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Newby’ routing question

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Qwertychops

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Hi everyone, stumbled across this site whilst reasearching, I’ve tried to find / search for the answer to the question I am asking but can’t find it , so here goes

I’ve been doing the trip from Derby to London perhaps twice a month on and off for a few years, however this is going to increase to twice a week, may be three times.

I’m going for a 12 month season ticket , travel card any permitted route to London zones 1-6.
Occasionally I need to go to Leicester so understand I can use this ticket?
Also, on occasion I have met up with a colleague and left Derby to Tamworth and then to Euston, would this route be permitted using my season ticket - I’ve asked at the station and they said no, I’ve also asked on the telephone enquiry line for eastmidlands trains and they say yes - if it is yes, would I be able to stop at Milton Keynes central?

All the above may be obvious to the initiated but it’s all a bit complicated for me
Thanks
 
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ForTheLoveOf

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Yes, the route via Tamworth is permitted, as is travel via the Midland Main Line either direct or via Nottingham to Loughborough, and then via Leicester or Melton Mowbray & Oakham to Kettering and onwards.

If you are in any doubt, you will be able to produce and print off an itinerary on any accredited site (e.g. National Rail Enquiries) from Derby to London via any of these places, and you will be offered it in conjunction with one through ticket marked as valid via any permitted route.

This evidence of the validity of the route applies equally to the season ticket as it does for a single ticket. In fact, it is possible to purchase a season ticket in conjunction with an itinerary, using sites such as TransPennine Express. It is even possible to earn the equivalent of 1% cashback in Nectar points if you purchase a season ticket in this way.
 
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yorkie

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Telesales are correct; they probably looked it up on NRE or their own booking site.

The station ticket office is incorrect, and their lack of accurate knowledge is consistent with my experience of several ticket offices, so I'm not at all surprised.

A Derby to London Zones 1-6 annual season ticket is valid via Tamworth or via Leicester.

A Derby to London Terminals annual season comes with a choice of routes, and in fact the cheaper route forces you to travel via Tamworth as it is only valid on CrossCountry (XC) and West Midlands Trains (WMT) (the latter is branded 'London North Western' on this route) but is no good for you wanting to also have the flexibility of travelling via Leicester. The costlier 'Any Permitted' fare is valid via either route.

An annual season also acts as a gold card; you may need to purchase it within the gold card area to get it on the correct stock.

I agree it would be good to obtain an itinerary via Tamworth at the time of purchase, as evidence of a contract. This may be useful as Virgin Trains in particular employ some staff (e.g. at Euston) who have a responsibility to check tickets, but who are not familiar with the principles of determining if valid tickets or not, and who make false claims denying passengers their contractual rights. Showing them an itinerary obtained at the time of purchase may be the easiest way to satisfy them that the ticket is in fact valid.

One thing that concerns me is that many fares across the country are being specifically routed, and some 'Any Permitted' routrings are being withdrawn. This causes a massive problem for people who want flexibility. However the view of the DfT/RDG is apparently that flexibility is too 'complex' and in order to be 'simple' we should force a specific route on all journeys. But that's a whole new subject really...
 

Haywain

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Yes, the route via Tamworth is permitted, as is travel via the Midland Main Line either direct or via Nottingham to Loughborough, and then via Leicester or Melton Mowbray & Oakham to Kettering and onwards.
National Rail Enquiries shows the route via Leicester and Peterborough as needing two tickets, so I think you've got that one wrong.

Edit: You didn't mean via Peterborough so it's just the way I read it.
 
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Qwertychops

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Thanks guys, have taken your advice and copied the itinerary for alternative route via Tamworth, am I right in thinking that you are able to get off at a station on route and make your return journey from there even though this is not the final station ?
 

gray1404

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Yes, you can get on and off the train, start and finish your journeys at any station on Any Permitted route that your season ticket covers.
 

A Challenge

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I knew the discounts only applied in the Gold Card area, but I thought it was only for those fully inside. Thanks for clarifying.
 
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