I don't see how Greater Anglia or Southern Only tickets being used on the respective Airport Expresses are in any way a "loophole".No, passengers are "at it" by exploiting an unintentional loophole which no doubt will be plugged in due course.
There is no provision for this in the current framework. So, morally, it is wrong to falsely claim there is.I see no reason why a TOC morally should not have a routed ticket valid on only some of their trains. Indeed, in a number of cases I can see a benefit to it. It's just that there hasn't been a need for one in that form before.
This would not be easy to achieve, however it's off-topic. Please create a new thread with an appropriate title, bearing in mind the following forum rule:Let's say the WCML gets refranchised as a whole, containing both Virgin West Coast and the present LM. If the present LM had overcapacity on London-Birmingham I would have no moral issue with a "no InterCity trains" routed ticket that would act just like the present LM Only one.
- If posting a personal suggestion for changes to rail provision, you should make this position clear in the thread title so readers are clear it is not based on the work or aspirations of any recognised body.
The "intention" of the tickets was to allow travel on all trains operated by Southern. That remains the case. If Southern did not want to operate the Gatwick Express trains from 2008, when the merger occurred, they could have withdrawn from the franchise!All that needs to happen here is a tweak to the NRCoC to permit what is clearly the intention and remove the loophole.
Do you apply the same logic when other franchise mergers occur, or is this a special case?
Restrictions in the 'route' field should be by TOC or geographical route only. Restrictions in the 'validity' field should also be kept reasonable, and at least no more complex than they are today. It's bad enough with current restrictions, let alone with your ideas for express train restrictions!Provided it is made clear to passengers when they purchase what restriction is in place, and there's no way clearer than writing it on the ticket, what's the problem in passengers accepting a restriction in return for a lower fare?