National Routeing Guide update

[infobleep]

Route changes (added sections in red, removed ones in green):​

​

RAILAIR GUILDFRD (00959) (59 records)​

must go via Guildford (GLD)​

must not go via Woking (WOK), Feltham (FEL) or Reading (RDG).​

The Railair buses from Guildford stop near Woking station at the moment. I don't know if there's a way to get a rail+bus itinerary, so I don't know what effect this change has.

I has been wondering about whether the rail air service from Guildford was connected with rail tickets as you never see it listed in the journey planner, unlike the Woking one.

 

[FenMan]

The rail air service from Guildford is connected with rail tickets, but you must search for singles to Heathrow Bus on NRE.
In the extremely unlikely event that I will travel from Blackwater to Heathrow via Guildford tomorrow the Peak Single is £18.60 and the Off Peak Single is £16.90.

 

[infobleep]

The rail air service from Guildford is connected with rail tickets, but you must search for singles to Heathrow Bus on NRE.
In the extremely unlikely event that I will travel from Blackwater to Heathrow via Guildford tomorrow the Peak Single is £18.60 and the Off Peak Single is £16.90.

Fair enough. However when I go to Woking, on the departure screens are the railair coaches to Haeathow but when I'm passing through Guildford, I don't notice them on the departure screens. Hence I wondered if they weren't connected, like they are in Woking, as if they were they would be on the departure broads.

 

[kieron]

Some more changes to the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 22 Jan 2021 (325) to 16 Feb 2021 (326).

Permitted Route changes:
Meadowhall (MHS) to Pontefract Group (G22) gain DO lose BB+HD​

No effect.

Pontefract Group (G22) to Sheffield (SHF) gain DO
Pontefract Group (G22) to Swinton (South Yorkshire) (SWN) gain DO​

These journeys are now valid on routes which go through Doncaster but do not go through Wakefield.

Station Association changes:
Bow Street (BOW) is now associated with Machynlleth Group (G41).

Non-NFM64 station changes:
Bow Street (BOW) now uses NFM64 fares for Borth (BRH) (15/02/2021-)

Station link changes:
Aberystwyth (AYW) to Borth (BRH) no longer has a distance of 8.19.
Aberystwyth (AYW) to Bow Street (BOW) now has a distance of 4.30.
Borth (BRH) to Bow Street (BOW) now has a distance of 4.03.​

Bow Street has been added to various tables. The station opened on Sunday.

And yes, the distance between Aberystwyth and Borth in this file has increased.

Burton-On-Trent (BUT) to Lichfield Trent Valley (LTV) now has a distance of 10.79.
Doncaster (DON) to Pontefract Monkhill (PFM) now has a distance of 16.68.
Rotherham Central (RMC) to Swinton (South Yorkshire) (SWN) has changed from 4.87 to 4.61.​

Two links have been added to the data online planners use, although neither has seen a passenger train for a while. There's no reference to these figures in the routeing guide, so I don't know how much effect these changes have.

Some easements were added to the routeing guide this afternoon.

Changes from 16 Feb 2021 (326) to 23 Feb 2021 (327).

Easement changes:

Added:

700931 (Local) During engineering work closures on 26-28 February 2021, journeys from Knebworth, Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Potters Bar, to central London and beyond, may travel via rail replacement bus services to St Albans City and Thameslink train services via West Hampstead. This local easement applies in both directions.​

The line is closed between London Kings Cross and New Barnet, or Gordon Hill on the Hertford loop. There are rail replacement buses to most of the affected stations, as well as extra ticket acceptance on London Underground, but this is the only one with an easement.

700932 (Local) Customers travelling from Pewsey to Bedwyn, Hungerford and Kintbury may travel via Newbury and doubleback to their destination station. This Local easement will overcome fares checking that shows that fares to Newbury from Pewsey are higher than the fares to the required destination. This easement will apply in both directions.​

Train between Pewsey and the other stations listed are very infrequent - it varies, but it's one each way today, with the westbound train only stopping at Hungerford. Trains which call at Pewsey and Newbury aren't especially frequent, but they're common enough for it to usually be the next fast route from Pewsey to any of the other stations listed.

Fare checking isn't the problem this easement addresses; it's that doubling back through Newbury is far from being the shortest route.

 

[kieron]

Some more changes to the routeing guide were published on Friday.

Changes from 23 Feb 2021 (327) to 12 Mar 2021 (328).

Easement changes:

Added:
700933 (Fare route) Due to late notice engineering works on the line between Aylesbury and London Marylebone, (for part of the day) on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March 2021, rail replacement bus services will operate to West Ruislip. Tickets priced on (00264) CHALFONT & LATIMER will be valid for travel on these services. This fare route easement applies in both directions​

Sorry, that's this weekend.

Buses are going between Great Missenden and West Ruislip for a time this evening, so this easement lets you catch those buses with a "Chalfont & Latimer" ticket.

Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):

700931 (Local) During engineering work closures on 26-28 February 2021 24 and 25 April 2021, journeys from Knebworth, Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Potters Bar, to central London and beyond, may travel via rail replacement bus services to St Albans City and Thameslink train services via West Hampstead. This local easement applies in both directions.​

The dates have changed to accommodate another set of engineering works south of Potters Bar and Hertford North.

700932 (Local) Customers travelling from Pewsey to Bedwyn, Hungerford and Kintbury may travel via Newbury and doubleback to their destination station. This Local easement will overcome local fares checking that shows that fares to Newbury from Pewsey are higher than the fares to the required destination. And therefore preventing a doubleback journey leg from Newbury. This easement will apply in both directions.​

I think this is just clarification of some sort.

 

[KeithMcC]

Fair enough. However when I go to Woking, on the departure screens are the railair coaches to Haeathow but when I'm passing through Guildford, I don't notice them on the departure screens. Hence I wondered if they weren't connected, like they are in Woking, as if they were they would be on the departure broads.

I was wondering why I saw the RA2 entering Guildford from the Woking direction yesterday. Presumably as the Woking one is run by National Express they are currently cancelled.
Looking at the fares, the last time I had to catch the coach, buying online before boarding was under £6 single (with a Railcard), which is much better value than the Woking coach and probably cheaper than any sort of through ticket!

 

[Kite159]

700932 (Local) Customers travelling from Pewsey to Bedwyn, Hungerford and Kintbury may travel via Newbury and doubleback to their destination station. This Local easement will overcome local fares checking that shows that fares to Newbury from Pewsey are higher than the fares to the required destination. And therefore preventing a doubleback journey leg from Newbury. This easement will apply in both directions.I think this is just clarification of some sort.

Which makes sense considering there are only a tiny number of services which call at both Bedwyn & Pewsey, meaning the only way to do the journey was to double back via Newbury

 

[kieron]

A change to an easement the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 12 Mar 2021 (328) to 25 Mar 2021 (329).

Easement changes:

Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):

700933 (Fare route) Due to late notice engineering works on the lines between Aylesbury and London Marylebone, (for part of the day) on Saturdays and Sundays until 08 May 2021. When 13 and Sunday 14 March 2021, rail replacement bus services will operate to West Ruislip. Tickets priced on (00264) CHALFONT & LATIMER will be valid for travel on these services which do not call at Chalfont & Latimer station. This fare route easement applies in both directions​

This extends the dates to cover the next 7 weekends. There don't seem to be anything about these changes on journey planners yet, but there are some details on the engineering work page on nationalrail.co.uk.

 

[kieron]

A change was made to a route flow this afternoon.

Changes from 25 Mar 2021 (329) to 06 Apr 2021 (330).

Route changes: (added details in red, deleted in green):

VIA LEEDS YORK (00397) (162 records)
must go via Leeds (LDS) and or York (YRK)​

Once this has filtered through to the retail systems, this should mean that you can book a flexible Moorthorpe-Middlesbrough ticket with a single change in York. Sheffield-York trains aren't running at the moment, so you would have to book a bit further ahead.

 

[kieron]

Some more changes for the routeing guide were published yesterday.

Changes from 06 Apr 2021 (330) to 14 Apr 2021 (331).​

​

Station Association changes:​

Thurnscoe (THC) is no longer associated with Doncaster (DON).​

This leaves Pontefract, Swinton and Wakefield, all of which have direct trains to Thurnscoe.

Swinton is the only valid routeing point for a Thurnscoe-Doncaster journey, and it's also on the shortest route between them.

Permitted Route changes:​

​

Oxford (OXF) to Princes Risborough (PRR) gain GC​

This now has mapped routes via Islip which don't go via London.
The newly added route is the shortest route between Oxford and Princes Risborough.

Map changes:​

​

GC: Gain Oxford Parkway to/from Princes Risborough​

GC: Gain Oxford to/from Oxford Parkway​

This adds a second Oxford-Princes Risborough link, this one with Oxford Parkway listed as an interchange on it. No other map has Oxford Parkway listed on it, so this should have no effect on routeing.

Easement changes:​

​

Added:​

​

700934 (Map) Due to engineering work between Chippenham and Bath Spa on the weekends of 17/18th and 24/25th April 2021, Journeys to Bath Spa that would normally travel via Swindon and Chippenham, will be permitted via Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads. This map easement will apply in both directions.​

This means that someone with (say) a Swindon-Bath ticket could use it to travel from Swindon to Oldfield Park via Bristol, but someone with a Swindon-Oldfield Park ticket would have to use the bus instead.

700935 (Routeing Point) Customers travelling from Moorthorpe to Thirsk on tickets priced (00397) LEEDS/YORK may travel via Wakefield. This routeing point easement applies in both directions.​

Moorthorpe-Northallerton has the same arrangement of NFM64 fares, and nre.co.uk lists that as being valid on the most obvious route via Wakefield, so I wonder if this easement permits something which was already allowed.

700936 (Fare route) Tickets to London St Pancras International, and beyond on HS1 Domestic services, priced on routes (00131) PLUS HS1 and (00324) Plus HS1 NOT UND(erground) are valid via City Thameslink and Farringdon. This fare route easement applies in both directions.​

The wording suggests that this does everything 700847 does, but the data for it doesn't cover travel from or to London Blackfriars.

Route changes​

​

Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):​

​

From:​

S W RAILWAY ONLY (01430) (944 records)​

may go via London (2)​

must not go via Slough (SLO) or Taunton (TAU)​

​

SW RAILWAY. ONLY (01431) (1483 records)​

may go via London (2)​

must not go via Havant (HAV) or Yeovil Junction (YVJ)​

​

From:​

SW. RAILWAY ONLY (01432) (345 records)​

may go via London (2)​

must not go via Barnham (BAA) or Netley (NTL)​

My understanding of the property which has been removed is that a route which goes via London doesn't have to meet the other criteria. There are only a few routes which use this code, so I don't know how exactly it affected these routes.

Some of the remaining restrictions seem a bit odd. For instance, Southampton Central-Haslemere advance tickets have an 01432 route code. This bans the route through Netley, which happens to be both the shortest route and the only mapped route.

Going via Eastleigh only adds 2.5 miles to the distance, so is allowed with a through ticket, but there's no easy way to find out how to find out that there are cheaper tickets on that route.

VIA BRIDGEND OXFORD PARKWAY (00912) (no records)​

must go via Bridgend (BGN)​

must not go via Banbury (BAN) or King's Sutton (KGS)​

The route name and the rules don't match. The code isn't used at the moment, so this has no effect.

---

(The text below is from a separate post made on 17 April.)

---

Some more changes were published in the routeing guide yesterday.

Changes from 14 Apr 2021 (331) to 16 Apr 2021 (332).​

​

Station Association changes:​

Thurnscoe (THC) is now associated with Doncaster (DON).​

This reverses a change from Wednesday.

Permitted Route changes:​

Bedford Midland (BDM) to West Hampstead Thameslink (WHP) gain EJ+MI lose LONDON​

This means that Bedford-London St Pancras-West Hampstead is no longer a mapped route. Bedford-Bletchley-London-West Hampstead remains permitted.

"via London" tickets are unaffected by this change.

Easement changes:​

​

Added:​

​

700937 (Fare route) Due to rail replacement services operating on Sunday 02 May 2021, customers travelling to Windermere from or via Preston, with tickets priced on route (00307) VIA LANCASTER, may travel on the direct replacement bus service. This fare route easement applies in both directions.​

There are buses between Oxenholme and Windermere on 2nd May, calling everywhere, and also non-stop buses betweeen Preston and Windermere.

The easement data actually covers travel from, to or via Windermere, as well as Preston. The connections at Windermere are too slow for this to be useful, however, even for travel to Staveley.

700938 (Routeing Point) Due to engineering work between Chippenham and Bath Spa on the weekends of 17/18th and 24/25th April 2021, Journeys to Oldfield Park that would normally travel via Swindon and Chippenham, will be permitted via Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads. This routeing point easement will apply in both directions.​

This adds Oldfield Park to 700934.

 

[kieron]

Some changes to the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 16 Apr 2021 (332) to 23 Apr 2021 (333).

Map changes:
CP: Gain Liverpool Group to/from Kirkby (Merseyside)
CP: Gain Wigan Group to/from Kirkby (Merseyside)
CP: Lose Liverpool Group to/from Wigan Group
GV: (as CP)
XV: (as CP)​

Each map which included a direct Liverpool-Wigan link has had Kirkby added between them. This means that (for example) a Liverpool-Wigan journey is no longer permitted via Burscough.

It can sometimes happen that adding an interchange onto a map creates extra permitted routes by itself. Consider this hypothetical situation:

If CP+GV had been a Liverpool-Wigan route this change could have made a difference to it. With Kirkby on the maps, you could go from Liverpool-Kirkby on CP and Kirkby-Wigan on GV. Without it, the map combination would only allow journeys such as Liverpool-Huyton-Wigan.

Nothing like this happens with this change, however, as there are no map combinations which include more than one map with Kirkby on it.

Easement changes:

Added:

700939 (Circuitous Route) Customers travelling from Wigan Wallgate or Wigan North western to Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Central, James Street Liverpool, Moorfields, Sandhills or Birkenhead Hamilton Square may not go via Southport. This circuitous route easement applies in both directions.​

This easement is likely to be redundant in light of the map changed listed above.

Station link changes:
Greenfaulds (GRL) to Stepps (SPS) no longer has a distance of 8.00.​

Greenfaults-Gartcosh is 5.16 miles and Gartcosh-Stepps is 2.41, for a total of 7.57. I don't think there are any non-stop trains, so I don't know if the larger distance affected anything.

Meadowhall (MHS)-Rotherham Central (RMC) has changed from 2.13 to 2.62.​

The distance in the printed timetable is 2 3/4 miles. No distance is given for trains which don't call at Rotherham Central in either list.

This change could affect how web sites interpret the shortest route rules, but there's too much non-public information in how they do that for me to speculate about what effect this change might have.

 

[adrock1976]

Some changes to the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 16 Apr 2021 (332) to 23 Apr 2021 (333).​

​

Map changes:​

CP: Gain Liverpool Group to/from Kirkby (Merseyside)​

CP: Gain Wigan Group to/from Kirkby (Merseyside)​

CP: Lose Liverpool Group to/from Wigan Group​

GV: (as CP)​

XV: (as CP)​

Each map which included a direct Liverpool-Wigan link has had Kirkby added between them. This means that (for example) a Liverpool-Wigan journey is no longer permitted via Burscough.

It can sometimes happen that adding an interchange onto a map creates extra permitted routes by itself. Consider this hypothetical situation:

If CP+GV had been a Liverpool-Wigan route this change could have made a difference to it. With Kirkby on the maps, you could go from Liverpool-Kirkby on CP and Kirkby-Wigan on GV. Without it, the map combination would only allow journeys such as Liverpool-Huyton-Wigan.

Nothing like this happens with this change, however, as there are no map combinations which include more than one map with Kirkby on it.

Easement changes:​

​

Added:​

​

700939 (Circuitous Route) Customers travelling from Wigan Wallgate or Wigan North western to Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Central, James Street Liverpool, Moorfields, Sandhills or Birkenhead Hamilton Square may not go via Southport. This circuitous route easement applies in both directions.​

This easement is likely to be redundant in light of the map changed listed above.

Station link changes:​

Greenfaulds (GRL) to Stepps (SPS) no longer has a distance of 8.00.​

Greenfaults-Gartcosh is 5.16 miles and Gartcosh-Stepps is 2.41, for a total of 7.57. I don't think there are any non-stop trains, so I don't know if the larger distance affected anything.

Meadowhall (MHS)-Rotherham Central (RMC) has changed from 2.13 to 2.62.​

The distance in the printed timetable is 2 3/4 miles. No distance is given for trains which don't call at Rotherham Central in either list.

This change could affect how web sites interpret the shortest route rules, but there's too much non-public information in how they do that for me to speculate about what effect this change might have.

Regarding the Liverpool/Birkenhead - Wigan via Southport route, and also via Burscough no longer being allowed, how are passengers meant to travel if engineering works close the line via St Helens Central on Sundays, bearing in mind the Kirkby route presently has "No Sunday Service" between Kirkby and Wigan?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Regarding the Liverpool/Birkenhead - Wigan via Southport route, and also via Burscough no longer being allowed, how are passengers meant to travel if engineering works close the line via St Helens Central on Sundays, bearing in mind the Kirkby route presently has "No Sunday Service" between Kirkby and Wigan?

On the rail replacement bus? Via Southport does seem excessively circuitous. Or trains could divert via Parkside as they sometimes do.

 

[kieron]

how are passengers meant to travel if engineering works close the line via St Helens Central on Sundays, bearing in mind the Kirkby route presently has "No Sunday Service" between Kirkby and Wigan?

If you already have a Liverpool-Wigan ticket, your options (in the absence of any helpful easements) would be to use the bus or to go by train via Crewe.

As it happens, the line between Wigan and Preston is closed next Sunday, and TPE are sending a bus to Liverpool and back in the morning. It's timed to take 34 minutes between Liverpool and Wigan, calling at St. Helens Central on the way. If they're able to achieve the same sort of speed when the line's actually closed, then they'll be able to meet the needs of a lot of people without having to look into alternative rail routes.

 

[Ianno87]

If you already have a Liverpool-Wigan ticket, your options (in the absence of any helpful easements) would be to use the bus or to go by train via Crewe.

As it happens, the line between Wigan and Preston is closed next Sunday, and TPE are sending a bus to Liverpool and back in the morning. It's timed to take 34 minutes between Liverpool and Wigan, calling at St. Helens Central on the way. If they're able to achieve the same sort of speed when the line's actually closed, then they'll be able to meet the needs of a lot of people without having to look into alternative rail routes.

34 minutes on a bus? Google reckons 41 minutes Lime Street to Wigan North Western directly in clear traffic via the M58.

I would presume that separate buses are provided for Liverpool-Wigan and for St Helens passengers, based on such an optimistic timing.

 

[Watershed]

If you already have a Liverpool-Wigan ticket, your options (in the absence of any helpful easements) would be to use the bus or to go by train via Crewe.

As it happens, the line between Wigan and Preston is closed next Sunday, and TPE are sending a bus to Liverpool and back in the morning. It's timed to take 34 minutes between Liverpool and Wigan, calling at St. Helens Central on the way. If they're able to achieve the same sort of speed when the line's actually closed, then they'll be able to meet the needs of a lot of people without having to look into alternative rail routes.

Hmm, looks like train SRTs have been used in place of bus SRTs...!

 

[yorkie]

34 minutes on a bus? Google reckons 41 minutes Lime Street to Wigan North Western directly in clear traffic via the M58.

I would presume that separate buses are provided for Liverpool-Wigan and for St Helens passengers, based on such an optimistic timing.

I see this has now been fixed.

As this thread is well read by people who work in the industry, highlighting such an issue here can often be the quickest way of getting it resolved (bypassing customer services)

 

[kieron]

Hmm, looks like train SRTs have been used in place of bus SRTs...!

Yes, I should have realised. It's up to an hour now. That's still a bit faster than the indirect train journeys i've found itineraries for, but not by a lot.

---

(The text below is from a separate post made on 7 May.)

---

Some more changes in the routeing guide were published yesterday evening.

Changes from 23 Apr 2021 (333) to 07 May 2021 (334).​

​

Easement changes:​

​

Removed:​

​

700931 (Local) During engineering work closures on 24 and 25 April 2021, journeys from Knebworth, Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Welham Green, Brookmans Park and Potters Bar, to central London and beyond, may travel via rail replacement bus services to St Albans City and Thameslink train services via West Hampstead. This local easement applies in both directions.​

​

700934 (Map) Due to engineering work between Chippenham and Bath Spa on the weekends of 17/18th and 24/25th April 2021, Journeys to Bath Spa that would normally travel via Swindon and Chippenham, will be permitted via Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads. This map easement will apply in both directions.​

​

700937 (Fare route) Due to rail replacement services operating on Sunday 02 May 2021, customers travelling to Windermere from or via Preston, with tickets priced on route (00307) VIA LANCASTER, may travel on the direct replacement bus service. This fare route easement applies in both directions.​

​

700938 (Routeing Point) Due to engineering work between Chippenham and Bath Spa on the weekends of 17/18th and 24/25th April 2021, Journeys to Oldfield Park that would normally travel via Swindon and Chippenham, will be permitted via Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads. This routeing point easement will apply in both directions.​

These are all temporary easements which no longer had any effect.

There have also been changes to the location list, and to the AVANTI STD PREM (00469) route code, but none of it appears significant to me. The list I have is:

Route changes (added details in red, deleted in green):​

​

AVANTI STD PREM (00469) (5 records)​

must use GC or VT​

may not use AW, CC, CH, CS, EM, GN, GR, GW, GX, HT, HX, IL, LD, LE, LM, LO, ME, NT, SE, SN, SR, SW, TL, TP, XC or XR​

​

Location changes:​

​

Gain: nlc=5045 uic=70 county=00 (01/04/2021-)​

Gain: nlc=5055 uic=70 county=00 (01/04/2021-)​

Gain: nlc=I677 crs=QNO uic=70 county=00 (24/03/2021-)​

Gain: nlc=I678 crs=QND uic=70 county=00 (24/03/2021-)​

Lose: nlc=6312 uic=70 county=00 (26/03/1996-)​

Lose: nlc=7064 uic=70 county=00 (02/03/2021-)​

Lose: nlc=7066 uic=70 county=00 (02/03/2021-)​

Lose: nlc=7067 uic=70 county=00 (02/03/2021-)​

Lose: nlc=7069 uic=70 county=00 (02/03/2021-)​

Lose: nlc=7070 uic=70 county=00 (02/03/2021-)​

Change: nlc=5564 crs=LHR uic=70 county=00 (06/03/202122/04/2021)​

 

[kieron]

Some more changes to the routeing guide were published yesterday.

Changes from 07 May 2021 (334) to 14 May 2021 (335).​

​

Permitted Route changes:​

Hitchin (HIT) to Norwich (NRW) gain KP​

Norwich (NRW) to Stevenage (SVG) gain KP​

These journeys now have mapped routes via Peterborough.

They were previously all through Cambridge or London.

Easement changes:​

​

Added:​

700940 (Fare route) On the weekend of the 04/06 June 2021, due to engineering works, tickets priced on (00076) VIA PETERBOROUGH for journeys to or via Grantham will be valid on rail replacement services via Bedford and Kettering. This fare route easement will apply in both directions.​

There are Grantham-Corby buses on the 5th and 6th (the easement data doesn't cover the 4th), so this easement lets you use them for (say) a Sleaford-London journey.

I notice that some web sites don't check the route via Corby on those dates unless you specify it, even where it is faster than going via Peterborough.

700941 (Circuitous Route) Customers travelling to destinations south of central London from Huntingdon and St Neots are not permitted to travel via Peterborough. This circuitous route easement applies in both directions​

The easement text says "south of central London". The data refers to journeys via Finsbury Park and Clapham Junction instead. Either version could affect a Huntingdon-Winchester journey, though.

700942 (Fare route) Due to engineering works disruption on the southern end of the East Coast mainline between 04 and 06 June 2021, services will be truncated, with rail replacement bus services operating to Kettering, Corby and Bedford for onward travel by East Midlands and Thameslink services to London St Pancras International. Tickets priced on (00027) LNER ONLY, (00423) LNER &CONNECTNS, (00430) LNER & CONNECTNS and (00481) LNER TRAINS ONLY will be valid on EMR and GTR trains to connect into rail replacement services and onward travel. This fare route easement applies in both directions​

This easement does cover the 4th. It's similar to 700940, but I haven't checked which trains have advance tickets available.

Changed​

​

From:​

700933 (Fare route) Due to late notice engineering works on the lines between Aylesbury and London Marylebone, on Saturdays and Sundays until 08 May 2021. When rail replacement bus services operate to West Ruislip. Tickets priced on (00264) CHALFONT & LATIMER will be valid for travel on these services which do not call at Chalfont & Latimer station. This fare route easement applies in both directions​

​

To:​

700933 (Fare route) Due to late notice engineering works on Sunday 23 May 2021 the lines between Amersham and London Marylebone. Tickets priced on (00264) CHALFONT & LATIMER will be valid for travel on TfL Metropolitan line services This fare route easement applies in both directions​

There are no trains beyond Amersham on that date. I don't know if there's a web site which will give an itinerary involving Metropolitan line trains, so I haven't checked if the data has any effect. If it does, then the date hasn't been changed.

---

(The text below is from a separate post made on 16 May.)

---

Some changes to the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 14 May 2021 (335) to 16 May 2021 (336).​

​

Easement changes:​

​

Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):​

700941 (Circuitous Route) Customers travelling to destinations south of central London from Huntingdon and St Neots to destinations beyond Clapham Junction are not permitted to travel via Peterborough. This circuitous route easement applies in both directions​

This makes the effect of the easement easier to understand.

In addition, the data for 700933 and 700940 has changed.
700933 now applies next Sunday.
700940 now applies on Friday 4th June, as well as the Saturday and Sunday.

---

(The text below is from a separate post made on 21 May.)

---

Some more changes to the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 16 May 2021 (336) to 21 May 2021 (337).​

​

Easement changes:​

​

Removed:​

​

700618 (Local) To ensure journey opportunities to Denham Golf Club from Wembley Stadium, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill (Harrow), Northolt Park, South Ruislip and West Ruislip are retained when timetables change on the 15 May 2016, this Positive Local easement will allow journeys to doubleback at Gerrards Cross.​

In the current timetable, there's usually only 2 minutes between the trains in either direction at Denham Golf Club, meaning that this easement is only useful for the last train from Denham Golf Club on a Sunday evening.

Added:​

​

700944 (Fare route) During engineering disruption on Sundays 13 and 20 June 2021 and 04, 11 and 18 July 2021. Customers travelling from Rishton, Church & Oswaldtwistle, Accrington, Huncoat, Hapton, Rose Grove, Burnley Manchester Road, Burnley Barracks, Burnley Central, Brierfield, Nelson and Colne, to or via Manchester Victoria on tickets priced on route (00396) VIA BROMLEY CROSS will be valid on trains that travel via Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. This fare route easement applies in both directions.​

​

700945 (Map) During engineering disruption on Sundays 13 and 20 June 2021 and 04, 11 and 18 July 2021. Customers travelling from Rishton and Church & Oswaldtwistle to or via Manchester Victoria will able to travel on trains that travel via Accrington Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. This map easement applies in both directions.​

​

700946 (Local) During engineering disruption on Sundays 13 and 20 June 2021 and 04, 11 and 18 July 2021. Customers travelling from Huncoat, Hapton, Rose Grove, Burnley Manchester Road, Burnley Barracks, Burnley Central, Briefield, Nelson and Colne, to or via Manchester Victoria may travel via Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. This local easement applies in both directions.​

I haven't seen any reference to this disruption yet, but these easement suggests that the Blackburn-Bolton line will be affected.

Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):​

Easement 700942 (LONDON NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY)​

Due to engineering works disruption on the southern end of the East Coast mainline between 04 and 06 June 2021, services will be truncated, with rail replacement bus services operating to Kettering, Corby and Bedford for onward travel by East Midlands and Thameslink services to London St Pancras International. Tickets priced on (00027) LNER ONLY, (00423) LNER &CONNECTNS, (00430) LNER & CONNECTNS and (00481) LNER TRAINS ONLY will be valid on EMR and GTR trains to connect into rail replacement services and onward travel. This fare route easement applies in both directions​

+ve fare route easement valid on Fr Sa Su (04/06/2021-06/06/2021)​

contain BDM COR KET STP WEL with route LNER ONLY (00027) LNER &CONNECTNS (00423) LNER & CONNECTNS (00430) LNER TRAINS ONLY (00481), with TOC EM FC TL​

contain KGX STP with route LNER ONLY (00027) LNER &CONNECTNS (00423) LNER & CONNECTNS (00430) LNER TRAINS ONLY (00481), with TOC EM TL ​

​

Stations:​

Bedford Midland (BDM)​

Corby (COR)​

Kettering (KET)​

London King's Cross (KGX)​

London St.Pancras (STP)​

Wellingborough (WEL)​

I don't know what effect these changes have. The London-York journey I entered into lner.co.uk to test didn't find any advance tickets, so this may help once it goes into their system overnight.

 

[kieron]

Some more changes to the routeing guide were published yesterday (Thursday).

Changes from 21 May 2021 (337) to 10 Jun 2021 (338).​

​

Easement changes:​

​

Removed:​

​

700940 (Fare route) On the weekend of the 04/06 June 2021, due to engineering works, tickets priced on (00076) VIA PETERBOROUGH for journeys to or via Grantham will be valid on rail replacement services via Bedford and Kettering. This fare route easement will apply in both directions.​

​

700942 (Fare route) Due to engineering works disruption on the southern end of the East Coast mainline between 04 and 06 June 2021, services will be truncated, with rail replacement bus services operating to Kettering, Corby and Bedford for onward travel by East Midlands and Thameslink services to London St Pancras International. Tickets priced on (00027) LNER ONLY, (00423) LNER &CONNECTNS, (00430) LNER & CONNECTNS and (00481) LNER TRAINS ONLY will be valid on EMR and GTR trains to connect into rail replacement services and onward travel. This fare route easement applies in both directions​

These are both temporary easements for which the dates have passed.

Added:​

​

700947 (Map) Customers travelling to Edinburgh and beyond, whose normal route is via Newcastle and Berwick upon Tweed, may travel via Carlisle during engineering works on Saturdays between 18 September and 23 October 2021 and Sundays 19 September - 10 October 2021. This map easement applies in both directions​

I haven't seen any information about the plans for those dates yet, so I don't know how useful this easement will be.

The data for the easement adds a Newcastle-Carlisle-Edinburgh route for journeys via Carlisle. This should mean that it should work for a ticket to Newcastle as well as one for further away.

In addition, some route codes have been changed.

Route changes (added sections in red, removed ones in green):​

​

S W RAILWAY ONLY (01430) (946 records)​

must not go via Slough (SLO) or Taunton (TAU)​

must use AW or SW​

may not use CC, CH, CS, EM, GC, GN, GR, GW, GX, HT, HX, IL, LD, LE, LM, LO, ME, NT, SE, SN, SR, TL, TP, VT, XC or XR​

​

SW RAILWAY. ONLY (01431) (1483 records)​

must not go via Havant (HAV) or Yeovil Junction (YVJ)​

must use SW​

may not use AW, CC, CH, CS, EM, GC, GN, GR, GW, GX, HT, HX, IL, LD, LE, LM, LO, ME, NT, SE, SN, SR, TL, TP, VT, XC or XR​

​

SW. RAILWAY ONLY (01432) (345 records)​

must not go via Barnham (BAA) or Netley (NTL)​

must use SW​

may not use AW, CC, CH, CS, EM, GC, GN, GR, GW, GX, HT, HX, IL, LD, LE, LM, LO, ME, NT, SE, SN, SR, TL, TP, VT, XC or XR​

​

AW: Transport For Wales Rail​

CC: C2C​

CH: Chiltern Railways​

CS: Serco Caledonian Sleeper​

EM: East Midlands Railway​

GC: Grand Central Railway​

GN: Thameslink And Gt Northern GN​

GR: London North Eastern Railway​

GW: GWR​

GX: Southern Gatwick Express​

HT: Hull Trains​

HX: Heathrow Express​

IL: Island Line Limited​

LD: East Coast Trains​

LE: Greater Anglia​

LM: West Midlands Trains​

LO: London Overground​

ME: Merseyrail​

NT: Northern​

SE: London South Eastern Railwy​

SN: Southern​

SR: Scotrail​

SW: South Western Railway​

TL: Thameslink And Gt Northern TL​

TP: Transpennine Express​

VT: Avanti West Coast​

XC: Crosscountry​

XR: TfL Rail​

This means that the advance tickets these route codes (which were introduced on 16/1/21) are used for are changing from acting as "SWR & Connections" ones to acting as "SWR only" ones. From what I can tell, the names haven't changed.

This change may mean the end of Tilehurst-Salisbury advance tickets altogether.

---

(The text below is from a separate post made on 18 June.)

---

A couple of changes were made to the routeing guide on Wednesday.

Changes from 10 Jun 2021 (338) to 16 Jun 2021 (339).​

​

Easement changes:​

​

Added:​

​

700948 (Circuitous Route) Journeys from or via Princes Risborough to or via London stations are not valid via Oxford. this circuitous route easement applies in both directions​

This means that someone with (for instance) a London-Hanborough ticket would not be allowed to travel between Oxford and London on Chiltern.

It's clearly intended more for tickets such as Princes Risborough-Hanborough, which is quicker via Bicester, even if a through ticket costs about as much as splitting tickets in London would do.

Route changes (added sections in red, removed ones in green):​

​

S W RAILWAY ONLY (01430) (929 records)​

must not go via Slough (SLO) or Taunton (TAU)​

must use AW or SW​

may not use AW, CC, CH, CS, EM, GC, GN, GR, GW, GX, HT, HX, IL, LD, LE, LM, LO, ME, NT, SE, SN, SR, TL, TP, VT, XC or XR​

This means these tickets are no longer valid on TfW trains. There are no stations which both operators serve, and the tickets are only offered on SWR routes, so this has no effect.

 

[kieron]

A change was made to the routeing guide this morning.

Changes from 16 Jun 2021 (339) to 21 Jun 2021 (340).

Easement changes:

Removed:

700948 (Circuitous Route) Journeys from or via Princes Risborough to or via London stations are not valid via Oxford. this circuitous route easement applies in both directions​

I assume that the effects this easement had were not the intended ones.

The strangest effect, to me, was that searching on nre.co.uk for an Oxford-London Marylebone journey no longer found any Oxford-London Marylebone trains. This was strange for a couple of reasons.

1. nre.co.uk usually shows journeys whether or not they are valid with a single ticket. If I tell it to change trains in High Wycombe (so the journey involves two direct services between Oxford and London), it shows several rail services. If I tell it to go via High Wycombe (so there's only one), it doesn't.

2. An any permitted ticket (as offered here) is valid on any direct service between the stations shown on the ticket according to the National Rail Conditions of Travel. As there were Oxford-London Marylebone trains running on the date I checked, it should have been show as being valid on that basis alone.

I found similar results on a few retail sites, as well as on a couple of other routes which are only valid when you use a direct service. This suggests a problem in the way direct trains are treated.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Negative easement 700948 has already been discussed here...

Negative easement 700948: mustn't go via Oxford

This monster deserves a thread of its own, I think: 700948 (Circuitous Route) Journeys from or via Princes Risborough to or via London stations are not valid via Oxford. this circuitous route easement applies in both directions. It thus purports to stop you, for example, from using a Charlbury...

www.railforums.co.uk

Good it's now been removed! Indeed the whole concept of "negative easements" seems rather oxymoronic!

 

[MikeWh]

Negative easement 700948 has already been discussed here...

But I'm not averse to it being mentioned here by the person who selflessly keeps an eye on all changes to the routeing guide.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

But I'm not averse to it being mentioned here by the person who selflessly keeps an eye on all changes to the routeing guide.

No indeed. But an interesting discussion nevertheless on the other thread and good that it's now been sorted (which hopefully, it has, as it was totally bizarre that the Chiltern website wouldn't previously provide any timetable info or allow you to book tickets on its own direct Oxford -> Marylebone service).

 

[Andrew1395]

No indeed. But an interesting discussion nevertheless on the other thread and good that it's now been sorted (which hopefully, it has, as it was totally bizarre that the Chiltern website wouldn't previously provide any timetable info or allow you to book tickets on its own direct Oxford -> Marylebone service).

I thought direct services, like shortest route were automatically exempt from Routeing guide easements/checks? Surely those sort of journeys should always be available regardless?

 

[JB_B]

I thought direct services, like shortest route were automatically exempt from Routeing guide easements/checks? Surely those sort of journeys should always be available regardless?

That's absolutely correct. The problem was that Chiltern's ticket booking website and a few others ( probably sharing the same provider ) were incorrectly allowing the negative easement to override both the shortest-route and the direct-train rules. Chiltern have chosen to resolve the issue for now by simply removing the negative easement.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's absolutely correct. The problem was that Chiltern's ticket booking website and a few others ( probably sharing the same provider ) were incorrectly allowing the negative easement to override both the shortest-route and the direct-train rules. Chiltern have chosen to resolve the issue for now by simply removing the negative easement.

The real fix to this if they do want to control the route is to add a route to the relevant fares. This is basically always the better way than negative easements as it's transparent.

 

[FenMan]

The real fix to this if they do want to control the route is to add a route to the relevant fares. This is basically always the better way than negative easements as it's transparent.

In the age of TOCs focussing on their revenue, of course. But, in the coming age where overall revenue will be the prime concern?

 

[Bletchleyite]

In the age of TOCs focussing on their revenue, of course. But, in the coming age where overall revenue will be the prime concern?

Fair point, under GBR there isn't much sense in it.

 

[kieron]

Some changes to the routeing guide were published this afternoon.

Changes from 21 Jun 2021 (340) to 25 Jun 2021 (342).

Easement changes:

Added:

700948 (Circuitous Route) Customers travelling from Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Aylesbury to destination London Terminals are not permitted to travel via Oxford. This circuitous route easement applies in both directions.

700949 (Circuitous Route) Customers travelling from Harrow on the Hill, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Chalfont & Latimer and Amersham to London Paddington and stations between London Paddington and West Drayton may not travel via Oxford. This circuitous route easement applies in both directions.​

These easements prevent tickets for one of a specific list of tickets from being valid via Oxford, where they do not follow the shortest route or use a through train. I do not know if there was a valid route for any of the above tickets which didn't do either.

The data for 700948 include exactly the stations mentioned, but 700949 includes the Heathrow and Greenford branches, as well as the line between London and West Drayton.

Station link changes:
West Ealing (WEA) to West Ruislip (WRU) now has a distance of 6.00.​

This may be a reference to some trains Chiltern used to run between West Ealing and South Ruislip or High Wycombe.

It may mean that some web sites stop treating the route via Oxford as being the shortest route between (say) Amersham and West Drayton. The "station link" table has no direct effect on ticket validity.