Great Escape back on

[The Colonel]

Looks like this is back on again:-
http://www.londonmidland.com/tickets-and-fares/great-escape/
Price has gone up 50% though, but you can get a railcard discount.
The Colonel

 

[Waddon]

Interesting... the railcard discount on that link suggests you can buy with a Network Card, but as a Network card is only valid as far as Northampton, what happens if you pass beyond Northampton, as your unlimited ticket would allow you to? Do you have to pay a supplement back to full voucher value, or would you simply not have a valid ticket?

 

[AlterEgo]

Interesting... the railcard discount on that link suggests you can buy with a Network Card, but as a Network card is only valid as far as Northampton, what happens if you pass beyond Northampton, as your unlimited ticket would allow you to? Do you have to pay a supplement back to full voucher value, or would you simply not have a valid ticket?

Good question, and well spotted!

I will try and get an answer from them today.

 

[First class]

As far as we have been advised, the NSE railcard discounted rover is valid for the entire network, on LM only.

 

[Wolfie]

As far as we have been advised, the NSE railcard discounted rover is valid for the entire network, on LM only.

Does that apply to Gold Cards as well?

 

[Carefree]

From T&Cs:

11. Normal Railcard time restrictions and minimum fares do not apply for Great Escape tickets bought with a Railcard.

I'd presume that also extends to geographical validity, but would welcome confirmation from LM.

 

[SS4]

Indeed it is, tickets went on sale yesterday and I got mine this morning with Y-P discount saving me 10p from last time

 

[AlterEgo]

From T&Cs:

11. Normal Railcard time restrictions and minimum fares do not apply for Great Escape tickets bought with a Railcard.

I'd presume that also extends to geographical validity, but would welcome confirmation from LM.

I've just had confirmation back from LM that you can use the Network Railcard anywhere on their network with the Great Escape rover.

 

[Ivo]

Indeed it is, tickets went on sale yesterday and I got mine this morning with Y-P discount saving me 10p from last time

So much money

You could buy a Flump with the change!

On a serious note, I can't see anything to suggest that the 16-25 Railcard is not valid for First Class as would usually be the case. Can anyone confirm this, and if so would the discount apply to only the original £15 or to the full £25?

 

[Brucey]

I've contacted LM on Twitter regarding the 16-25 railcard discount in first. I'd like to know this myself.

Is it worth travelling in First Class on London Midland? I'll probably be using mine on a Saturday, so expect standard to be busy in places. Is it sensible to go first?

 

[AlterEgo]

I've contacted LM on Twitter regarding the 16-25 railcard discount in first. I'd like to know this myself.

Is it worth travelling in First Class on London Midland? I'll probably be using mine on a Saturday, so expect standard to be busy in places. Is it sensible to go first?

Depends where you're going. Only Class 321 and 350 trains actually have first class so you need to stick to the WCML routes to have any benefit. The seats are alright, nothing special, but there are power points at your seat.

 

[Brucey]

Depends where you're going. Only Class 321 and 350 trains actually have first class so you need to stick to the WCML routes to have any benefit. The seats are alright, nothing special, but there are power points at your seat.

Hmm, my plans are only being drafted at the moment. I will be parking and Bedford, then onto Bletchley to somewhere north (possibly Crewe, maybe breaking on the way), then down to Birmingham, Coventry and into London. Then back out of London to Bletchley, then onto Bedford.

There is quite a bit of 350 in there, so I may be tempted to go First Class if this plan does go ahead...

 

[Polarbear]

1st class is worth it if you're going on one of the first services of the day (when off peak starts).

The last time this was on, I went from Crewe to London on the 08:33 on a weekday & the 1st was half full upon leaving Crewe. By Stafford, the train was full & it was rammed to the gunnels by Northampton. Having a seat in 1st helped matters a lot in my opinion!

You don't get any freebies in 1st, just a bit more room & a socket to plug assorted gizmos into.

 

[First class]

VT have reminded LM that they will not honour these tickets, even in the event of disruption. There must be quite a bit of confusion/misuse of these tickets seeing as VT make their own large Great Escape posters at stations specifically informing people they aren't valid.

For LM the product is good because:

1) Primarily, access to your data.
2) Enough people travel only as a result of this promotion that it covers the loss of the more expensive fares people that would have paid.
3) VT & Chiltern don't get any revenue

As for 1st Class, unofficially, if the trains are as busy as last time, it will most likely be declassified.

 

[BlythPower]

Previously, on Mon to Fri, it's been possible to get a pre-9:30 train from Birmingham and Coventry down to London. I've not seen any mention of this on the LM website this time. There's only the usual Trent Valley one can be got pre-9:30. Can anyone confirm if West Midlanders have to wait until 9:30 to cross the county line London bound or might it be possible to sneak out earlier?

 

[First class]

Previously, on Mon to Fri, it's been possible to get a pre-9:30 train from Birmingham and Coventry down to London. I've not seen any mention of this on the LM website this time. There's only the usual Trent Valley one can be got pre-9:30. Can anyone confirm if West Midlanders have to wait until 9:30 to cross the county line London bound or might it be possible to sneak out earlier?

You can travel from Birmingham to Coventry without time restriction. From Coventry, you would be subject to time restrictions.

You could get the 1Y72 0913 BHM-EUS service. Valid to Coventry without time restriction. After Coventry, it is after 09:30 so valid anyway.

 

[BlythPower]

On previous GEs it's been possible to get the 08:21 from Coventry (I can't recall what time that one started from Brum). That allowed a lot more time in London. :cry:

 

[tgsh2011]

The T&C's state that the usual Railcard restrictions DO NOT apply. Therefore I read that as confirming 16-25 Railcard is valid for the purpose of the GE. This would be in keeping with the fact a 16-25 Railcard is normally valid on TOC specific ADVANCE tickets.

As for price, it is £16.50 with the Railcard, as clearly stated on the LM website.

 

[Lrd]

As for price, it is £16.50 with the Railcard, as clearly stated on the LM website.

For first class it is. Only £9.90 for a standard Great Escape with railcard.

 

[SS4]

Condition 11 also strongly implies that 16-25 holders can use it before 10am

 

[north]

As far as we have been advised, the NSE railcard discounted rover is valid for the entire network, on LM only.

Having bagged a couple for one of the weekends I was wondering if the above will be written into the T&Cs on the website or as something printable to take along when collecting tickets?

The pessimist in me anticipates problems, particularly as a friend will be collecting his (with Network Railcard) from Harrow and Wealdstone which is not managed by LM.

I also wonder if there will be a problem getting onto the platforms at stations like Birmingham New Street. I'm hoping, however, that the LM guards would be well informed...

 

[AlterEgo]

I also wonder if there will be a problem getting onto the platforms at stations like Birmingham New Street. I'm hoping, however, that the LM guards would be well informed...

I'd hope not, as it's London Midland who provide the gateline staff there!

 

[north]

I'd hope not, as it's London Midland who provide the gateline staff there!

Fair enough I just picked a large station at random - not very familiar with the area.

 

[First class]

Out of interest, do LO ticket offices still use the TfL orange RSP stock? You'd have a NSE discounted- LM Only 1 day Ranger, printed on TfL stock, valid up to Liverpool

Staff at Birmingham will not have a problem recognizing these products. All the front line staff moan enough about the offer!

 

[SS4]

Out of interest, do LO ticket offices still use the TfL orange RSP stock? You'd have a NSE discounted- LM Only 1 day Ranger, printed on TfL stock, valid up to Liverpool

Staff at Birmingham will not have a problem recognizing these products. All the front line staff moan enough about the offer!

Staff at Birmingham have accepted my nbus ticket before, for the most part they don't look very closely

 

[First class]

Staff at Birmingham have accepted my nbus ticket before, for the most part they don't look very closely

And staff wonder why ATGs reduce the amount of them.

BHM will be gated as part of the modernization scheme. Of course, hardcore evaders will always get through regardless. RPIs are deployed to various station areas randomly to find them.

 

[Deerfold]

Is there any chance of any gates being programmed to actually take these tickets?

I've taken advantage of this offer twice before (and these are the only times I've travelled with London Midland outside of London in the last couple of years) but it was annoying to have to go through manual gates all the time (especially with those staff who inisted you tried the ticket in front of them before letting you through the manual gate. If all gates can't be so programmed perhaps places such as Snow Hill could? The only gates I found that worked were at Euston.

 

[First class]

Is there any chance of any gates being programmed to actually take these tickets?

I've taken advantage of this offer twice before (and these are the only times I've travelled with London Midland outside of London in the last couple of years) but it was annoying to have to go through manual gates all the time (especially with those staff who inisted you tried the ticket in front of them before letting you through the manual gate. If all gates can't be so programmed perhaps places such as Snow Hill could? The only gates I found that worked were at Euston.

Some TOCs program the gates in-house, but LM uses external contractors to do this. Unfortunately the cost is prohibitive (many £000s) to make changes to "base" data. Base data is often overhauled every so often.

 

[yorkie]

I also wonder if there will be a problem getting onto the platforms at stations like Birmingham New Street. I'm hoping, however, that the LM guards would be well informed...

Someone tested them with a Bite Card. They were not challenged!

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Someone tested them with a Bite Card. They were not challenged!

I know person who got through with a Iff Card...and another with a ODT Euston - Z1-6