Recently I was on a Hope Valley stopper and someone boarded at Chinley and asked for a day return ticket to Manchester. Completely unprompted, the guard said he would issue two tickets as that would be cheaper. He then issued a return Chinley to Strines followed by one from Strines to Manchester.
The passenger was confused and asked what was happening. The guard explained that 2 tickets cost less than one and they should always ask for this when travelling ...
... but the train we were on did not stop at Strines so the ticket was not actually valid*. More worryingly, the guard did not explain that the tickets would only be valid for the return journey if the train stopped at Strines - most don't; the last one which does is the 1749; and some (e.g. the 1743 & 2228) don't even pass through Strines.
I suppose the fact that the tickets were issued on a train that didn't stop would assist if the passenger was challenged on the return (most likely on one of the EMT services) but, although he was obviously trying to be helpful, it seems wrong that the guard could potentially cause the passenger to travel illegally later in the day by issuing something the passenger hadn't asked for and quite clearly did not understand.
* I understand that, by selling it, the guard had effecticely given authority to travel on that train
The passenger was confused and asked what was happening. The guard explained that 2 tickets cost less than one and they should always ask for this when travelling ...
... but the train we were on did not stop at Strines so the ticket was not actually valid*. More worryingly, the guard did not explain that the tickets would only be valid for the return journey if the train stopped at Strines - most don't; the last one which does is the 1749; and some (e.g. the 1743 & 2228) don't even pass through Strines.
I suppose the fact that the tickets were issued on a train that didn't stop would assist if the passenger was challenged on the return (most likely on one of the EMT services) but, although he was obviously trying to be helpful, it seems wrong that the guard could potentially cause the passenger to travel illegally later in the day by issuing something the passenger hadn't asked for and quite clearly did not understand.
* I understand that, by selling it, the guard had effecticely given authority to travel on that train