London to Oxford AND Banbury

[suzanneparis]

Can someone please advise on break of journey/getting off early.

On Wednesday I want to travel from London Kew Bridge to Oxford, but return the same day from Banbury to London.

(I am travelling with a friend by car from Oxford to Banbury).

Can anyone please tell me the cheapest way of doing this? And for example if I bought an off peak return to Banbury could I get off at Oxford on my outward journey?

Thanks for any help.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Can someone please advise on break of journey/getting off early.

On Wednesday I want to travel from London Kew Bridge to Oxford, but return to London the same day from Banbury. (I am travelling with a friend by car from Oxford to Banbury).

Can anyone please tell me the cheapest way of doing this? And for example if I bought an off peak return to Banbury could I get off at Oxford on my outward journey?

Thanks for any help.

Unfortunately tickets in that area tend to be restricted to travelling one way or the other; other than some kind of ranger I don't think there is one ticket that allows travel on both the Chiltern and GWR routes to Oxford, and then up to Banbury.

If you can commit to just using GWR, a (Super) Off-Peak Return to Banbury is good value for money. Alternatively if you want the choice, you would have to split at Oxford and potentially get a single to there and a single from Banbury.

Not very flexible or customer friendly I'm afraid.

 

[A Challenge]

Surely London to Banbury is valid Paddington - Oxford - Banbury - Marylebone?

 

[yorkie]

Surely London to Banbury is valid Paddington - Oxford - Banbury - Marylebone?

Yes it is

Kew Bridge to Banbury Super Off Peak Return (OPR) routed "+ Any Permitted" is £34.50, if the journey can be made at times that aren't barred by that fare.

OUTWARD TRAVEL

Not valid on trains timed to
depart London Marylebone or
London Paddington after 06:30
and before 08:30, or after
16:00 and before 19:00.

Not valid on trains timed to
depart Reading after 04:29 and
before 09:30, or after 16:30
and before 19:00.

There is no afternoon/evening restriction coming back from Banbury.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks both but neither of you told me if I can get off at Oxford on the outward journey if I buy a return to Banbury? Thanks

In other words can I
1 Travel from London (either paddington or marylebone) to Oxford. Get off at Oxford.
2 Travel from Banbury to London (either paddington or marylebone)

All on an off peak return London to Banbury?

Thanks

 

[yorkie]

The rule is that you can break your journey or start/finish short, unless it is made clear when you purchase the ticket that you can't.

With the exception of Advance fares, this is very rarely the case and there is no such rule preventing you finishing your outward journey short at Oxford.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks. So my understanding of what has been said is that the super off peak return from Kew Bridge to Banbury would allow me to stop short at Oxford on the way out. And to travel either on Chiltern or GWR for both the outward and return journeys?? Is that correct.

Many thanks

 

[cactustwirly]

Thanks. So my understanding of what has been said is that the super off peak return to Banbury from Kew Bridge would allow me to stop short at Oxford on the way out. And to travel either on Chiltern or GWR for both the outward and return journeys?? Is that correct.

Many thanks

You can break your journey at Oxford, however you must travel via Reading with GWR on this leg.
You can return from Banbury by either Chiltern or GWR.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Thanks both but neither of you told me if I can get off at Oxford on the outward journey if I buy a return to Banbury? Thanks

In other words can I
1 Travel from London (either paddington or marylebone) to Oxford. Get off at Oxford.
2 Travel from Banbury to London (either paddington or marylebone)

All on an off peak return London to Banbury?

Thanks

To travel to or from Oxford from Marylebone (via Bicester Village) the most appropriate ticket would probably be a Kew Bridge to Tackley route "Any Permitted". An ordinary ticket to Banbury costs the same as one to Tackley, however only the one to Tackley is valid to travel to Oxford from Marylebone (via Bicester Village). The one to Banbury is not.

The ticket to Tackley is valid to travel via Banbury from either Paddington or Marylebone, and to break your journey at Oxford and subsequently Banbury.

 

[A Challenge]

Can you go via Banbury (as opposed to Kings Sutton)?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Can you go via Banbury (as opposed to Kings Sutton)?

On a ticket to Tackley? Yes, as it passes the fares check for Banbury as well as Oxford Routeing Points. There is an argument to say that, technically speaking, you would need to call at Tackley when going from Oxford to Banbury, but I'm not sure that would be enforceable (as you would keep the ticket to Tackley when exiting at Oxford). There is no way it could be known that you had already finished using the outward portion, so it would have to be accepted for travel between Oxford and Banbury non-stop (thereupon remaining valid to double back to Tackley).

 

[A Challenge]

They aren't going by train from Oxford to Banbury anyway are they?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

They aren't going by train from Oxford to Banbury anyway are they?

Sorry, misread that. Yes, so won't be a problem anyway.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks everyone.

The 09.20 from Kew Bridge to Tackley sends me via Reading. Must I take that route for that ticket (It's an anytime day return for £33.80) or can I go from Paddington or Marylebone?

Does the Tackley ticket allow me to come back from Banbury??? I can't see why it would. Because Tackley is miles south of Banbury and close to Oxford. I wonder if the gate staff at Banbury would refuse entry on the way back to London. In other words with the tackly ticket I am not going to tackley and not returning from tackley. i am going to oxford and returning from banbury. I should emphasise that it's a day return ticket.

Thanks

 

[yorkie]

Thanks everyone.

The 09.20 from Kew Bridge to Tackley sends me via Reading. Must I take that route for that ticket (It's an anytime day return for £33.80) or can I go from Paddington or Marylebone?

The fastest route is:

Kew Bridge 0920
Feltham 0936

Feltham 0946
Reading 1045

Reading 1053
Oxford 1122​

There is no need to travel into London, but if you do, the official itinerary would be:

Kew Bridge 0926
London Waterloo 0958

London Paddington 1050
Oxford 1151​

As Waterloo - Paddington is direct via Bakerloo line, you might make the 1022 from Paddington, which gets you in at Oxford at 1122, or you could get the 1033 to Reading and change again there.

Does the Tackley ticket allow me to come back from Banbury???

No.

Kew Bridge to Banbury Super Off Peak Return (OPR) routed "+ Any Permitted" is £34.50 (less any Railcard discount if applicable) and this fare best suits your needs.

 

[Paul Kelly]

The ticket to Tackley is valid to travel via Banbury from either Paddington or Marylebone, and to break your journey at Oxford and subsequently Banbury.

Not true; negative easement 52 applies:

Journeys from stations south of Kings Sutton may not go via Banbury to London nor via Banbury and London to stations beyond London. This prohibition applies in both directions.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks.

Now I am confused.

As per my initial enquiry I want to go from Kew Bridge to Oxford. Then return from Banbury to Kew Bridge.
So, it seems the Tackley ticket would not work as I understand it??

Hence I should buy a ticket from KB to Banbury return. And get off the train early at Oxford on the way there. Is that correct??

Many thanks again all of you

 

[yorkie]

Hence I should buy a ticket from KB to Banbury return. And get off the train early at Oxford on the way there. Is that correct??

Many thanks again all of you

Yes that's right. Kew Bridge to Banbury Super Off Peak Return (OPR) routed "+ Any Permitted" is the fare you need.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Not true; negative easement 52 applies:

Having had a look at it a bit more, I don't think there is one through fare that officially speaking permits travel to Oxford via either Marylebone or Paddington on the outbound leg, and return travel from Banbury via either Marylebone or Paddington.

You would need to have a combination of tickets to do this, unless you could eschew the requirement to be able to travel from Marylebone to Oxford. It is the leg from Marylebone to Oxford that is problematic, as I can't see any fares that are both valid on that, as well as from Banbury to London. Or am I missing something obvious?

To the OP: a ticket to Banbury is undoubtedly the simplest option - however officially speaking travel from Marylebone to Oxford on a ticket to Banbury is not permitted. I don't know whether it would be accepted in practice.

 

[A Challenge]

From London Terminals it is slower via Ascot, but is that the case with Kew Bridge taking into account cross-London?

 

[Mojo]

Having had a look at it a bit more, I don't think there is one through fare that officially speaking permits travel to Oxford via either Marylebone or Paddington on the outbound leg, and return travel from Banbury via either Marylebone or Paddington.

The OP doesnt seem to have expressed a particular preference to go from Marylebone, so I don’t think this is particularly helping them and is just confusing them. The main route from London to Oxford is GWR from Padd.

From London Terminals it is slower via Ascot, but is that the case with Kew Bridge taking into account cross-London?

No, @yorkie posted an itinerary above and it is faster to catch the South Western service to Reading avoiding London.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

The OP doesnt seem to have expressed a particular preference to go from Marylebone, so I don’t think this is particularly helping them and is just confusing them. The main route from London to Oxford is GWR from Padd.

The OP did say:

Must I take that route for that ticket (It's an anytime day return for £33.80) or can I go from Paddington or Marylebone?

 

[CyrusWuff]

To the OP: a ticket to Banbury is undoubtedly the simplest option - however officially speaking travel from Marylebone to Oxford on a ticket to Banbury is not permitted. I don't know whether it would be accepted in practice.

Whilst it may not be a mapped route or a direct train, at 89¼ miles (according to the eNRT), Marylebone - Oxford - Banbury is exactly 3 miles further than Paddington - Oxford - Banbury, so I would argue that such a ticket should be accepted from Marylebone on that basis.

 

[yorkie]

From London Terminals it is slower via Ascot, but is that the case with Kew Bridge taking into account cross-London?

Did you see my post #15 above?

Whilst it may not be a mapped route or a direct train, at 89¼ miles (according to the eNRT), Marylebone - Oxford - Banbury is exactly 3 miles further than Paddington - Oxford - Banbury, so I would argue that such a ticket should be accepted from Marylebone on that basis.

This is a pragmatic answer however booking engines are not able to offer this itinerary as the mileage for PAD - BAN shown as 67.18 miles, and PAD - OXF - BAN is coming up as nearly 20 miles longer than this.

The mileage for just London <> Oxford isn't taken into consideration when calculating the shortest route for London <> Banbury.

 

[JB_B]

...
Firstly, there is an error in the mileage data PAD - BAN is coming up as 67.18 miles, which is clearly incorrect.

That figure looks right to me ( for the direct route via Bicester North.)

For PAD-BAN via BIT I'm getting 87.06 compared to 84.04 for PAD-BAN via RDG

 

[yorkie]

That figure looks right to me ( for the direct route via Bicester North.)

For PAD-BAN via BIT I'm getting 87.06 compared to 84.04 for PAD-BAN via RDG

Sorry my mistake; I was looking at the mileage of the direct service from Paddington to High Wycombe, thence to Banbury, which is showing as 85.83 miles, but that is the error, presumably because there is no fixed link for the direct line (which is soon to be discontinued anyway).

I'm sure that was in the data until recently, so that must be a recent change in preparation for its withdrawal.

Anyway the shortest route for London to Bicester is shown as nearly 20 miles shorter than either of the routes via Oxford, so the shortest route calculation isn't relevant to any journey via Oxford.

 

[suzanneparis]

Thanks everyone. Very kind of you all and much more complicated than I could possibly have imagined!

 

[yorkie]

Thanks everyone. Very kind of you all and much more complicated than I could possibly have imagined!

Trying to find a return fare that is valid for two different journeys (Kew Bridge - Oxford plus Banbury to London) can be a challenge, because of the need to find a fare that is valid for both journeys via the relevant routes, as required.

Of course the simplest thing to do would be to purchase a Kew Bridge - Oxford single (£27.80) and a Banbury - London single (£30.40), but simplicity comes at a greater price.

 

[A Challenge]

The good thing about this is it isn't returning from a station on a completely different line! Kew Bridge to Banbury OFF PEAK route NOT VIA LONDON and excess the return half to +ANY PERMITTED (as I don't think you can excess the OFF PEAK DAY R to that can you?), or if don't want to have to excess it just get one on route +ANY PERMITTED.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

The good thing about this is it isn't returning from a station on a completely different line! Kew Bridge to Banbury OFF PEAK route NOT VIA LONDON and excess the return half to +ANY PERMITTED (as I don't think you can excess the OFF PEAK DAY R to that can you?), or if don't want to have to excess it just get one on route +ANY PERMITTED.

I'm not sure whether or not you can do a change-of-route excess to a ticket type that has fundamentally different conditions. I suspect it would probably be more problematic to try and excess a period return ticket to a day return ticket, especially if you were not travelling on the first day of validity.