The routeing guide has been updated three times over the last week Some easements have been changed more than once.
Last Wednesday, the following changes were published:
Changes from 23 May 2024 (500) to 29 May 2024 (501).
Permitted Route changes:
Darlington (DAR) to Wakefield Group (G30) gain HT+YI+JL
Middlesbrough Group (G42) to Wakefield Group (G30) gain NT+YI+JL
Newcastle (NCL) to Wakefield Group (G30) gain YI+JL
Northallerton (NTR) to Wakefield Group (G30) gain HT+YI+JL
These journeys now have mapped routes via Pontefract Group (Pontefract or Castleford).
Hull (HUL) to Stirling (STG) gain HL+YS
This journey now has mapped routes via Leeds.
Leamington Spa (LMS) to London Group (G01) lose RB+EB
This journey no longer has mapped routes via Birmingham or Nuneaton.
Easement changes:
Removed:
701181 (Map) During engineering divisions until 23 February 2024, and between 22 and 26 April 2024; 29 April to 03 May 2024; 06 to 10 May 2024; 13 to 17 May 2024, customers travelling on TPE services from or via Leeds to Liverpool, may travel via Wakefield. This map easement applies in both directions
701196 (Map) During engineering closure of the Severn Tunnel on 19 May 2024 to 14.25 on each day. This map easement will create temporary map permissions from Bristol to Newport via Gloucester. It will apply in both directions.
701197 (Local) The Severn Tunnel will be closed on 19 May 2024, until 14.25. Customers from Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicot, Chepstow and Lydney travelling to Cam & Dursley, Yate, Bristol Parkway , Filton Abbeywood, Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road and Bristol Temple Meads, or to destinations via Bristol Parkway may travel on trains via Gloucester to avoid using the rail replacement bus service. This Local easement applies in both directions.
701199 (Map) Chiltern Railways are running longer trains on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May 2024 due to the WCML blockade. These services are unable to call at Warwick in the Northbound direction. To facilitate journeys via Leamington Spa. This map easement will create temporary permitted routes and will operate in both directions.
These were temporary easements, and the dates have now passed.
Added:
701206 (Fare route) On Sundays journeys from Dalmeny to Perth priced on (00237) VIA KIRKCALDY are valid for travel via Stirling. this fare route easement applies in both directions
There's only one train each way between Kirkcaldy and Perth on Sundays (there are regular trains to Dundee, but the tickets aren't valid that way). Only "via Kirkcaldy" tickets are available for Dalmeny-Perth, so this easement makes the ticket more usful then.
It doesn't affect other tickets with the same route code, such as ones between Perth (and a couple of neighbouring stations) and most of the stations in Fife.
701207 (Fare route) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets priced on (00843) VIA SEVERN TUNNEL JUNCTION and (00911 VIA SEVERN TUNNL, to South Wales will be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services diverted via Gloucester, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (South Wales). This fare route easement applies in both directions
This easement includes the dates for easement 701201 as well as an extra weekend. It allows "via Severn Tunnel Junction" tickets to be used via Gloucester. It also affects "via Severn Tunnel" tickets, but there don't appear to be any.
701208 (Local) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 July and 27 to 28 2024, tickets to Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicott, Chepstow and Lydney from local stations in Bristol for travel via Bristol Parkway will be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services diverted via Gloucester. This local easement applies in both directions
This allows journeys between Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicot, Chepstow and Lydney and "local" stations (such as ones in Bristol or between Bristol and Taunton, Bath or Swindon) via Gloucester (but not necessarily Cheltenham) and Bristol Parkway.
701209 (Local) Any customer travelling from Brithdir,Tir Phil or Pontlottyn, is allowed to travel north towards Rhymney and then double back to reach stations south of Brithdir.
There are two trains an hour from Rhymney on weekdays, only one of which stops at Brithdir, Tir Phil or Pontlottyn. It's usually quicker to double back rather than wait for the next direct train.
This easement is intended to allow a double back if you're travelling from (but not to) one of those stations. When I tried I couldn't get nre.co.uk (as an example) to apply it at all, though.
701210 (Fare route) During engineering works from Saturday June 1st until Sunday August 11th inclusive, tickets priced on (00700) NOT VIA LONDON from Westcombe Park travelling to Lewisham, Blackheath or Kidbrooke may travel via London Bridge. This fare route easement applies in both directions.
This lets you go via London with a "not via London" ticket between the above stations on dates when the line between Charlton and Blackheath is closed. The data also covers stations as far as Abbey Wood, but you can't buy "not via London" tickets for many of the journeys.
Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):
701191 (Map) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets to South Wales will only be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services diverted via Gloucester, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (South Wales). This map easement applies in both directions
This adds extra dates. The data version of the easement also permits travel on Crosscountry trains, where the previous version only listed GWR.
701195 (Circuitous Route) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets priced on (00824) VIA NEWPORT to South Wales will only be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services for journeys diverted via Gloucester, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (South Wales). This circuitous route easement applies in both directions
This adds extra dates.
701202 (Local) Customers travelling from Bolton, Westhoughton, Hindley, Ince and Wigan Wallgate to Hall Road, Blundellsands, Waterloo (Merseyside) and Seaforth & Litherland may travel via Southport. This local easement applies in both directions.
This adds Bolton and Westhoughton to the permitted stations at the eastern end of the route. It's not a huge change as the "via Wigan" tickets were already covered.
701193 (Map) On the 13 April, 04 to 05 May, 11 to 12 May and 02 June 2024,, when the route between Reading and Guildford is closed. Customers travelling with tickets priced on (00615) VIA GOMSHALL will be valid for travel via Basingstoke and Redhill. And via East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Basingstoke. This map easement applies in both directions.
701204 (Routeing Point) During engineering works from Saturday June 1st until Sunday August 11th inclusive, tickets from Westcombe Park travelling to Lewisham, Blackheath or Kidbrooke do not have to travel via Charleton. Charlton. This routeing point easement applies in both directions.
These just fix typos.
In addition, the data for easement 701205 has changed again. The text remains
701205 (Fare route) Due to engineering works on Sunday 09 June 2024, customers with tickets priced on (00267) VIA BANBURY, may travel via Leamington Spa. This fare route easement will apply in both directions.
I'd misunderstood this easement. The intent seems to be to let people use "via Banbury" tickets on replacement buses which don't stop in Banbury, rather than to help people avoid the buses. There have been various changes to increase the focus web sites have on this. The text remains unchanged.
These changes were published on Friday:
Changes from 29 May 2024 (501) to 31 May 2024 (502).
Easement changes:
Added:
701211 (Routeing Point) Customers from March traveling to Cosham, Hilsea or to destinations via those two locations may travel via Ely. This routeing point easement will overcome NFM64 fares checking, and will apply in both directions.
The shortest route between March and Cosham or Hilsea is via Ely, Streatham and Guildford. Other routes via Ely are permitted. I don't know if this easement is responsible, though, as (for example) March-Tisbury tickets appear similar, but are valid without an equivalent easement.
701212 (Routeing Point) During engineering works from Saturday June 1st until Sunday August 11th inclusive, Customers from Kidbrooke with tickets priced on (01000) ANY PERMITTED (00700) NOT VIA LONDON travelling to Westcombe Park, Charlton, Plumstead, Woolwich Arsenal, Abbey Wood and Woolwich Dockyard via London Bridge, may travel via Blackheath. This routeing point easement will overcome NFM64 fares checking for the duration of the engineering works. It will apply in both directions.
This states that Blackheath is a valid routeing point for Kidbrooke for a journey to stations between Westcombe Park and Abbey Wood inclusive. It doesn't do all of that as it's a routeing point easement. Stations west of Charlton all have a common routeing point with Kidbrooke (so no fare check is carried out) and Charlton-Kidbrooke is normally valid via Blackheath anyway. There's no fare listed in the NFM64 data for Westcombe Park-Kidbrooke, so the fare check can't be completed even with this easement. This may not matter as easement 701210 lets you travel via London anyway.
701213 (Map) Due to engineering works on Sunday 09 June 2024, Rail Replacement services run direct between Leamington Spa and Oxford without travelling via Banbury. This map easement will apply in both directions.
This creates a map link between Leamington and Oxford on 9th June to support the direct buses.
Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):
701207 (Fare route) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets priced on (00843) VIA SEVERN TUNNEL JUNCTION and (00911 VIA SEVERN TUNNL, to South Wales to Chepstow and Lydney will be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services diverted via Gloucester, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (South Wales). This fare route easement applies in both directions
This is quite a lot less general than before, only affecting journeys between Chepstow and Lydney at one end and Bristol Group at the other.
There are a few easements where the data has changed but not the text:
700377 (Local) Customers travelling from or via Wokingham to Aldershot, Farnham, Bentley or Alton may travel via Ascot. This easement applies in both directions.
This had allowed "local" journeys from, to or via Aldershot, Farnham, Bentley or Alton which go from, to or via Wokingham (but not Virginia Water) to go via Ascot.
It's changed to allow "local" journeys from or to Aldershot, Farnham, Bentley or Alton which go from, to or via Ascot and Wokingham (but not Virginia Water) to go via Wokingham.
I don't know what effect this has, but it still seems to work for journeys (as an example) between Aldershot and Wokingham or Winnersh.
701203 (Map) During engineering works from Saturday June 1st until Sunday August 11th inclusive, tickets starting between Lewisham and Kidbrooke and ending between Westcombe Park to Abbey Wood will be valid for travel via London Bridge. This map easement applies in both directions.
Charlton has been added to the list of routeing points which this data adss to the easement on the above dates. Whether or not this is responsible, Plumstead-Blackheath tickets are now shown as being valid via London.
701208 (Local) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 July and 27 to 28 2024, tickets to Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicott, Chepstow and Lydney from local stations in Bristol for travel via Bristol Parkway will be valid on diverted via Gloucester. This local easement applies in both directions
This allowed journeys from or to Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicot, Chepstow and Lydney which go via Yate to go via Bristol Parkway on the specified dates.
It has changed to allow journeys from or to Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicot, Chepstow and Lydney which go via both Gloucester and Yate to go via Bristol Group (the stations between Bristol Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads inclusive).
And these changes were published on Monday.
Changes from 31 May 2024 (502) to 03 Jun 2024 (503).
Added:
701214 (Local) During engineering works from Saturday June 1st until Sunday August 11th inclusive, Customers from Kidbrooke with tickets priced on (01000) ANY PERMITTED (00700) NOT VIA LONDON travelling to Westcombe Park, Charlton, Plumstead, Woolwich Arsenal, Abbey Wood and Woolwich Dockyard via London Bridge, may travel via Blackheath. This local easement will overcome shortest local journey rules for the duration of the engineering works. It will apply in both directions.
This is a local version of easement 701212. It means that tickets between Kidbrooke and stations between Woolwich Dockyard and Abbey Wood inclusive can be used via London until 11th August.
Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):
701191 (Map) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets to South Wales will only be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services be diverted via Gloucester, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (South Wales). This map easement applies in both directions
This removes the operator restrictions from the easement. The data still restricts the extra ticket validity to GWR and Crosscountry for the final weekend.
701195 (Circuitous Route) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and on 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets priced on (00824) VIA NEWPORT to South Wales will only be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services for journeys diverted via Gloucester, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport (South Wales). This circuitous route easement applies in both directions
This easement prevents TfW trains from being used via Newport, Gloucester and Bristol Parkway. The restriction now only applies for a weekend.
701207 (Fare route) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets priced on (00843) VIA SEVERN TUNNEL JUNCTION and (00911 VIA SEVERN TUNNL, to Chepstow and Lydney will be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services diverted via Gloucester. This fare route easement applies in both directions
701208 (Local) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 July and 27 to 28 2024, tickets to Severn Tunnel Junction, Caldicott, Chepstow and Lydney from local stations in Bristol for travel via Bristol Parkway will be valid on Great Western and Cross Country services diverted via Gloucester. This local easement applies in both directions
These no longer include operator restrictions. The data for the easements already omitted them.
In addition, the data for easement 701205 has changed again. The text remains:
701205 (Fare route) Due to engineering works on Sunday 09 June 2024, customers with tickets priced on (00267) VIA BANBURY, may travel via Leamington Spa. This fare route easement will apply in both directions.
The purpose still seems to be to allow tickets to be used on buses which don't stop in Banbury, and it seems to achieve this.
The following post was made on 7th June 2024.
The following changes were published yesterday:
Changes from 03 Jun 2024 (503) to 06 Jun 2024 (504).
Permitted Route changes:
Edinburgh Group (G11) to Hull (HUL) gain YS+HL
This journey now has mapped routes which go via both Newcastle and Leeds.
Easement changes:
Added:
701215 (Map) During engineering works between 24 - 28 June 2024, TPE services between Leeds and Huddersfield will be diverted via Wakefield Kirkgate. This map easement will apply in both directions.
The easement adds Wakefield Kirkgate, Huddersfield Group and Leeds to any mapped route which involves TPE trains. Some tickets (such as Leeds-Manchester) permitted this route anyway. Others (such as Leeds-Salford Crescent) did not.
The following were published this afternoon:
Changes from 06 Jun 2024 (504) to 07 Jun 2024 (505).
Easement changes:
Added:
701216 (Routeing Point) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel between 03 - 18 and the 27 - 28 July 2024, customers from Yate travelling to or via Newport (South Wales) may travel via Gloucester. This routeing point easement will overcome NFM64 fares checking during the disruption dates.
This easement means that tickets to and from Yate which go to Newport or beyond are valid with Gloucester as the associated routeing point on the above dates. No easement is needed for Cam & Dursley as all tickets between there and South Wales are valid via Gloucester anyway.
Changed (added sections in red, removed ones in green):
701207 (Fare route) During the closure of the Severn Tunnel from 03 to 18 and 27 to 28 July 2024, tickets priced on (00843) VIA SEVERN TUNNEL JUNCTION and (00911 (00911) VIA SEVERN TUNNL, to Chepstow and Lydney will be valid on services diverted via Gloucester. This fare route easement applies in both directions
This corrects a typo.
There's an unrelated change to the data. An unadvertised restriction means that web sites only apply it to journeys between Chepstow or Lydney and stations in Bristol Group. This has been changed to "Bristol Group or Yate".
