Permitted Routes Sheffield to Leeds

[RogerB]

Whilst planning a journey Leeds > Sheffield > Leeds I notice that certain tickets don't allow travel via Doncaster.

I'm thinking of the situation where a friend rings me up from Leeds and invites me up for lunch, I drop everything, go to the station and buy an off-peak day return. After lunch I need to catch the first train from Leeds, but the ticket isn't valid for travel via Doncaster.

Is this clearly printed on the ticket in English or some obscure code?

 

[TheEdge]

They will either say Any Permitted, Via X or Not Via X. Lower right hand corner.

 

[bb21]

Leeds to Sheffield walk-on fares have two flows: Route NOT VIA DONCASTR and Route ANY PERMITTED. It will be printed on the ticket.

If you need to travel via Doncaster with a Route NOT VIA DONCASTR ticket, the excess fare is half the difference with the Route ANY PERMITTED fare if going one way or full difference if going both ways.

 

[RogerB]

Thanks - that was quick!

I was a bit concerned they would just use a code which would be meaningless to the ordinary passenger.

 

[Haywain]

It is a fact that there are many 'ordinary passengers' who find codes such as NOT VIA DONCASTR a bit on the complicated side!

 

[RogerB]

It is a fact that there are many 'ordinary passengers' who find codes such as NOT VIA DONCASTR a bit on the complicated side!

That'll be me then :roll:

 

[yorkie]

There is a useful "any permitted" ticket, so you have a PM.

It is true that people find "not via Doncaster" to be tricky, because it is common to be sold that ticket without any explanation being made, and some trains even go via Doncaster. The last time I got a train via Doncaster the guard let someone off, rather than charge an excess of about £3. The passenger probably just got the first available direct train.

 

[RogerB]

Thanks for the PM. If you're in a hurry and see a train marked "Sheffield" you may not have time to look at the platform destination displays. I did this after the 19:30 didn't run and the next was 20:30 but I saw a train marked "Sheffield" standing at the next platform so just jumped on it. It went via Castleford, but I didn't notice it in any of the on-line timetables.

 

[bb21]

The 1937 via Castleford gets overtaken by the 1943 and the 2011 if the journey is Leeds - Sheffield so will not normally be shown in journey planners.