Railcard Restrictions.

[Cundy66]

On a 16-25 Railcard there is a restriction that says that before 10am there is a minimum charge of £12, but if I was travelling somewhere after 9 from Sheffield (I think is off peak in sheffield) will it be ok to pay for a off peak ticket the day before with railcard and travel before 10am?

 

[bb21]

On a 16-25 Railcard there is a restriction that says that before 10am there is a minimum charge of £12, but if I was travelling somewhere after 9 from Sheffield (I think is off peak in sheffield) will it be ok to pay for a off peak ticket the day before with railcard and travel before 10am?

The minimum fare applies if you travel before 10am, regardless of when you bought the ticket or the ticket type.

You can still get a discount but the discounted fare will not be lower than £12.

 

[telstarbox]

Off-peak times depend on the flow (origin and destination), not just the origin station. BB21 is correct about the Railcard restriction in any case.

 

[reb0118]

Not relevant to the OP in this instance. Some lines have no railcard minimum fare before 10:00 e.g. the Aberdeen - Inverness line aka the "Whisky Line". This may also apply in Southwest Scotland too. I got caught out with this when asked to help out at the excess office at Aberdeen - the passenger to whom I was trying to explain the minimum fare rule to was not impressed - she got her discount after a colleague pointed out the error of my ways.

Just a thought are these local railcard easements published in the public demesne anywhere?

 

[Prairie_5542]

In July and August there isn't a minimum fare.

 

[island]

I believe East Coast has an easement as well at Dunbar or somewhere.

 

[SS4]

In July and August there isn't a minimum fare.

Nor on Weekends, Public Holidays and on Advance fares for that matter.

The situation the OP states raises an interesting question though: what would happen if OP boarded the train before 10am and was caught? Would it be an excess to £12, an undiscounted ticket, the cheaper of these? Or would it be as though no ticket were held?

 

[headshot119]

Nor on Weekends, Public Holidays and on Advance fares for that matter.

The situation the OP states raises an interesting question though: what would happen if OP boarded the train before 10am and was caught? Would it be an excess to £12, an undiscounted ticket, the cheaper of these? Or would it be as though no ticket were held?

Surely it falls under the category of using a time restricted ticket outside of it's permitted time, so should be an excess to the most appropriate ticket for the journey being made?

 

[yorkie]

The situation the OP states raises an interesting question though: what would happen if OP boarded the train before 10am and was caught? Would it be an excess to £12, an undiscounted ticket, the cheaper of these?

Depends on the price of the ticket, as it would be the cheaper of the two.

Or would it be as though no ticket were held?

No, that is what would happen if no Railcard was produced. Providing the ticket and Railcard were otherwise valid, that is not the appropriate course of action for a time restricted ticket being used at a barred time.

Someone even managed to get a Railcard discounted CDS to Hadfield excessed to a non-Railcard SDS to Hadfield.... by G4S of all people at Manchester Piccadilly. So if G4S can do it, it must be easy

 

[oddiesjack]

Just found this thread, and I was hoping that it would answer a question I have, but it rather looks like reb0118 asked, and there doesn't seem to be an answer provided.

The issue is with the 16-25 railcard "minimum fare before 09:59" restriction. BRfares uses a lot of ifs and mays regarding this, so is there anywhere a list of the routes to which this restriction applies, or doesn't apply?

 

[barrykas]

The issue is with the 16-25 railcard "minimum fare before 09:59" restriction. BRfares uses a lot of ifs and mays regarding this, so is there anywhere a list of the routes to which this restriction applies, or doesn't apply?

It applies nationwide, except for PlusBus and Advance tickets. More accurately, it applies to journeys between 0430 and 0959 (inclusive) Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays and in July & August.

 

[oddiesjack]

Barry,

Thank you for the prompt reply. In the specific case I was asking about, (Chinley-Sheffield) if my friend is using the bus in Sheffield anyway, does this mean she can get a plus bus ticket and get the 16-25 discounted off-peak fare if getting the 09.19 train?

 

[Paul Kelly]

More accurately, it applies to journeys between 0430 and 0959 (inclusive) Mondays to Fridays

I've been meaning to come back to this for a while. I tried to get a discussion going about the new rule (between 0430 and 0959, rather than the previous before 1000) going here, but nobody really rose to the debate!

In the end I left it because the terms & conditions on National Rail Enquiries seemed to suggest that the minimum fare applied to any journeys that involved travel between 0430 and 0959. But I was in England a couple of months ago and out of curiosity picked up a 16-25 Railcard Leaflet at Feltham Station and noticed that in there it referred to journeys starting between 0430 and 0959. And indeed on the 16-25 Railcard website it says:

A £12 minimum fare applies for journeys starting between 4.30am-10am Monday to Friday excluding Advance Fares. This minimum fare does not apply on Public Holidays or throughout July and August.

So, if these are the officially applying terms and conditions, then I believe smith368 is actually correct in his interpretation that he can buy a ticket dated the previous day or earlier that is valid for more than one day, start his journey any time previous to the 0430 cut-off point (this could even be up to a month earlier, in the case of the return portion of a period return) and break it somewhere convenient. Then as his journey will have already started outside the 0430 to 0959 period, he will be free to resume it within this period and the minimum fare won't apply.

 

[gnolife]

It applies nationwide, except for PlusBus and Advance tickets. More accurately, it applies to journeys between 0430 and 0959 (inclusive) Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays and in July & August.

It also doesn't apply to Rovers and Rangers.

 

[bb21]

Barry,

Thank you for the prompt reply. In the specific case I was asking about, (Chinley-Sheffield) if my friend is using the bus in Sheffield anyway, does this mean she can get a plus bus ticket and get the 16-25 discounted off-peak fare if getting the 09.19 train?

The PlusBus will be fully discounted and is a separate product. It does not affect any minimum fare requirement on the railway ticket.