Off peak return - ticket question

[trainophile]

I did look in the ticket types information section on here but couldn’t find an answer to this...

My friend is travelling from Euston to Bletchley on an off peak return. From Bletchley she intends to buy a return to Milton Keynes. These are all same day tickets.

The question is, on her return from MK can she get a train through to Euston that doesn’t stop at Bletchley? I know you can’t on an Advance but not sure about other types of ticket.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Afraid not. NRCOT condition 14 starts

14. Using a combination of Tickets

14.1 Unless shown below, you may use a combination of two or more Tickets to make a journey provided that the train services you use call at the station(s) where you change from one Ticket to another.
14.2 If you are using a Season Ticket, daily Zonal Ticket, or another area based Ticket such as a concessionary pass, ranger or rover in conjunction with another Ticket and the last station at which one Ticket is valid and the first station that the other Ticket is valid are the same, then the train does not need to call at that station for your combination to be valid.

(source: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/National Rail Conditions of Travel.pdf)

So 14.1 requires the train to call at the point where you change from one ticket to another (in this case, Bletchley). 14.2 then relaxes this - but only for specified types of tickets, which do not include ordinary same day tickets.

 

[gray1404]

I could not see a WMT guard refusing if she asked before boarding. VT on the other hand I could.

 

[trainophile]

Oh that’s a shame, thanks for clarifying.

Means she will be half an hour later getting home in the dark.

I will have to have a think of there’s any way round it, as she hasn’t bought any tickets yet.

If she buys an off peak day return Euston to Milton Keynes I don’t suppose she would be allowed to break the outward journey at Bletchley for a few hours?

 

[trainophile]

I could not see a WMT guard refusing if she asked before boarding. VT on the other hand I could.

Sadly it’s probably the VT ones that she would like to get as they are quicker than the WMT services.

 

[JB_B]

...
If she buys an off peak day return Euston to Milton Keynes I don’t suppose she would be allowed to break the outward journey at Bletchley for a few hours?

I think that is probably the simplest solution. As far as I can see none of the off peak day return (CDR) tickets from Euston to Milton Keynes prohibit break of journey so it should be fine.

 

[yorkie]

If she buys an off peak day return Euston to Milton Keynes I don’t suppose she would be allowed to break the outward journey at Bletchley for a few hours?

There are no break of journey restrictions on Off Peak Day Return (CDR) tickets, nor should there ever be on the return portion of any Off Peak ticket.

Break of journey is allowed by default unless it is "made clear" at the time of purchase that it is not.

 

[some bloke]

Some WMT trains from MK to Euston only take about as long as VT:

https://traintimes.org.uk/mkc/eus/15:00/2018-10-24

 

[Kite159]

Some WMT trains from MK to Euston only take about as long as VT:

https://traintimes.org.uk/mkc/eus/15:00/2018-10-24

However the services from Crewe which run fast from Milton Keynes to Euston do have a habit of being slightly cosy.

 

[some bloke]

In which case the more expensive Any Permitted return might be best - or perhaps a different option, depending on the times and your friend's preferences:

Travel fast to MK on Virgin, then a return MK-Bletchley-MK, then fast to Euston. The outward journey could be faster/at more convenient times than the direct WMT stopper, and the undiscounted combination is cheaper (£15.80 VT only plus £4.30 = £20.10, versus £24.30 Any Permitted).

 

[trainophile]

Many thanks for all your input. After much WhatsApping between us (the day in question is tomorrow) she has decided to stick with her original plan, EUS-BLY off peak return, BLY-MKC off peak return, and take whichever train arrives first and stops at Bletchley when she gets back to MKC station. We are meeting up with her to go to Bletchley Park, then going into MK for a Wetherspoons dinner, hence not being sure of potential timings. (We are staying overnight in MK and going back the next day, while she lives in London.)

Everything else seemed to be getting too complicated, and she is quite a confident traveller even in the evening, it's just that she has to get to SW London on her own when she gets back to Euston. I'm sure she'll be fine.

 

[IanD]

Many thanks for all your input. After much WhatsApping between us (the day in question is tomorrow) she has decided to stick with her original plan, EUS-BLY off peak return, BLY-MKC off peak return, and take whichever train arrives first and stops at Bletchley when she gets back to MKC station. We are meeting up with her to go to Bletchley Park, then going into MK for a Wetherspoons dinner, hence not being sure of potential timings. (We are staying overnight in MK and going back the next day, while she lives in London.)

Everything else seemed to be getting too complicated, and she is quite a confident traveller even in the evening, it's just that she has to get to SW London on her own when she gets back to Euston. I'm sure she'll be fine.

There is now a Wetherspoons in Bletchley named after Churchill's covert visit to Betchley Park.

 

[BluePenguin]

Sadly it’s probably the VT ones that she would like to get as they are quicker than the WMT services.

More likely Virgin but not certain. There are a few non stop WMT trains from Milton Keynes

 

[BluePenguin]

Many thanks for all your input. After much WhatsApping between us (the day in question is tomorrow) she has decided to stick with her original plan, EUS-BLY off peak return, BLY-MKC off peak return, and take whichever train arrives first and stops at Bletchley when she gets back to MKC station. We are meeting up with her to go to Bletchley Park, then going into MK for a Wetherspoons dinner, hence not being sure of potential timings. (We are staying overnight in MK and going back the next day, while she lives in London.)

Everything else seemed to be getting too complicated, and she is quite a confident traveller even in the evening, it's just that she has to get to SW London on her own when she gets back to Euston. I'm sure she'll be fine.

If her destination is SW London has she thought about getting the direct train to Clapham Junction from Milton Keynes? It saves her from going to Euston and getting the underground. The tickets via Kensington are also can be cheaper

 

[trainophile]

There is now a Wetherspoons in Bletchley named after Churchill's covert visit to Betchley Park.

Oh that’s excellent news, will save the ticket complications. The one in MK wasn’t very inspiring anyway when we went to check it out.

 

[trainophile]

If her destination is SW London has she thought about getting the direct train to Clapham Junction from Milton Keynes? It saves her from going to Euston and getting the underground. The tickets via Kensington are also can be cheaper

It’s Putney, and she knows her usual route like the back of her hand so probably would rather stick to what she usually does. (Neither of us are in the first flush of youth!)