a "peak train". No such concept exists and the time restriction on the ticket one holds is dictated by the restriction code associated with that ticket. You can see from the above that different tickets can have different restriction codes and therefore can have totally different conditions on travel time restrictions. A service that is restricted to people holding one type ticket can be totally unrestricted to holders of another ticket type.

This is what the DfT and ATOC hails as "SIMPLIFICATION".

 

[John @ home]

The Off-Peak Day Return Bedford - Elstree takes Restriction TS and allows return travel by any train. If your return journey uses a train which stops at Elstree, it may be worthwhile buying Bedford - Elstree and Elstree - West Hampstead tickets.