If the last off-peak service is cancelled

[Fenchurch SP]

I'm mostly thinking about the 0412 departure from Brighton to London which is prone to planned or unplanned cancellation. I believe if it is unplanned I can take the next service with an off-peak ticket even though it is after 0430 but it is nearly an hour later.
Sometimes the service starts from Three Bridges but the replacement bus from Brighton often does not connect with it. In this situation I sometimes drive to Redhill and catch the train from there so would my off-peak ticket from Brighton be valid even if it is now after 0430? I have an Oyster card with a railcard discount so the fare from Redhill at that time would not be much but obviously I would prefer not to pay if I already have a valid ticket. At this time of day the barriers at both ends are open but in the unlikely event of an on train check I would want to be certain I was in the right.

 

[Hadders]

Is your off peak ticket dates the previous day? To be valid on the 04:12 it would need to be.

 

[Haywain]

Is your off peak ticket dates the previous day? To be valid on the 04:12 it would need to be.

Not necessarily. Some have a restriction of "not valid after 04.29 and not before..."

 

[Fenchurch SP]

Is your off peak ticket dates the previous day? To be valid on the 04:12 it would need to be.

It's usually a period return so either day would be fine. Is a day ticket not valid from midnight then?

 

[Hadders]

A day ticket is valid from midnight until 04:29 on day 2 but you have to look at the restriction code as most off peak tickets have restrictions on when they can be used in the morning (and increasingly the evening) peak.

 

[robbeech]

Restriction 4B does indeed start at 0430 so a train before this is considered off peak.

If this is cancelled then you ARE allowed to board the next train despite it being outside of the normally permitted times for off peak on your ticket.

Unfortunately due to the way the railway provides very little training to its staff, and in many cases encourages staff to create negative interactions with passengers if they’re unsure of what to do*, whilst this IS valid it’s unlikely to go smoothly, although I love to be proved wrong.


*if you know it’s valid, let them through.
If you know it’s invalid, do not let them through.
If you’re not sure, treat it as invalid.

 

[Fenchurch SP]

Thanks for the replies, but what I really wanted to know is if its OK to start further along the line after 0430 when the train is cancelled between Brighton and Three Bridges.

 

[hkstudent]

Thanks for the replies, but what I really wanted to know is if its OK to start further along the line after 0430 when the train is cancelled between Brighton and Three Bridges.

There’s no clear rules on that and would be difficult to explain the case as you can drive to Three Bridges to catch instead.