Questions about sailrail tickets.

[railwayspotter]

I was wondering if anyone could very kindly answer some questions about Sailrail tickets. I will be travelling on quite a few ferries around the UK and Ireland soon and was hoping to get some answers.

Unfortunately there seems to be such little information available about these tickets.

• 1. On the Sailrail tickets to and from Orkney and Shetland there appears to be four separate destinations as follows:

J200 KIRKWALL
J201 LERWICK
J206 STROMNESS
J207 KIRKWL V SCRBSTR

Can anyone advise the valid routes for each destination and what exactly is included in each destination and which ferries can be used for each of these four destinations. I notice that tickets to all four are sold as "Any Permitted" so i am wondering if there is a choice of routes. These tickets don't seem very clear.

• 2. For all Sailrail journeys the Holyhead route seems to have four different options which are all slightly different prices as follows:

00980 ✠ HLYHD IRISHF CIV
00983 ✠ HLYHD STENA CIV
00984 ✠ HOLYHD STENA SHP
01004 ✠ HLYHD SWIFT CIV

Can anyone advise what is the difference between the four options? What exactly does each of the four options include?

• 3. Are any Sailrail tickets available via the Rosslare/Pembroke, Larne/Cairnryan, Dublin/Liverpool, Belfast/Liverpool, ferries? I can't seem to find anything online so i assume they are not available but i just wanted to double check?

• 4. In the UK can Sailrail tickets be purchased onboard the train from the Guard? I notice that it says they are available from all ticket offices (which i believe print them on ordinary ticket stock) but there is nothing about purchasing them from the Guard? I may be travelling from unstaffed stations so i will need to do this. So hopefully this is possible.

• 5. If i buy a Sailrail ticket from an Abellio Greater Anglia station to "H443 ANY DUTCH STATION" then do i just show my ordinary orange card stock issued Sailrail ticket to Guards and ticket barrier staff in the Netherlands? I presume i don't need anything else? Are they likely to be aware of these tickets? Also are they only valid on NS trains or can they be used on the many other private TOCs in the Netherlands as well?

• 6. Can Sailrail tickets be purchased at railway stations in the Netherlands? If so are they printed on ordinary NS ticket stock?

• 7. Can the Dover to Calais Sailrail tickets (the ones that include travel on Southeastern but not on trains in France) be purchased anywhere in Calais in France? If so what ticket stock is used in France? Also can i travel on the night time journeys if i bring my bike or are bicycle passengers still considered to be foot passengers?

• 8. Is there anywhere in the Isle Of Man and Orkney and Shetland where i can purchase Sailrail tickets? I know that these three islands don't really have railways (other than as tourist attractions on the IOM) but i am wondering if there is anywhere on these islands that sells them?

• 9. Can Sailrail tickets be purchased at railway stations (or onboard trains) in the Republic Of Ireland? If so are they printed on normal Irish Rail card sized ticket stock?

• 10.Can Sailrail tickets be purchased at railway stations (or onboard trains) in Northern Ireland? If so are they printed from bus ticket machines on bus ticket stock (just like all other NIR tickets)?

• 11. Can Sailrail tickets via Cairnryan be used on the train to and from Stranraer? Or can they only be used to and from Ayr? When using this ferry i would like to travel to and from Stranraer and then take the short local bus ride instead of using that coach service to and from Ayr so i am wondering if i will need to purchase other train tickets for this?

• 12. How familiar are staff with these tickets (at barriers and at ticket offices and onboard trains). I am talking about all staff (National Rail / Irish Rail / Northern Ireland Railways / Ferry Companies). Are these tickets well known? Are staff likely to give me problems?

I know some of these tickets are available online but i prefer to buy my tickets on the day in person using cash. My questions are also regarding the on the day normal "Standby" fares rather than the slightly cheaper "Advance" fares as this is more convenient for me.

Sorry for asking so many questions but there is such little information available online about these tickets. Any information would be hugely appreciated.

 

[gray1404]

I would not rely on buying a sail rail ticket from a guard even when boarding at an unmanned station. However, it may be possible if the fare is loaded onto their machine. Sail Rail tickets can be purchased on the Isle of Man in person from the ticket office of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company in the Sea Terminal Building in Douglas. I am sure others will be along in du course to answer the rest of your questions.

 

[181]

Do you know about https://www.seat61.com/? That should answer quite a few of your questions. A search of these forums for 'sailrail' will bring up a number of past threads which may also contain useful information.

 

[30907]

There is a considerable amount of information here (7.5, 7.6):
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...ection-7-integrated-fares.70022/#post-1181634
Points not covered there:
Calais Day Trip tickets don't have a French equivalent, so have to be bought in the UK.
AFAIK onward travel on a Dutch Flyer is covered by a day chip card which you get on board the ship.
Seat61 will tell you about tickets issued in NL (and has a great deal of other relevant info).

 

[181]

As for your other questions, those that I can shed light on off the top of my head are as follows:

1) I'm guessing that these refer respectively to the boat from Aberdeen-Kirkwall, boat Aberdeen-Lerwick, boat Scrabster-Stromness and boat Scrabster-Stromness + bus to Kirkwall; but I don't know this for certain. 'Any permitted' presumably refers to your rail route to Aberdeen or Thurso,

2) The first of these will refer to the Irish Ferries large car ferry, and the last to their small(ish) high-speed catamaran. I'm guessing (but haven't checked) that one of the Stena ones refers to their large car ferry and the other to the now withdrawn high-speed service to Dun Laoghaire.

3) I thought there were SailRail tickets for the Liverpool-Belfast route, but I wasn't actually able to buy one when I travelled that way a few years ago, and Seat61 says that it's reported that they've now been discontinued. I'm not aware of any such tickets on the other routes that you mention.

4) See gray1404's rely above, and note that I've sometimes had trouble getting SailRail tickets at booking offices -- sometimes they haven't been able to sell tickets involving train travel on the Irish side, and sometimes they've been able to do tickets but not ferry reservations. This is going back a few years, though -- more recently I've tended to book online.

Irish Rail have quite cheap web-only fares that appear to be available up to the day before departure, so there may be little or no financial advantage to booking beyond the Irish port anyway.

11) My understanding is that SailRail tickets are only valid via the bus to/from Ayr.

12) I've never had any trouble travelling between the Thames Valley and Holyhead or Fishguard, even with a handwritten ticket made out to '[illegible squiggle]', but I can't promise that it never happens. Presumably the further you get from the main routes to/from the Irish Sea ports, the more likely you are to meet staff who are unfamiliar with these tickets.

 

[danm14]

Answering only the questions about Ireland & NI, and any answer to a question about other countries is regarding Ireland & NI only.

• 2. For all Sailrail journeys the Holyhead route seems to have four different options which are all slightly different prices as follows:

00980 ✠ HLYHD IRISHF CIV
00983 ✠ HLYHD STENA CIV
00984 ✠ HOLYHD STENA SHP
01004 ✠ HLYHD SWIFT CIV

Can anyone advise what is the difference between the four options? What exactly does each of the four options include?

The only two you'll be concerning yourself with in the next six months are HLYHD IRISHF CIV and HOLYHD STENA SHP. These include rail travel to Holyhead from the origin station and travel on Stena Line or Irish Ferries to Dublin Port. If the ticket is to an Irish station, the ticket also covers the Morton's Coach service to Dublin City, and onward Irish Rail (and NI Railways if appropriate) travel.

The HLYHD STENA CIV refers to the former Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead fast ferry, so won't be issued any more. The HLYHD SWIFT CIV refers to the Dublin to Holyhead fast ferry (which now only runs during the summer).

As an aside, you will struggle to get the ticket accepted on the Morton's Coach, their drivers are pig ignorant, my advice is to try it and just pay the €3 without questioning it if they say no. If you try to stand your ground you'll likely be refused carriage, even if you offer the cash fare, and you'll have little choice but to get a taxi or miss your train (personal experience, and I was told by both ferry staff and the taxi driver I was far from the first this happened to). Going to the

• 3. Are any Sailrail tickets available via the Rosslare/Pembroke, Larne/Cairnryan, Dublin/Liverpool, Belfast/Liverpool, ferries? I can't seem to find anything online so i assume they are not available but i just wanted to double check?

No. Rosslare/Pembroke was available for a short time around 15 years ago but can be done with separate tickets. Dublin/Liverpool does not carry foot passengers (or cyclists) - vehicles only. Larne/Cairnryan can be done with separate tickets.

Belfast/Birkenhead (Liverpool) had SailRail until recently, and the bus from Birkenhead Hamilton Square station to Birkenhead Port still runs so can easily be done with separate tickets. The fares and ferry times are still in the system, but aren't sold any more.

• 4. In the UK can Sailrail tickets be purchased onboard the train from the Guard? I notice that it says they are available from all ticket offices (which i believe print them on ordinary ticket stock) but there is nothing about purchasing them from the Guard? I may be travelling from unstaffed stations so i will need to do this. So hopefully this is possible.

Going to Ireland, I believe not. A "seat" reservation for the ferry is compulsory even for walk-up tickets and these can't be issued by guards (though this is more of a formality than a restriction as unless the ferry is full you'll be allowed board the wrong sailing).

• 9. Can Sailrail tickets be purchased at railway stations (or onboard trains) in the Republic Of Ireland? If so are they printed on normal Irish Rail card sized ticket stock?

Yes and no. Officially, they can be purchased for Irish Ferries and Stena Line to Holyhead and Fishguard at a number of larger stations. In practice, only Dublin Connolly will issue them, and only for travel on Irish Ferries to Holyhead. If you ask at another station, you'll likely be told to phone Irish Rail or the ferry company, or to go online. One particular station told me that they had plenty of tickets but the only staff member who knew how to issue them had recently retired.

They can't be issued on trains, they're issued as handwritten booklets (any SailRail ticket issued in Ireland is issued as such, even if booked online or by phone). Tickets of any description cannot normally be purchased on board trains in Ireland - most trains have no customer-facing staff. Every station has a ticket vending machine which accepts cash and cards. If you need to buy a ticket the machine doesn't sell or the machine is broken, it's roughly 50/50 whether you'll be given a €100+fare fixed penalty which you then appeal, or told to buy at your destination.

For immediate travel, you can pay cash at the ferry terminal to get a ticket, though there's a €6 surcharge for this.

• 10.Can Sailrail tickets be purchased at railway stations (or onboard trains) in Northern Ireland? If so are they printed from bus ticket machines on bus ticket stock (just like all other NIR tickets)?

No. The only place you can buy them in Northern Ireland is from NIR Travel in Great Victoria Street station. They're issued on normal UK National Rail stock with a National Rail ticket machine. They'll sell any National Rail tickets too, but charge a commission. If you're travelling to Scotland, they'll actively recommend use of the Ulsterbus Tours coach service instead of SailRail.

• 11. Can Sailrail tickets via Cairnryan be used on the train to and from Stranraer? Or can they only be used to and from Ayr? When using this ferry i would like to travel to and from Stranraer and then take the short local bus ride instead of using that coach service to and from Ayr so i am wondering if i will need to purchase other train tickets for this?

Officially no, but ask the guard. If not, a single to Stranraer from Ayr is only £11.50. Also make sure to check the times of the bus are suitable, and have a contingency plan for if the train arrives late and you miss the bus. Also, I believe the local bus service now leaves from Stranraer town and not the station.

• 12. How familiar are staff with these tickets (at barriers and at ticket offices and onboard trains). I am talking about all staff (National Rail / Irish Rail / Northern Ireland Railways / Ferry Companies). Are these tickets well known? Are staff likely to give me problems?

Ferry companies see them every day. You'll never, ever have a problem.
Rail staff in Ireland/NI will likely know what they are, and even if they don't they're not going to give you any hassle, they'll see the name of a station they recognise and that'll satisfy them.
Rail staff in the UK will likely not have a problem with the National Rail style tickets, but the handwritten tickets could probably be an issue on routes where SailRail isn't common.

My questions are also regarding the on the day normal "Standby" fares rather than the slightly cheaper "Advance" fares as this is more convenient for me.

You should note that Advance SailRail fares issued in Ireland have only one difference to their Standby fare equivalent - the price. There's no restriction as to what trains you take, the ticket is valid for a month (though if travelling at a different time or on a different day you must phone and change the ferry you're booked on at no extra cost), and break of journey is permitted* on both legs.

*The websites state break of journey is not permitted, however the ticket itself clearly states in both English and Irish that "Break of journey is authorised, without formality, within the limits of the period of validity".

 

[_toommm_]

Would the ferry still be part of the NRCoT I.e. if TfW cancelled a train and left you missing your ferry, or even worse leaving you stranded until the morning, could the pax claim for a free hotel?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Would the ferry still be part of the NRCoT I.e. if TfW cancelled a train and left you missing your ferry, or even worse leaving you stranded until the morning, could the pax claim for a free hotel?

I think such travel is covered under the CIV, aka the international equivalent of the NRCoT. This similarly requires all interlining travel companies to arrange alternative transport and/or accomodation if delays occur.

 

[158820]

Would the ferry still be part of the NRCoT I.e. if TfW cancelled a train and left you missing your ferry, or even worse leaving you stranded until the morning, could the pax claim for a free hotel?

From my observations Irish ferries will try and fob you off and let you chasing them for months. As an example last winter during disruption due to bad weather 2 ferries arrived in Holyhead shortly after the last train had departed. Irish ferries left their passengers stranded while stena line bussed there passengers to Crewe to avail of later train services.

 

[danm14]

From my observations Irish ferries will try and fob you off and let you chasing them for months. As an example last winter during disruption due to bad weather 2 ferries arrived in Holyhead shortly after the last train had departed. Irish ferries left their passengers stranded while stena line bussed there passengers to Crewe to avail of later train services.

There's definitely a massive difference between how Stena Line and Irish Ferries treat their passengers. In my experience, Irish Ferries put their profits first, and their customer satisfaction is an afterthought. Stena Line treat their passengers with the utmost respect at all times, and put them first even if it costs them money.

For example, if you book SailRail starting in Ireland, but do it from a UK site, you'll be told you can't pick up your ticket from the port and must select another station. Most people in this situation will assume they're doing nothing wrong, and select Holyhead. By the book they may be in the wrong by booking in the wrong country, but it's far from clear that there's a separate way to book from Ireland. Irish Ferries will look at your booking confirmation, refuse it, tell you to book with them directly in future, and charge you again for the ferry. Stena Line will look at your booking confirmation and let you sail based on it, reminding you to collect your ticket at the machine in Holyhead before boarding the train.

This summer, when Irish Ferries sailings were being cancelled, Irish Ferries passed their 14:15 Swift passengers over to Stena Line. They provided no transport from their terminal to the Stena Line terminal, and grossly misled foot passengers about the distance between the two, knowing they'd be too far away to complain when they realised. They also told passengers they'd still make their rail connections, even though the Stena Line sailing left half an hour later and took an hour and a half longer than the Irish Ferries sailing. This made it Stena Line's and Arriva Trains Wales' problem as they only realised on board the ferry or in Holyhead that they couldn't make their destinations that night.

In another example of Stena Line putting passengers first, they delayed a sailing last May to facilitate a train-load of passengers who were being bussed to Fishguard. There was a referendum on in Ireland that day to remove Ireland's ban on abortion, and most of those travelling were going home to vote in favour of its removal. Even though those travelling were travelling to vote against something that made them more money (England by SailRail is a very common route for Irish women travelling), they still delayed the sailing to facilitate them.

 

[FQTV]

Interesting to read the last two posts regarding Irish Ferries and Stena and the relative differences between the two. I went over on Irish Ferries to Dublin last December and was rather disappointed with the vessel and the service. They then cancelled the inbound service citing bad weather (ferry, not Fast Ferry), yet Stena sailed.

I managed to get myself booked on to Stena, with no help at all from Irish Ferries, who grudgingly refunded the inbound portion of my return fare but flatly refused to entertain the notion that they should have taken the responsibility for the rebooking, given that sea conditions did not preclude sailing.

The Stena vessel and service was notably superior to Irish Ferries in almost every way, including embarkation which was extended slightly to take account of other late arriving customers who were refugees from Irish Ferries original, later, sailing.

I had wondered if our experience was atypical. Perhaps, from the above, it was not.

 

[danm14]

I had wondered if our experience was atypical. Perhaps, from the above, it was not.

I fear we're well off topic now, but when people are wondering why I always travel with Stena Line, if my previous experiences aren't enough to make them understand, I tend to direct them to this article which provides a good overview of Irish Ferries' moral view on most matters.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/dec/01/g2

In short, about fifteen years ago, Irish Ferries were looking for a way to pay their employees below minimum wage. Their idea was to re-register their ships in Cyprus and hire staff from Eastern Europe at a much lower wage (which was their entitlement to do).

However, they were afraid to tell the current staff they were being fired in case they'd rebel. So they hired a large group of security guards, smuggled them onto the ship in plain clothes, and had them change into uniform in the toilets. Then they were to hijack the ship, "to make sure that the handover to the new, cheaper crew went smoothly".

 

[railwayspotter]

Thank you so much for all your answers. This is very much appreciated. I have travelled very often on ferries to and from the UK but it was only very recently that i found out about Sailrail tickets so this will be very useful to use for my future ferry trips. It should save me some money hopefully.

Can i just ask these four other questions as well:

1. Why is it that foot passengers are only allowed to travel on every other Irish Ferries service on the Dublin to Holyhead route? Is there a particular reason for this? I know many other ferry routes (Dover to Calais and Cairnryan to Belfast) ban foot passengers on nighttime sailings (presumably to save money so they don't have to employ staff to deal with foot passengers at nighttime) but it seems quite random for Irish Ferries to ban them on every other sailing (some of which are in the middle of the day). Stena Line pretty much run the same timetable but they allow foot passengers on every sailing.

2. Also can i ask are bicycles allowed when using Sailrail tickets? If so are people with bicycles still considered to be a foot passenger or are you considered to be a vehicle? If so i presume this would mean that by bringing my bike i could travel on those Irish Ferries journeys between Holyhead and Dublin that don't allow foot passengers and also on those nighttime Dover to Calais and Cairnryan to Belfast sailings as well.

3. Are the Sailrail tickets issued at Irish Rail stations valid on London Underground for journeys that include a cross London tube journey? The ones issued in the UK on normal ticket stock definitely are so i would presume that the Irish Rail issued ones are as well? If so i can imagine London Underground staff not being familiar with them and refusing to accept them. Although i guess it depends on the staff member.

4. Are passengers with these Sailrail tickets still allowed to claim delay repay for National Rail or Irish Rail or Northern Ireland Railways if your train is delayed or cancelled? I am not talking about missing the ferry but just if you have delays and cancellations on the trains on either side of the sea?

The Mortons Coaches bus is probably not worth using if the driver is unlikely to accept Sailrail tickets especially considering that you can take the ordinary bus for much cheaper. When i have been on the Holyhead to Dublin ferry before i normally just take the Dublin Bus route 53 (which annoyingly only accepts exact fare and in coins only) to Dublin which costs just 2.10 EURO for a Single or if it is nice weather and i have a lot of time i will walk all the way from the Ferry Port to Dublin.

I definitely agree with others that Stena Line are much better than Irish Ferries when it comes to customer service. My experience of using both in the past has been that Stena Line provided much better service than Irish Ferries.

I was one of the many people who travelled from the UK back to Ireland via the ferry to vote in favour of legalising abortion in that referendum (as i am an Irish citizen and still have a registered address in Ireland so was entitled to vote) and i must say that Stena Line were very helpful and accommodating and did everything they could to ensure everyone could get to Ireland on that day. I saw that Stena Line even let a passenger travel for free on the ferry to Ireland as she was trying to buy a ticket and her card wasn't working and she didn't have any cash on her.

I remember hearing about that when Stena Line arranged for a bus for all the passengers. I believe what happened was that many passengers intending on using the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry services to get to Ireland and vote were on a delayed train to Swansea coming from Cardiff, Newport, Reading, London, and surrounding areas which connected with the Fishguard train and despite numerous requests from multiple people onboard, Arriva Trains Wales rather appallingly refused to hold the train, meaning a large crowd of people would of been unable to get to Ireland. However luckily Stena Line came to the rescue and were very kind and arranged for a bus to come to Swansea and pick up all the passengers and held the ferry until the bus arrived in Fishguard and they all got on. They went to all the effort to arrange for a bus to take them even though it was the the fault of the train companies. So i have definitely noticed that Stena Line are much more customer friendly and will go out of their way to help passengers.

Thanks for linking that article. I wasn't aware of that. Irish Ferries seem like a very dodgy company. After reading that i will definitely make sure i try to always use Stena Line where possible.

Also a bit off topic but has anyone else noticed the massive reduction in ferry services in the UK in the last ten or fifteen years. Just in the past ten or fifteen years we have lost all of our direct ferry services to Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, as well as some routes to other places in Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, as well.

I have good memories back in 2008 of taking the ferry from Scrabster (just a 10 minute bus ride from Thurso railway station) all the way to Seyðisfjörður in Iceland and then taking the bus to Reykjavik and doing the reverse on my return journey. I made four return trips to and from Iceland via the Scrabster to Seyðisfjörður ferry in the 2000s. Sadly these days it is necessary to go all the way by train to Hirtshals in Denmark just to get to Iceland. I guess all this cheap air travel is why so many ferry routes have stopped running.

Lets just hope Sailrail stays as it seems a good offer. I will post on the forum when i make my first Sailrail ticket trip and let you know how it all went.

 

[158820]

Just to say the there is a list of irish rail stations where you can buy sailrail tickets in the irish rail website. Its not just connolly that sells them I have bought them in Tralee when I needed to.

You can also buy off the irish ferries website.
For stena sailing from Ireland tou have to ring them to buy in advance and collect on the day. As has been explained above you can just using the booking email and book through any uk train ticket website.

To answer no .1 above Irish Ferries Epsilon dosent take foot passengers.

There is no delay depay in Ireland you have to read Irish Rails customer charter to see what they cover regarding delyaes/distruption. Not sure on North Ireland.

 

[danm14]

1. Why is it that foot passengers are only allowed to travel on every other Irish Ferries service on the Dublin to Holyhead route? Is there a particular reason for this? I know many other ferry routes (Dover to Calais and Cairnryan to Belfast) ban foot passengers on nighttime sailings (presumably to save money so they don't have to employ staff to deal with foot passengers at nighttime) but it seems quite random for Irish Ferries to ban them on every other sailing (some of which are in the middle of the day). Stena Line pretty much run the same timetable but they allow foot passengers on every sailing.

The Irish Ferries sailings in question are economy class vehicle sailings that only run a few days per week, effectively to keep the Epsilon busy when it's not sailing to or from France. They used to be at roughly the same time as the fast-ferry sailings, so their not taking foot passengers wasn't so much of a problem. However, it is a problem now that the fast ferry only runs for a few months of the year. It's yet another big plus for Stena, so I'm sure they'll start to waive the no-foot-passenger policy for the winter months if they lose enough passengers to Stena.

2. Also can i ask are bicycles allowed when using Sailrail tickets? If so are people with bicycles still considered to be a foot passenger or are you considered to be a vehicle? If so i presume this would mean that by bringing my bike i could travel on those Irish Ferries journeys between Holyhead and Dublin that don't allow foot passengers and also on those nighttime Dover to Calais and Cairnryan to Belfast sailings as well.

Bicycles are allowed. There's no extra charge on the railways, though you need a cycle reservation on some trains. There's an extra charge on the ferry, but it's not guaranteed they'll bother to collect it. They also may ask you to check the bicycle as luggage, or to cycle onto the ferry - it's very dependent on who the staff are at the time

I don't know about the night time sailings, but I can confirm P&O do not allow cyclists on their no-foot-passenger Dublin to Liverpool ferry so I'd be inclined to say no.

3. Are the Sailrail tickets issued at Irish Rail stations valid on London Underground for journeys that include a cross London tube journey? The ones issued in the UK on normal ticket stock definitely are so i would presume that the Irish Rail issued ones are as well? If so i can imagine London Underground staff not being familiar with them and refusing to accept them. Although i guess it depends on the staff member.

I think they are valid provided it's a valid route for the journey, but they certainly won't be accepted. You could try buying a paper ticket or using Oyster and try getting a refund.

4. Are passengers with these Sailrail tickets still allowed to claim delay repay for National Rail or Irish Rail or Northern Ireland Railways if your train is delayed or cancelled? I am not talking about missing the ferry but just if you have delays and cancellations on the trains on either side of the sea?

I don't think the Irish issued ones are valid for any compensation other than under CIV. Presumably the UK issued ones are valid in the UK for delay repay, but CIV compensation only in Ireland and for the ferry.

I saw that Stena Line even let a passenger travel for free on the ferry to Ireland as she was trying to buy a ticket and her card wasn't working and she didn't have any cash on her.

Wow. If that isn't putting customer service before profit, nothing is.

 

[janb]

• 1. On the Sailrail tickets to and from Orkney and Shetland there appears to be four separate destinations as follows:

J200 KIRKWALL
J201 LERWICK
J206 STROMNESS
J207 KIRKWL V SCRBSTR

Can anyone advise the valid routes for each destination and what exactly is included in each destination and which ferries can be used for each of these four destinations. I notice that tickets to all four are sold as "Any Permitted" so i am wondering if there is a choice of routes. These tickets don't seem very clear.

J200 Kirkwall via Aberdeen, Northlink Ferries
J201 Lerwick via Aberdeen, Northlink Ferries
J206 Stromness via Scrabster, Northlink Ferries, includes taxi between Thurso and Scrabster
J207 Kirkwall via Scrabster, Northlink Ferries, includes taxi between Thurso and Scrabster (and as of Jan 2014 it included Stagecoach bus between Stromness and Kirkwall)

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

I think such travel is covered under the CIV, aka the international equivalent of the NRCoT. This similarly requires all interlining travel companies to arrange alternative transport and/or accomodation if delays occur.

From the Irish ferries website.

https://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/special-offers-from-britain-to-ireland/rail-sail/



PLEASE NOTE
Services covered by Rail / Sail tickets are not considered by the TOC’s (Train Operating Companies) to be connecting services. Please plan your schedule to take account of possible delays in arrival / departures of either trains and or ferries.

Our Dublin Swift service has now finished for 2018 it will resume Spring 2019. https://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/routes-and-times/dublin-holyhead/

Fares timetables and online RailSail reservations are brought to you by our travel partners at Trainline UK. Please note that bookings are valid for journeys originating in the UK only.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

From the Irish ferries website.

https://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/special-offers-from-britain-to-ireland/rail-sail/



PLEASE NOTE
Services covered by Rail / Sail tickets are not considered by the TOC’s (Train Operating Companies) to be connecting services. Please plan your schedule to take account of possible delays in arrival / departures of either trains and or ferries.

Our Dublin Swift service has now finished for 2018 it will resume Spring 2019.

Fares timetables and online RailSail reservations are brought to you by our travel partners at Trainline UK. Please note that bookings are valid for journeys originating in the UK only.

They can consider it or not consider it as they wish, but for all of the Holyhead/Dublin routed tickets, they are explicitly routed "HLYHD IRISHF CIV" or "HLYHD SWIFT CIV". If there were any doubt that those tickets are subject to CIV, that is clearly erased by the route. And CIV does definitely not leave passengers stranded if one leg of their journey is disrupted.

I think this is merely evidence of the seemingly institutional customer service and attitude issues with Irish Ferries.

 

[A Challenge]

As far as I can tell, all tickets issued to destinations in the Republic of Ireland end in (CIV) for the destination at the Irish end, except those to DUBLINPORT STENA or DUBLIN FYPT I.F. Tickets for Irish Ferries services are routed HLYHD IRISHF CIV or HLYHD SWIFT CIV, but tickets routed for Stena Line are routed either HOLYHD STENA SHP or HLYHD STENA CIV , so therefore there is no mention of CIV in tickets issued to DUBLINPORT STENA, as they are all routed HOLYHD STENA SHP. Tickets to Northern Ireland end in NI.

 

[gordonthemoron]

From the Irish ferries website.

https://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/special-offers-from-britain-to-ireland/rail-sail/



PLEASE NOTE
Services covered by Rail / Sail tickets are not considered by the TOC’s (Train Operating Companies) to be connecting services. Please plan your schedule to take account of possible delays in arrival / departures of either trains and or ferries.

Our Dublin Swift service has now finished for 2018 it will resume Spring 2019.

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I have had delay repay from ATW for a missed connection at Holyhead (going from UK to Ireland), I suppose it doesn't work the other way round?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I have had delay repay from ATW for a missed connection at Holyhead (going from UK to Ireland), I suppose it doesn't work the other way round?

Whether it also works the other way around would depend on the length of the delay. The ferry company (whichever you go for) and the Irish railways would be liable for delays at least in accordance with what CIV sets out (which is, IIRC, a minimum qualifying delay of 1 hour).

 

[OwlMan]

As far as I can tell, all tickets issued to destinations in the Republic of Ireland end in (CIV) for the destination at the Irish end, except those to DUBLINPORT STENA or DUBLIN FYPT I.F. Tickets for Irish Ferries services are routed HLYHD IRISHF CIV or HLYHD SWIFT CIV, but tickets routed for Stena Line are routed either HOLYHD STENA SHP or HLYHD STENA CIV , so therefore there is no mention of CIV in tickets issued to DUBLINPORT STENA, as they are all routed HOLYHD STENA SHP. Tickets to Northern Ireland end in NI.

CIV is a system for rail travel. It only applies to international rail journeys (including any ferries in the journey). It does not apply to journeys without rail travel in another country. As NI is part of the UK any journey to a NI station is not considered international.

 

[A Challenge]

They still go through Holyhead - Dublin - NI though don't they?

 

[dutchflyer]

• 6. Can Sailrail tickets be purchased at railway stations in the Netherlands? If so are they printed on ordinary NS ticket stock?m Ayr so i am wondering if i will need to purchase other train tickets for this?.

Hello from AMS here then. No, of course not. This is an INTernational ticket and thus can only be issued from the very few NS-INT salespoints that still exist, but 98% of such prospective pax buy them either online or via another salespoint. NS-INT charges up to 10€ extra as ''service-fee'' on staffed points. (here in NL only around 35 major towns still have staffed salespoints, INT only has 5 or 6 remaining).
INT-tickets are always/should be printed on special CIV stock, with a special ferry-exchange coupon, but nowadays many are homeprint on A4. AFAIK stena-ferries should all be REServed too, so buying direct from stenaline is likely best option. For very short-distance local such tickets into BE and nearby cities in DE they are now on NS-stock, with chip, also from machines. I have no idea how this specific ticket is handled. The A4-prints have the added bonus of the universal QR-code to open any gates (if so needed), and these are date-specific. They are NOT ''day''tickets, but only to/fro a specific station and via the normal=shortest (in KMs or time) route to/fro the Hook-this due to previous many misuse by esp. British people (or so they state). Also note long-time BUS replacement from Schiedam to there, by RET and not NS-how it will go when finally the train converted to RET-metro will run-noone knows here.

 

[reb0118]

I have sold, and will sell, rail sail tickets on board my trains. However, with the caveat that I can't guarantee a place on the ferry in the unlikely event of it being full.

 

[gray1404]

I have sold, and will sell, rail sail tickets on board my trains. However, with the caveat that I can't guarantee a place on the ferry in the unlikely event of it being full.

I think that is really decent of you to sell such tickets on board. Do you think that most guards would do this or they would not sell them on board?

 

[reb0118]

Do you think that most guards would do this or they would not sell them on board?

It comes down to confidence & training so could vary greatly even within the same TOC. I happen to use the "rail staff travel" equivalent of rail sail so know my way around the various connections & foibles so that helps too.

The first time I sold one was for a journey from Dundee to Dublin (unfortunately the passenger was heading to his granny's funeral). I originally wasn't sure that I could sell it but the passenger stated that he had contacted our customer services and had been assured that he could purchase on board. In reality there should be no difference to retailing a ticket to Dunoon or Dunmurry.

 

[yorkie]

They still go through Holyhead - Dublin - NI though don't they?

If the route is "HLYHD SWIFT CIV" yes.

Not if going via Cairnryan or via Liverpool.

 

[158820]

Hi folks just to ask a quick question. If I want to purchase a through sail rail ticket to an irish station e.g. Limerick. It says no tickets available on line. Would a ticket office still be able to sell me the ticket I want?

 

[Flying Snail]

Hi folks just to ask a quick question. If I want to purchase a through sail rail ticket to an irish station e.g. Limerick. It says no tickets available on line. Would a ticket office still be able to sell me the ticket I want?

If you cannot get a journey planner to give an itinerary then it is highly unlikely.

It might be possible to force some of the systems to issue a sale without a reservation but finding a booking office clerk who would both be able to do it and willing to do it would be another hurdle.

Irish Rail can do the opposite direction and return, possibly they would be willing to sell a ticket starting in Britain as well, only hurdle is then getting the ticket to yourself.