London CIV Tickets - Virgin Railcard Easement?

[142056]

(Feel free to move this to the International thread if needed
I'm looking at going on the Eurostar this summer. The E* tickets for my outbound have come out (around the 27th of June) but still waiting on the return to be released (first weekend in August)
I'll probably be better buying a E* ticket (which seem to be rapidly disappearing) then the Manchester-London connecting part afterwards.
My main question is, would the Virgin Trains Young Person railcard easement apply to London CIV tickets, in that I could buy an off-peak and get on a peak time train?
Thanks

 

[lemonic]

I think the official answer is probably no.
The Virgin easement applies to ticket types SVS/SVR which stand for Off Peak Single and Off Peak Return.

The tickets to London International/London Eurostar CIV are of type EVS - Euro High Saver Single.

I definitely recommend you buy the Eurostar tickets first. You can then buy the tickets from Manchester later if you want and you can still get CIV tickets when purchasing separately.

 

[30907]

I think no, too - Bear in mind though that London CIV has an unusual restriction of arrive EUS after 0940, and return after 0905 or 0910 (can't remember) so is your journey affected?

 

[142056]

Thanks both for the replies.
I hadn't noticed the different restrictions on those tickets, I just assumed it'd be the same as SVR usual gubbins. That makes things a lot easier, leaves me with a lot more options for the Eurostar than otherwise, can make one comfortably leaving after 1130 rather than 1330.
Is there a minimum time recommended between the train arriving at Euston and the Eurostar leaving? Or is is the ~40 mins EUS to STP + 30 for check-in?

 

[Oscar]

The Commercial Information in the eNRT gives as a minimum connection time 38 minutes for Euston to St Pancras and 35 minutes extra for Eurostar connections.

 

[142056]

Thanks Oscar for the clarification on interchange times.

I'm considering the possibility of travelling via Sheffield, possibly if EMT have nice cheap 1st class Advances. However, what would be the situation if I bought a ticket from Manchester to Sheffield, then Sheffield-St Pancras (CIV) and the Man-SHF train was delayed? Would I lose out on the Eurostar and then my Sleeper from Paris-Rome because the first leg wasn't CIV covered?

I know it's a little complex but I'd appreciate the advice if anyone knows, so that I know my options.
Many thanks!

 

[yorkie]

You should buy a ticket to London International and allow the minimum interchange time, to be fully covered.

If you buy a ticket to London Terminals and allow the minimum interchange time, then you would still be OK, based on the experiences of other passengers, though officially it should be to London International.

 

[Oscar]

Thanks Oscar for the clarification on interchange times.

I'm considering the possibility of travelling via Sheffield, possibly if EMT have nice cheap 1st class Advances. However, what would be the situation if I bought a ticket from Manchester to Sheffield, then Sheffield-St Pancras (CIV) and the Man-SHF train was delayed? Would I lose out on the Eurostar and then my Sleeper from Paris-Rome because the first leg wasn't CIV covered?

I know it's a little complex but I'd appreciate the advice if anyone knows, so that I know my options.
Many thanks!

I would be surprised if Eurostar (and potentially Thello's Venice train and then Trenitalia) did not let you travel but I cannot guarantee it. When involved in disruption travelling from Brussels to London in 2010, Eurostar staff did check my onward tickets to ensure that they were from London International / London Eurostar before advising me that I could a later train to York (which was the next day) and eventually paying for a hotel.

 

[30907]

However you get to London, common sense advises giving plenty of leeway before the sleeper departure (especially as the Venice is only 45 mins after the Rome) as, while Railteam will offer an alternative, you'd end up spending the night in Paris and reaching Rome next evening.

 

[Oscar]

However you get to London, common sense advises giving plenty of leeway before the sleeper departure (especially as the Venice is only 45 mins after the Rome) as, while Railteam will offer an alternative, you'd end up spending the night in Paris and reaching Rome next evening.

I would advise a minimum of around 90 minutes. Eurostar is highly unlikely to be more than 60 minutes late unless there is major disruption. Thello and Trenitalia are not part of Railteam but are of course bound by the CIV duty of care.

 

[142056]

I've left 90 minutes from the Eurostar arrival to the Sleeper departure, which is the schedule I saw on seat61. Ideally I'd have liked a bit more time but the E* cheaper fares seemed to be non-existent except for the 1431 onwards.
It's a reasonable amount of time if there are any problems, and thus I have some comeback. Might brush up on some French just in case

I'm not in a rush to get to Italy, I've booked the E* for a Thursday and don't *need* to be in Italy till the Monday when my course starts. I've checked the options and if I have to stay in Paris for the night because of a disaster then I will still make it to Perugia (my final destination) by the next afternoon/evening changing in Milan and Florence rather than going through to Rome.

(The sleeper was the same price to Florence as to Rome so thought hey ho lets go all the way while I can!)

 

[Goatboy]

The Commercial Information in the eNRT gives as a minimum connection time 38 minutes for Euston to St Pancras and 35 minutes extra for Eurostar connections.

But this doesn't seem to be used as Eurostars own website gave me a 58 minute transfer between Virgin Trains and Eurostar when booking a through ticket from Birmingham.

 

[Oscar]

But this doesn't seem to be used as Eurostars own website gave me a 58 minute transfer between Virgin Trains and Eurostar when booking a through ticket from Birmingham.

Precisely. Raileasy don't seem to use it either when selling CIV tickets. Moreover, the eNRT gives 35 minutes extra for Eurostar connections which appears to apply whether travelling to or from Britain.

 

[Paul Kelly]

58 minutes is the exact transfer time according to the information ATOC provide to online journey planners; the sum of:
15 mins minimum connection time at Euston
8 mins transfer time Euston to London International CIV
35 mins minimum connection time at London International CIV

These times from: http://www.brtimes.com/#board?stn=EUS&filt=&show=info

 

[142056]

I have seen shorter times for connections when using the Eurostar system (and Raileasy for looking at buying the CIV tickets). I normally think that the London Interchange times are a bit generous, but I will be leaving more than 58 minutes between my train getting in at Euston and the Eurostar; particularly because it's my first time on the Eurostar and I'm not entirely familiar with the protocol of the Eurostar.