DeeGee
Member
Hi folks, I'm wondering if you can advise me please about a routing query.
I regularly make a journey between Grimsby Town and Milton Keynes/Bletchley/Bow Brickhill (basically to the Caldecotte Lake, for those who know MK). I've found, thanks to this forum, that the cheapest way to get an off-peak walk-up fare to BWB is to get an off-peak return to GMB-Nottingham and an off-peak return from Derby to BWB. I travel out on a Friday after work, and back on a Sunday afternoon/evening. Timing is not vital for the return, so long as I make it home!
I'm planning on making this journey again soon, and just before the booking horizon for an advance ticket (which I might choose instead) I thought I'd just check the routing possibilities for this.
In the past, I've gone from DBY-Bedford on EMT, and then BDM-BWB via the Marston Vale. On returning, I usually go to from Milton Keynes Central to Tamworth on LM, then from Tamworth via XC to DBY (and carry on to Sheffield and home). If I search for a route from MKC to DBY, that's what National Rail enquiries gives me. However, if I search for a route from MKC to Sheffield via Derby, I'm offered an itinerary with VTWC to Birmingham International and then onward to Sheffield on XC. I can't get a return itinerary from BWB for obvious reasons.
What I'm wondering is if the DBY-BWB ticket is valid via Birmingham New Street and MKC? Because if it is, I can get a train south which gives me a decent stop in BHM so I can eat before arriving in MK. It seems reasonable to me, but I don't understand why NRC will route me via BHM if I'm going to SHF, but not if I'm going to DBY.
I regularly make a journey between Grimsby Town and Milton Keynes/Bletchley/Bow Brickhill (basically to the Caldecotte Lake, for those who know MK). I've found, thanks to this forum, that the cheapest way to get an off-peak walk-up fare to BWB is to get an off-peak return to GMB-Nottingham and an off-peak return from Derby to BWB. I travel out on a Friday after work, and back on a Sunday afternoon/evening. Timing is not vital for the return, so long as I make it home!
I'm planning on making this journey again soon, and just before the booking horizon for an advance ticket (which I might choose instead) I thought I'd just check the routing possibilities for this.
In the past, I've gone from DBY-Bedford on EMT, and then BDM-BWB via the Marston Vale. On returning, I usually go to from Milton Keynes Central to Tamworth on LM, then from Tamworth via XC to DBY (and carry on to Sheffield and home). If I search for a route from MKC to DBY, that's what National Rail enquiries gives me. However, if I search for a route from MKC to Sheffield via Derby, I'm offered an itinerary with VTWC to Birmingham International and then onward to Sheffield on XC. I can't get a return itinerary from BWB for obvious reasons.
What I'm wondering is if the DBY-BWB ticket is valid via Birmingham New Street and MKC? Because if it is, I can get a train south which gives me a decent stop in BHM so I can eat before arriving in MK. It seems reasonable to me, but I don't understand why NRC will route me via BHM if I'm going to SHF, but not if I'm going to DBY.
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