Paddington to Reading

[The Rattler]

Hi all,

Travelled on this service on Monday morning

I was travelling on a advance on the 0639 Peterborough to Winnersh Triangle. My train from Peterborough was 10 mins late which meant I missed the 0800 from Pad to Reading and then the 0842 from Reading to Winnersh. I eventually arrived in Reading and got a taxi to my final destination. I do this journey pretty much every Monday.

For whatever reason my advance ticket only ever specifies my train from Peterborough when I travel at this time so I assume I'm free to travel on the first train from Reading.

With all the above in mind can I claim any compensation and if so from who.

Many thanks

Tim

 

[bb21]

What itinerary is on your booking confirmation?

I don't think the 0639 (arr KGX 0731) would have a connection into the 0800.

If there is no reservation coupon for the Paddington - Reading leg then you can use any (unreservable) service (so Turbos only and no HST), although how a passenger is meant to know which is reservable and which is not is another question. I would say get any train and I doubt the guard would have an issue even if it is a reservable HST.

 

[34D]

Kings Cross to Pad requires 45 minutes. What actual itinerary does your website give you?

Were you later than the arrival time at Winnersh triangle that said itinerary gives? If so, by how much?

 

[The Rattler]

Hi,

Never thought of checking that

I've always assumed that if I wasn't booked on a specific train then I could get on the first one, which I do every week unless my reservation states otherwise.

I've had my ticket checked quite a few times on the 08:00 from Paddington when doing this journey and never had an issue.

My booking states the below though:

Departs Arrives By Reservations
06:39 - Peterborough 07:31 - London Kings Cross
07:31 - London Kings Cross 08:18 - London Paddington 0
8:18 - London Paddington 08:44 - Reading Station
09:09 - Reading Station 09:18 - Winnersh Station

 

[Paul Kelly]

The delay into King's Cross didn't affect your (scheduled) journey, as you still made your scheduled train out of Paddington. So it is only the delay on the GWR train that is relevant. Any claim for compensation would be complicated by the fact that you didn't travel to your final destination; technically I don't think you're supposed to claim delay compensation in such cases, but it's unfortunately irrelevant here anyway:

Arriving on Platform 15 in Reading at 09:23 the next Winnersh Triangle train you could have got would be the 0942, scheduled at 0949 and arriving this morning 1 minute early at 0948. So that's exactly half an hour late compared to your scheduled itinerary, BUT for journeys over an hour (which Peterborough to Winnersh Triangle is), the GWR passenger charter only pays compensation for delays of at least an hour. If you had been travelling from Paddington to Winnersh Triangle on the same train, you would have qualified for compensation of half the price of your ticket.

 

[Greenback]

You can catch any train from Paddington, you shouldn't have an issue with that at all. The delay calculation kicks in from the first train you can get in accordance with the minimum time allowed to get from Kings Cross to Paddington, though, which in this case seems to be 45 minutes. There's also a minimum connection time at Reading to take into account.

In other words, if you can do it quicker, fine, but if you can't you won't be compensated for it.

 

[455driver]

You can catch any train from Paddington, you shouldn't have an issue with that at all. The delay calculation kicks in from the first train you can get in accordance with the minimum time allowed to get from Kings Cross to Paddington, though, which in this case seems to be 45 minutes. There's also a minimum connection time at Reading to take into account.

In other words, if you can do it quicker, fine, but if you can't you won't be compensated for it.

Are you sure?
I thought it was agreed that if a train is reservable then you should have a reservation for it?

I think people were using the XC services from Sheffield to Leeds as an example.

I do agree that in a case like this it is silly though.

 

[Greenback]

Are you sure?
I thought it was agreed that if a train is reservable then you should have a reservation for it?

I think people were using the XC services from Sheffield to Leeds as an example.

I do agree that in a case like this it is silly though.

If the OP doesn't have a reservation for a specific train, I thought it was OK to catch any service in practice. I've never really understood the argument that you can't travel on a train that is reservable, to be honest.

I do it frequently when I book a trip that includes the journey from Llanelli on the ex Pembroke Dock service connecting into an HST at Swansea. I don't like the tighter connection so I usually catch the earlier train and have a little more time in Swansea. The previous train is the reservable Manchester one, but I've never had any difficulties with doing this.

Maybe ATW don't care, it;s their revenue either way! Maybe they look at things differently because they don't do specific seat reservations online. It's all a bit of mystery to me.

 

[The Rattler]

Thanks all for the advice.

So I assume FGW have a different delay repay policy to East Coast, e.g. It isn't 30 minutes delay and then 50% back

 

[swt_passenger]

If the OP doesn't have a reservation for a specific train, I thought it was OK to catch any service in practice. I've never really understood the argument that you can't travel on a train that is reservable, to be honest.

You don't really need to understand it, it is what the 'secret' manual states. So presumably the rule is supposed to be enforced? (or used) when journey planners decide your recommended itinerary.

People here then overlay their own interpretations on what is meant by a 'connection'...

 

[yorkie]

Are you sure?
I thought it was agreed that if a train is reservable then you should have a reservation for it?

The terms allow "appropriate" connecting trains.

The Advance FAQs - which don't form part of the contract but do provide advice to staff - state that reserveable trains can only be caught if you have a reservation. Given this isn't in the terms, it is difficult to 'enforce' however common sense is nearly always applied by staff, in my experience.

For example if a passenger tries to make a connection many hours earlier/late for no apparent reason then this is unlikely to be considered "appropriate", but if a passenger is simply taking the next available connecting train, there is unlikely to be a quibble over non-contractual terms.

 

[Greenback]

You don't really need to understand it, it is what the 'secret' manual states. So presumably the rule is supposed to be enforced? (or used) when journey planners decide your recommended itinerary.

People here then overlay their own interpretations on what is meant by a 'connection'...

I've never understood how it's meant to be enforced, particularly as the vast majority of passengers are unlikely to know of its existence!

 

[LexyBoy]

I've never understood how it's meant to be enforced, particularly as the vast majority of passengers are unlikely to know of its existence!

I was about to say exactly the same - it's not "how a passenger is meant to know if it's reservable", but how they are supposed to know that it matters!

Anyway, I'm sure the issue of AP reservations inter Reading and Paddington has come up before, and it was established that FGW do not issue reservations for this stretch any more since services are so frequent that it's not practical or useful to use them.

 

[Greenback]

I was about to say exactly the same - it's not "how a passenger is meant to know if it's reservable", but how they are supposed to know that it matters!

Anyway, I'm sure the issue of AP reservations inter Reading and Paddington has come up before, and it was established that FGW do not issue reservations for this stretch any more since services are so frequent that it's not practical or useful to use them.

Quite so, though again, the conclusions that may have been reached here will probably also be unknown to most passengers!

 

[swt_passenger]

I've never understood how it's meant to be enforced, particularly as the vast majority of passengers are unlikely to know of its existence!

Ah, yes I see, and of course most train crew will be completely unaware anyway...

 

[Greenback]

Indeed. Not only have I never had any problems, but I've never heard any rail staff in this area mention it to any passenger!

 

[Starmill]

If the OP doesn't have a reservation for a specific train, I thought it was OK to catch any service in practice. I've never really understood the argument that you can't travel on a train that is reservable, to be honest.

I do it frequently when I book a trip that includes the journey from Llanelli on the ex Pembroke Dock service connecting into an HST at Swansea. I don't like the tighter connection so I usually catch the earlier train and have a little more time in Swansea. The previous train is the reservable Manchester one, but I've never had any difficulties with doing this.

Maybe ATW don't care, it;s their revenue either way! Maybe they look at things differently because they don't do specific seat reservations online. It's all a bit of mystery to me.

The biggest problem with this can of worms (the Advance ticket Ts and Cs do not say that you may not travel in a reservable train for which you do not hold a reservation, some people are of the view that this rule applies anyway) is the lack of definition of reservable. The ATW South Wales <> Manchester trains are reservable from the point of view that you might want a seat, and from the Advance Ticket quota point of view... but not simultaneously. Services between, say, Newcastle and Carlisle (Northern) are reservable from the latter point of view but not the former. Services between Glasgow Central and Stranraer are reservable from the former point of view but not the latter. As a random example, all Virgin Trains services are reservable from both points of view at once.

So what does 'reservable' actually mean, and how are you supposed to know which it might be?