High price tickets from Strood

[deckertim]

Can anyone explain why a lot of train tickets from Strood seem to be very expensive.
E.g
An anytime single from Strood to Radlett costs £30.40. But if I buy a ticket to St Pancras this costs £16.20 and a ticket from London to Radlett costs £8.50. This is a saving of 5.70.

It is also possible for me to get a single from Strood to London (non HS1) for £11.80 then buy and HS Upgrade for £2.70 which saves me a further £1.70 on this part of the ticket.

Is there an obligation on the train company to offer me the lowest possible fare. I have had to do my own digging around to find these reductions.

 

[OwlMan]

It is also possible for me to get a single from Strood to London (non HS1) for £11.80 then buy and HS Upgrade for £2.70 which saves me a further £1.70 on this part of the ticket............................

No the £11-80 ticket is only valid via Dartford and is therefore not valid via Ebbsfleet as that would involve doubling back. The "Not HS1" single is 13.50 which with the £2-70 suplement comes to £16-20.

Peter

 

[CompactDstrxion]

Is there an obligation on the train company to offer me the lowest possible fare. I have had to do my own digging around to find these reductions.

The lowest possible point-to-point fare for your journey, yes. They don't have to investigate splits.

 

[MikeWh]

No the £11-80 ticket is only valid via Dartford and is therefore not valid via Ebbsfleet as that would involve doubling back. The "Not HS1" single is 13.50 which with the £2-70 suplement comes to £16-20.

Peter

I'm not really sure I understand this post. How would travelling via Ebbsfleet involve doubling back? Strood is beyond Gravesend when coming from Dartford. Trains from Strood all travel to Gravesend and then either carry on up the classic line to Dartford or branch off to Ebbsfleet and HS1.

 

[OwlMan]

A strood to London ticket has three routes: Via Dartford Not HS1 (SDS £11-80), Not HS1 (SDS £13-50) and via HS1 (SDS £16-20)
.
The route Dartford ticket (the price that the OP quoted) is only valid via Dartford. Having travelled from Strood to Dartford you can no longer get to HS1 at Ebbsfleet without doubling back , therefore a simple HS1 supplement is not available (you can of course excess the route but that costs more than the £2-70 supplement).

Peter

 

[MikeWh]

A strood to London ticket has three routes: Via Dartford Not HS1 (SDS £11-80), Not HS1 (SDS £13-50) and via HS1 (SDS £16-20)
.
The route Dartford ticket (the price that the OP quoted) is only valid via Dartford. Having travelled from Strood to Dartford you can no longer get to HS1 at Ebbsfleet without doubling back , therefore a simple HS1 supplement is not available (you can of course excess the route but that costs more than the £2-70 supplement).

Peter

OK, I get that so far. Does the Not HS1 fare permit doubling back to Rochester to take the mainline via Bromley? If not, I can't quite see the difference between the via Dartford Not HS1 and just Not HS1 fares as there is no other way of getting to London direct from Strood without either using HS1 or starting the wrong way.

 

[OwlMan]

As Strood is a member of Chatham Routeing Group the not HS1 ticket is valid via Rochester and then to London Terminals via Bromley (You are not doubling back as you do not pass through any station more than once.

Peter

 

[4SRKT]

From Strood (or anywhere else in the South East) the cheapest open ticket to anywhere beyond a certain distance is an open single to either Belfast or Dublin. E.g. the Belfast single is £46, which can get you to Glasgow for said price, not bothering with the boat etc. I defy anyone to get from Strood to Glasgow on an open ticket for less than £46 (priv holders please p*ss off! ).

 

[dstrat]

Very nice
________
Honda RC160

 

[4SRKT]

Well, I'm part of that very embittered species, the ex-priv holder. Had them until I left full time education through my dad working for the BRB. That last two weeks between my final exams at university in 1995 and starting work with TNT were the most frenzied and hectic period of rail travel I've ever had