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First Group Leisure card travel advice

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Benedict

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Hello, just after some advice please, despite a route planned being offered by First group, other TOCs are covering so we aren't entitled to use the free travel cards which is a shame. So looking online at the rates offered they vary greatly ie one rate is £79, the other £280! I understand the 75% discount is off the 'walk up rate' is this likely to be the £280 does anyone know? Cheers in advance!
 
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Haywain

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Hello, just after some advice please, despite a route planned being offered by First group, other TOCs are covering so we aren't entitled to use the free travel cards which is a shame. So looking online at the rates offered they vary greatly ie one rate is £79, the other £280! I understand the 75% discount is off the 'walk up rate' is this likely to be the £280 does anyone know? Cheers in advance!
The discount is, essentially, applied to any ticket that isn't an Advance ticket. So, if the fare is called Off Peak, Super Off Peak or Anytime it will get a discount.
 

Mak1981

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Also if ticket acceptance is officially in place your travel card should be accepted, as the replacement toc has basically agreed to carry the original tocs customers, you are still the customer of the original toc just being carried on their behalf by another
 

Haywain

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Also if ticket acceptance is officially in place your travel card should be accepted, as the replacement toc has basically agreed to carry the original tocs customers, you are still the customer of the original toc just being carried on their behalf by another
We don't know what has been put out to staff, so that may not be the case.
 

Benedict

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Can you give a bit more info on the journey you are planning? Date, time etc?
Sure thing, Kings Cross to York, then next day York - Edinburgh. Going 31st May, not too fussed on times. We've checked all companies and LNER have taken over the routes it seems. Looking like the Sleeper is the cheapest route back too...
Can you give a bit more info on the journey you are planning? Date, time etc?

The discount is, essentially, applied to any ticket that isn't an Advance ticket. So, if the fare is called Off Peak, Super Off Peak or Anytime it will get a discount.
Really helpful thanks Haywain, new to all this....

Also if ticket acceptance is officially in place your travel card should be accepted, as the replacement toc has basically agreed to carry the original tocs customers, you are still the customer of the original toc just being carried on their behalf by another
Now that would be nice Mak, perhaps worth an ask at the ticket desk...
 

Benedict

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Taken over? They've been LNER for nearly 3 years, since the franchise changed from Virgin.
Sorry, didn't mean it like that....when we look on certain routes from say Hull trains, Inc in First Group, hence free travel - it shows LNER as the company hence not free.....

Sorry, didn't mean it like that....when we look on certain routes from say Hull trains, Inc in First Group, hence free travel - it shows LNER as the company hence not free.....
It appears they sell other franchise tickets....
 

scrapy

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We don't know what has been put out to staff, so that may not be the case.
I know Arriva specificaly state that employee free travel is not valid on other non arriva Tocs irrelevant of whether the public can in the event of disruption.
 

Benedict

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Interesting thanks, it's a shame as effectively hull rail would get us to York, and Trans Pennine up to Edinburgh.....still, 75% is still good....
 

bb21

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Sorry, didn't mean it like that....when we look on certain routes from say Hull trains, Inc in First Group, hence free travel - it shows LNER as the company hence not free.....


It appears they sell other franchise tickets....
Hull Trains are still running, but they never went to York, only Doncaster or Selby.

With the free boxes, alternatively you can go Euston to Manchester with West Coast then to York with TPE, free throughout.
 

bb21

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Yes, Avanti West Coast then TPE via Manchester is free with FirstGroup boxes.

There is no way of travelling down the east coast using FirstGroup services, not for the last ten years at least, as you have a gap between Doncaster/Selby and York. This gap will be closed once FirstGroup's new open access East Coast Trains starts, but for now you have no free travel option that way.

You can go King's Cross - (Hull Trains) - Selby - (TPE) - Leeds - (TPE) - York, changing twice, as an alternative.
 

Benedict

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Really really helpful bb21, thanks il check that out!

We don't know what has been put out to staff, so that may not be the case.

We don't know what has been put out to staff, so that may not be the case.

Also if ticket acceptance is officially in place your travel card should be accepted, as the replacement toc has basically agreed to carry the original tocs customers, you are still the customer of the original toc just being carried on their behalf by another

Mak, is this what you were getting at?
 

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Mak1981

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Really really helpful bb21, thanks il check that out!







Mak, is this what you were getting at?

From the atoc code of practice, you are a customer of the first group toc so should be accepted, that's my take on it
Screenshot_20210511-192734_Drive.jpg
 

Haywain

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Be very careful of taking that sort of advice. Using staff travel passes you are not automatically treated as a ‘customer’, and planned cancellations as are happening at present are not disruption in the normal sense.
 

Alex27

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We don't know what has been put out to staff, so that may not be the case.
I can't speak for anywhere else but Chiltern were more than happy to accept my staff pass due to, shall we say, the slight technical difficulties my TOC is currently having...
 

Haywain

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I can't speak for anywhere else but Chiltern were more than happy to accept my staff pass due to, shall we say, the slight technical difficulties my TOC is currently having...
Yes, but my comments reflect the OP’s intended journey.
 

High Dyke

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Sure thing, Kings Cross to York, then next day York - Edinburgh. Going 31st May, not too fussed on times. We've checked all companies and LNER have taken over the routes it seems. Looking like the Sleeper is the cheapest route back too...
Glad you've got an answer.
 

J-P_L

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UK
Your other option is using Hull Trains to Doncaster then changing to LNER to York “bridging the gap” with a PRIV ticket (£4.70 single/£6.45 off peak return).

KGX-YRK
10:19 KGX-DON (12:04) HT - boxes
12:11 DON-YRK (12:31) LNER - PRIV

Then for your next day you can get either direct or changing at NCL on TPE to Edinburgh*, but only two a day in the timetable:

YRK-EDB
09:22 YRK-EDB (11:49) TPE - boxes
-or-
13:07 YRK-NCL (14:10) TPE - boxes
14:21 NCL-EDB (15:47) TPE - boxes

*subject to how the current fleet issues play out of course

If you aren’t planning on stopping off anywhere on your way back, the best option would be Avanti back down to Euston (FG boxes).
 
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