Mid-NFM fare change!

[RJ]

The price of the +Any Permitted First Class Off Peak Day Single (FSX) between Hook/Winchfield and Berwick/Polegate is now £75.90.

Since January, the price in the system was rather more marginal, but the change went through a few days ago. I couldn't possibly think what may have prompted this. I was looking for something else when I found them by chance in the fares database. National Rail Enquires and the other booking engines were all suggesting the FSX as the headline fare when said origins/destinations were input for off peak times.

What's interesting is that Hook/Winchfield to London Terminals is only valid via Woking, but to Polegate, can be used via Basingstoke. By virtue of the SDS fares at least, Basingstoke is an appropriate routeing point for the cluster in question - validating them via Reading and Paddington.

The database is littered with anomalous fares which allow modest savings on journeys. Of course, not to the extreme of this example or the infamous Kent Flyers, but plenty of low key fares which could save commuters a fair amount on journeys to London Terminals and other places.

 

[CyrusWuff]

The price of the +Any Permitted First Class Off Peak Day Single (FSX) between Hook/Winchfield and Berwick/Polegate is now £75.90.

Since January, the price in the system was rather more marginal, but the change went through a few days ago. I couldn't possibly think what may have prompted this. I was looking for something else when I found them by chance in the fares database. National Rail Enquires and the other booking engines were all suggesting the FSX as the headline fare when said origins/destinations were input for off peak times.

It's not that unusual for fares to change between fare setting rounds if an error (obvious or otherwise!) has occurred or, as with Chiltern, if the line's closed for six weeks due to the possibility of 150m of embankment falling on it.

Southern routinely do it when there's Engineering Work on the BML, bringing the fares that they'd like you to pay to use the Southern services branded as Gatwick Express to the "Southern only" rates.

 

[First class]

It's not that unusual for fares to change between fare setting rounds if an error (obvious or otherwise!) has occurred or, as with Chiltern, if the line's closed for six weeks due to the possibility of 150m of embankment falling on it.

Southern routinely do it when there's Engineering Work on the BML, bringing the fares that they'd like you to pay to use the Southern services branded as Gatwick Express to the "Southern only" rates.

The NFM isn't changed, those fares are just temporarily suppressed and new fares added on a temporary fares database known as NFFW, with an expiry date of when the temporary fares should cease. Those fares are normally obvious as they aren't normally derivable.

 

[Merseysider]

The NFM isn't changed, those fares are just temporarily suppressed

I'm not particularly clued up on the technology regarding NFMs, but is it possible to un-suppress fares? And if an Avantix hadn't been linked up since the fare changed would it continue to sell the previous fare?

 

[Jonfun]

If I recall correctly, an Avantix PDA can only go two days (might be slightly longer) without being docked before it locks itself out but most are docked at the end of each shift. The chance of finding one which hadn't been docked is minimal.