Inverness - Glasgow any permitted

[cf111]

I can use this via Aberdeen, can't I? Having a bit of a moment as I've never tried before!

 

[me123]

Inverness to Glasgow is, according to the Routeing Guide, only valid on routes marked in map GI. This only allows the direct route via Stirling, Perth and Aviemore (±Falkirk). So no, you cannot go via Aberdeen. And a quick check on various ticketing websites confirms that it's not a valid route.

HOWEVER, there is one train a week that does take this route. The 15:29 Sundays Only Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street does run via Aberdeen for some reason, and whilst it would be silly to do so (as the 16:24 direct trains leaves later and gets in earlier), you can travel on this train if you wanted to (as it is a direct train from Inverness to Glasgow), although you wouldn't be allowed to break your journey when doing so.

You can go from Inverness to Edinburgh via Aberdeen (Map IE), but not Inverness to Glasgow I'm afraid.

 

[yorkie]

I wonder what Scotrail/ATOC think the point of "Any Permitted" as apposed to "via Aviemore" is then?

Anyone want to check if it used to be permitted? It wouldn't surprise me if it was removed 'in error'; the DfT don't seem to bother checking for errors (especially not if the errors result in a loss of passenger rights/flexibility)

cf111 - I suggest you email Scotrail for an official response.

 

[cf111]

Thanks for the clarification, I'm glad I asked! I'm going tomorrow so I doubt I'll get an answer from ScotRail in time. I was asking as I'm in Elgin in the morning and the train times work out a wee bit better for me in terms of getting more work done there and getting to Glasgow for a reasonable time via Aberdeen.

Edit: I've dropped them an email out of curiosity and will update with their reply some time in October .

 

[sheff1]

I wonder what Scotrail/ATOC think the point of "Any Permitted" as apposed to "via Aviemore" is then?

Anyone want to check if it used to be permitted?

Yes, it used to be permitted (Map LM in the original Routeing Guide) which, presumably, is why there is an Any Permitted fare.

 

[John @ home]

Taking Standard Off-Peak Returns as an example, the fact that Inverness - Glasgow route Any Permitted costs £84.30 while Inverness - Glasgow route via Aviemore costs £55.70 does indicate that the Any Permitted ticket is intended to be valid by some route other than Aviemore.

 

[me123]

Thanks for the clarification, I'm glad I asked! I'm going tomorrow so I doubt I'll get an answer from ScotRail in time. I was asking as I'm in Elgin in the morning and the train times work out a wee bit better for me in terms of getting more work done there and getting to Glasgow for a reasonable time via Aberdeen.

Of course, Elgin to Glasgow is perfectly valid via Aberdeen and Inverness. So your best bet would be an Inverness to Elgin (£12.20) day return* followed by an Elgin to Glasgow return (£70.30) at £82.50 total. This is cheaper than the Anytime Return on the (not permitted) Any Permitted route, which comes in at £84.30. You can return to Inverness via Aviemore using the Elgin ticket (which is valid on both routes) and simply not go back to Elgin if you don't need to. This works out cheaper, and would be perfectly acceptable.

So there actually is no need for the Inverness to Glasgow Any permitted fare, as you're better off splitting. Even though it's not going to be immediately clear to your average passenger.

*Bizarrely the Inverness to Glasgow Any Permitted return ticket is £84.40, which is cheaper than the single (£87.70)... As is the Inverness to Elgin ticket by 10p I don't remember the fares being that mad when I lived up that way a few years ago...

 

[najaB]

Scotrail twitter are perplexed and suggested speaking to Telesales to find out why.

 

[cf111]

Scotrail twitter are perplexed and suggested speaking to Telesales to find out why.

Thanks for contacting them on Twitter, I don't use it as to be honest it quite confuses me

My train (1447 Inverness - Glasgow Central) ended up being a 158 instead of the usual 170 and ended up breaking down at Stirling (brakes wouldn't release). The packed Alloa originating 156 for the last leg of the journey wasn't too pleasant but we were just over half an hour late . We'll see if the delay repay arrives before the ticketing answer!

 

[47271]

Edit: I've dropped them an email out of curiosity and will update with their reply some time in October .

To be fair, I emailed them with a complicated ticket price query a few weeks ago and expected either nothing, or some half baked response with little attention paid to my question.

I didn't get the answer I was looking for - I kind of knew that this would be the case anyway - but the response was properly written, thorough, courteous and arrived within three or four days.

I was particularly pleasantly surprised by this because I was very unimpressed by their handling of a couple of unconnected cases shortly after Abellio took over.

 

[cf111]

To be fair, I emailed them with a complicated ticket price query a few weeks ago and expected either nothing, or some half baked response with little attention paid to my question.

I didn't get the answer I was looking for - I kind of knew that this would be the case anyway - but the response was properly written, thorough, courteous and arrived within three or four days.

I was particularly pleasantly surprised by this because I was very unimpressed by their handling of a couple of unconnected cases shortly after Abellio took over.

Indeed I shouldn't have prejudged based on my rather slow (if very pleasant otherwise) experiences with Scotrail customer services under First. I got a reply today but it doesn't actually answer my question re. travelling via Aberdeen rather than via Aviemore instead telling me I can break my journey at intermediate stations on route. I've asked for some clarification so hopefully they will be as speedy!

 

[cf111]

Customer relations do seem to think it's valid. I've attached the reply to me complete with a very commendable mention of the delay repay scheme.

 

[najaB]

Customer relations do seem to think it's valid. I've attached the reply to me complete with a very commendable mention of the delay repay scheme.

Good that they've replied, though I'm not sure I want to get "threw" the barrier, it could be painful!

 

[sheff1]

What ticket machine are they expecting you to go "threw" at Elgin ?