Odd - can book VT Advances on TPE website but not on VT's own site

[trainophile]

Just looking at Advance tickets for Friday 24th May, and my preference is to book on VT's own website for the seat selector. However they have hardly any 1st Advances showing as available, only a couple late in the day.

Whereas I am able to book the ticket I want on the TPE website, albeit having to take the seat I am allocated (it's a bit rubbish - it offers 'Individual' in the choices then allocates an aisle seat at a table for four).

Don't know whether to go ahead with the TPE booking or wait and see whether VT catch up. Seems strange that other operators are able to offer VT availability but not VT themselves.

(Edit: forgot to say - Carlisle to Southport)

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Just looking at Advance tickets for Friday 24th May, and my preference is to book on VT's own website for the seat selector. However they have hardly any 1st Advances showing as available, only a couple late in the day.

Whereas I am able to book the ticket I want on the TPE website, albeit having to take the seat I am allocated (it's a bit rubbish - it offers 'Individual' in the choices then allocates an aisle seat at a table for four).

Don't know whether to go ahead with the TPE booking or wait and see whether VT catch up. Seems strange that other operators are able to offer VT availability but not VT themselves.

(Edit: forgot to say - Carlisle to Southport)

Are you sure it's not an issue to do with there only being 1 seat left and this therefore being unavailable on the second booking engine?

 

[Paul Kelly]

The problem is that the two sites are showing totally different itineraries. Although I strongly doubt it's intentional, the Virgin site appears to be trying to keep you on a Virgin service as long as possible, with the result that it makes you change at Warrington and take an EMT service to Liverpool to change again for Merseyrail to Southport. As well as being a much longer journey, you are also losing the 1st Class Advances as EMT seem to be blocking availability of them.

The TPE site is changing you off the Virgin service at Wigan and putting you on a direct train from there to Southport. As well as a shorter and more convenient itinerary, you then get the 1st Class advance availability since Northern aren't blocking it on the Wigan to Southport service.

However even adding a via point of Parbold won't make the Virgin site show the shorter itinerary. I don't know what's wrong there; perhaps it's a bug.

 

[trainophile]

Thanks both. I'm glad you have tested it and found the same thing Indigo2. I naturally expected the 'change at Wigan' most direct route - I make this journey quite a lot and have never encountered this Virgin situation before. I wondered whether they are yet to load the rest of the Advances, but having read your own findings I think it possibly is a bug.

Incidentally I tried it on trainsplit.com, and putting in "via Wigan Wallgate" I got an even weirder result, six changes including from Wigan North Western to Wallgate and back to North Western again (all on foot!), then off to Liverpool .

Is one of our esteemed forum members involved in the programming of VT tickets, or am I thinking of LNER? If there's anyone out there who can sort this out I would be very grateful! I didn't book anything in the end, thought I'd see what's going on today.

 

[philjo]

According to the National Rail Enquiries page, bookings on Northern Rail are not yet open after 17 May so this could be why the VT site cannot offer any itineraries changing at Wigan. The quota on the NT services may not yet be open for the date you are travelling.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/44703.aspx

 

[pdeaves]

perhaps it's a bug

A 'feature', surely!

 

[trainophile]

A 'feature', surely!

That is what Virgin would call it! This month's special offer - add some excitement to your journey!

 

[Paul Kelly]

According to the National Rail Enquiries page, bookings on Northern Rail are not yet open after 17 May so this could be why the VT site cannot offer any itineraries changing at Wigan.

But:

1. it doesn't show any walkup fares either
2. about half the trains from Wigan Wallgate to Southport are not reservable, so that should have no effect on availability

 

[philjo]

But:

1. it doesn't show any walkup fares either
2. about half the trains from Wigan Wallgate to Southport are not reservable, so that should have no effect on availability

The Northern Rail site will not bring up any times if I search for a Wigan Wallgate to Southport journey on that day so I suspect the new Northern timetable hasn't been fully loaded yet.
I was having similar problems trying to make a through booking to Windermere on that day.

 

[Paul Kelly]

But the Northern and Virgin sites are both powered by Trainline, which seems to be where the bug lies. As noted in the OP the journey is showing fine on the TPE site (which is powered by Worldline).

 

[Paul Kelly]

It looks to me like Trainline's journey planner provider hasn't properly loaded the timetable data from 19th May onwards when the timetable changes.

 

[Paul Kelly]

This now seems to be working, although the issues already mentioned with Northern not opening reservations yet mean you can only get a Virgin & connections advance if you travel on an unreservable train from Wigan Wallgate to Southport, which generally means those trains departing at xx05 each hour, not those at xx30!

 

[trainophile]

Thanks, I'll have a look.

 

[tom73]

I've found that nobody minds if you occupy any unreserved seat although I must admit I am unfamiliar with how things work in First Class. I envy those, in a positive way, who have the means to routinely use First Class.

 

[trainophile]

Yes but it's nice to choose an individual seat facing in the direction of travel. I have boarded before and found someone in the window seat adjacent to my booked aisle seat, and rather than crowd them out I will then find another table, which is why I prefer individual because you tend not to find someone or their bags already in it!

I never used to travel in 1st, largely because my usual regular journey was on ATW who don't have it, and anything under an hour or so is fine in Standard, but at my time of life I do prefer the seat comfort of 1st on Virgin.

Think my May trip is being postponed anyway, as the bargain basement hotel room I had my eye on has doubled in price since I originally looked .

 

[Howardh]

I've found that nobody minds if you occupy any unreserved seat although I must admit I am unfamiliar with how things work in First Class. I envy those, in a positive way, who have the means to routinely use First Class.

Off peak, book in advance (a senior railcard helps ) and many fares are only slightly more expensive than standard, and on some occasions 1st class is actually cheaper - how they work that one out I don't know, but the algorithm must be if most of standard is booked up yet 1st is empty; standard is at a premium - or something. H-e-l-p.....

 

[_toommm_]

Off peak, book in advance (a senior railcard helps ) and many fares are only slightly more expensive than standard, and on some occasions 1st class is actually cheaper - how they work that one out I don't know, but the algorithm must be if most of standard is booked up yet 1st is empty; standard is at a premium - or something. H-e-l-p.....

It'll be when the lower tiers of Standard Advances have run out, and the uptake on the First Advances is non-existent or has been much slower, so you'll be recommended the cheapest ticket which happens to be a First Advance.

 

[trainophile]

So, same situation again. I can now get Virgin Advances for 18th & 20th June on TPE but obviously without the seat selector (not even direction of travel offered, and they always default to backwards), but not yet available on Virgin’s own website.

Is this a system fault? If so perhaps I should tweet them, although I know they have other things on their mind at present so perhaps it’s deliberate .

I could understand if it wasn’t that TPE are offering these tickets but subject to their own seat allocation, which preclude choosing our actual seats.

 

[Paul Kelly]

I can now get Virgin Advances for 18th & 20th June on TPE

For which journeys/itineraries?

 

[trainophile]

Southport to Helensburgh Central and return.

Edit: Home now and to my surprise the tickets are now available on Firefox on my MacBook, when they weren't showing on either Firefox or Safari on my iPhone. Don't know if someone saw my post and sorted it out or whether it was just one of those things. Anyway sorted now .