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Sailrail changes

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embers25

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Hang on when was this MASSIVE change in rail sail making it advance and reservation only for both train and boat announced?
 
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raildude

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Sailrail are "Advance" from January, compulsory train & ferry reservation.
 
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OwlMan

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AIU it will not be advance tickets - but all tickets will need a compulsary reservations (where possible). It should be taking place for NFM 11 in order to stop these tickets being used for internal National Rail journeys (as promoted on various internet forums and websites). The alternative would be hefty price rises.

Peter
 

wintonian

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Another example of what happens when people post things on the internet that could be 'abused'.
 

Techniquest

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So trips like my implusive NI trip in January won't be possible soon? It's nice to have the option to go on such a trip with little notice, having to book it weeks in advance just doesn't seem right to me somehow.

More reason for me to get on with getting a passport so I can fly over to Ireland next time...
 

Drimnagh Road

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Two quick points from a very frequent rail-sail user:

1: The flexibility of been able to turn up on the day at either a port e.g. Dublin Port or indeed a train station e.g. Euston and been able to buy a ticket there and then without been penalised is the single biggest marketing tool that ferry companies & TOC use to promote ferry and train as a viable alternative to airlines.

2: If hard pressed rail users can save money on internal journeys e.g. London Euston-Chester by purchasing rail-sail, why not. This is a problem with the current privatised rail system as a whole and in particular the ridiculous fares structures in the UK, be it advance / walk-up, or peak / off-peak. The differences are phenomenal. Fares to rise what.... 3% above inflation over the next few years in a time when fewer people are working and earning less. Doesn't make sense.
 

OwlMan

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So trips like my implusive NI trip in January won't be possible soon? It's nice to have the option to go on such a trip with little notice, having to book it weeks in advance just doesn't seem right to me somehow.

More reason for me to get on with getting a passport so I can fly over to Ireland next time...

Where do you get weeks in advance from?
It is just compulsary reservations ( 3 hours in advance?)
 

wintonian

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Well as I tend to turn up at the station buy a ticket and hop on the next train the advantages of railsail (mainly its flexibility) will have been lost and I will have to look again at the cost benefit ratio of both railsail and flying, unfortunately I fear the latter will win.
 

embers25

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If reservations on trains are compulsory that makes it advance as although you claim it can still be booked 3 hrs before that is only if reservations are still available. Also Railsail offers full routing guide flexibility of route whereas advance reservation will offer very limited options without much arguing with the ticket office. In addition when the boat is late what happens...doI now have to get Stena/Irish ferries to endorse on my ticket just how late my boat was to ensure I can continue as I'll have missed my reserved train. Also in the case of Holyhead often the boats arrive right before the train leaves but if you are reserved they'll reserve you on the train 1 hour later meaning a long wait.
Bottom line here would seem to me to be VIRGIN demanding this to protect their revenue as I can't see it affecting anyone else so yet again Virgin rip us off and screw up a perfectly good ticket making air the only option. Also like the massive conditions of carriage changes why are these changes not being publicised. This is VERY wrong. For example if my train from Londonderry to Belfast is delayed and I miss the boat at Belfast I have to get NIR to endorse my ticket and then pray Stena let me on and then get them to endorse it if they are late or else Virgin won't let me on. This is gonna get more farcical than it already is.Thanks VIRGIN! Back to Ryanair and FlyMaybe for me. Does this apply to Great Western via Rosslare too as they always seemed more flexible being non-Virgin practically encouraging turn up and go? Also on the Stranraer one I assume the ticket type will no longer be an Anytime Day Return?
 

LexyBoy

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A pity, but not exactly surprising considering the fantastically good value of RailSail fares (assuming that's not going to change drastically). It used to be compulsory reservations for the ferry anyway.

As RailSail is sold as two singles, am I right in thinking that it is possible to buy the return portion in Ireland (or v/v) if one was not sure when one was returning?
 

embers25

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It is currently possible to buy the return bit in Ireland (North or South) and you get a written ticket s I'm not sure how they'd do the UK train reservations, anyone know if IR or NIR can do Nat Rail reservations or boat reservations for that matter?
 

wintonian

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A pity, but not exactly surprising considering the fantastically good value of RailSail fares (assuming that's not going to change drastically). It used to be compulsory reservations for the ferry anyway.

As RailSail is sold as two singles, am I right in thinking that it is possible to buy the return portion in Ireland (or v/v) if one was not sure when one was returning?

No a return costs the same as 2 singles, a return giving 1 months validity on the return portion or 2 months for tickets via Stranraer to destination in NI, I think.
 

Liam

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More reason for me to get on with getting a passport so I can fly over to Ireland next time...

IIRC, You don't need a passport to go to Ireland (north or south). Any form of photo ID will do.
 

AlterEgo

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But most (all) of the airlines now require one anyway as I understand it.

I am fairly sure Republic of Ireland flights are treated as 'domestic' by UK Border Control. I am reasonably certain that last year my sister used her driving licence to travel with Ryanair to Dublin....
 

SickyNicky

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island

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IIRC, You don't need a passport to go to Ireland (north or south). Any form of photo ID will do.

To go from the UK (including NI) to ROI without a valid passport you are supposed to be able to produce some proof that you are Irish or British. It is virtually never demanded on land crossings, sporadically on sea crossings, and almost always on air crossings.
 

bkhtele

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I would be happy with this if the system gave me sensible journeys! If you have ever tried to book a journey from Swindon to Belfast + ferry journey the options are very limited. They certainly don't suggest allow overnight stops at Holyhead or a sensible departure time in the morning. It would be ok if you courd agree the ferry and then book reservations on trains that suit me and comply with the routing guide.
 

embers25

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Never been passport checked at Stranraer or Fishguard but was through Holyhead on a Sunday a few months back. I remember because it took just long enough for me to miss my Voyager to London...missing Voyagers is obviously not exactly bad in itself but the next train an hour later was also a Voyager!
 

4SRKT

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You absolutely do not need a passport to visit the Republic of Ireland. This has always been the case since partition and survived the Republic becoming fully independent in 1949, and is a reciprocal arrangement between the two countries. Ryanair (a bunch of ****s) have introduced their own ridiculous rule contradicting this meaning you can't check in online (and therefore can't check in) without entering your passport number. Goodness knows why they should care about this as all other airlines just let you print off your boarding pass and then show the appropriate ID to Security (NOT Customs) at the airport, in the knowledge that if you don't have it you won't be able to fly. Typical Ryanair arrogance: I would guess the reason is to catch out the unwary who will not realise at the time of booking that they will need to enter a passport number when the time comes to check in (for instance a first time Ryanair traveller who is used to travelling with a civilised airline), and then when it comes to it won't be able to check in so Ryanair get to keep their ching without actually having to carry them.

Is it even legal for Ryanair to refuse to take forms of ID deemed suitable for use on Anglo-Irish flights by the govts of Britain and Ireland? Never mind Anglo-Irish, before the PIK > BHD flight was withdrawn last year you had to enter a passport number to check in for a domestic flight between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
 

island

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You absolutely do not need a passport to visit the Republic of Ireland.
You do, however, need proof of Irish or British citizenship as I mention above (source: section 12, Immigration Act 2004).

Is it even legal for Ryanair to refuse to take forms of ID deemed suitable for use on Anglo-Irish flights by the govts of Britain and Ireland? Never mind Anglo-Irish, before the PIK > BHD flight was withdrawn last year you had to enter a passport number to check in for a domestic flight between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

You still have to have a passport to fly on domestic Ryanair flights (e.g. STN-EDI).

As Ryanair is a private company, it is entitled to choose with whom it will do business and on what terms; persons wishing to fly to Scotland using their driving license can go on easyJet, to Ireland with their student card Aer Lingus, or to Newcastle with no ID at all British Airways.
 

4SRKT

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You still have to have a passport to fly on domestic Ryanair flights (e.g. STN-EDI).

As Ryanair is a private company, it is entitled to choose with whom it will do business and on what terms; persons wishing to fly to Scotland using their driving license can go on easyJet, to Ireland with their student card Aer Lingus, or to Newcastle with no ID at all British Airways.

Would it be OK for it to choose any terms? Why would it want to choose terms that are different from the govt's already ridiculously overblown requirements? There has to be a rationale for every behaviour and there is too much acceptance of the trite line that it is a private company so it can do what it likes regardless. If anyone can convince me that there is a good reason for them doing something that nobody else (including the governments) requires, then I'll be converted. Until then I'll just assume that it's 'entitlement to choose terms' is a front for something nefarious.

Going to Newcastle on BA isn't a particularly useful way of someone with no ID getting to, say, Dublin is it? Your 'choice' argument doesn't stand up to a lot of scrutiny.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
You do, however, need proof of Irish or British citizenship as I mention above (source: section 12, Immigration Act 2004).

Since I'm talking about passports, I'm not sure what relevance you repeating this has.
 

AlterEgo

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Would it be OK for it to choose any terms?

Yes, provided they publish what those terms are to the customer and make them available before they part with any money.

If you don't like it, don't fly Ryanair. They seem to do OK.
 

island

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Would it be OK for it to choose any terms? Why would it want to choose terms that are different from the govt's already ridiculously overblown requirements? There has to be a rationale for every behaviour and there is too much acceptance of the trite line that it is a private company so it can do what it likes regardless. If anyone can convince me that there is a good reason for them doing something that nobody else (including the governments) requires, then I'll be converted. Until then I'll just assume that it's 'entitlement to choose terms' is a front for something nefarious.
You're welcome to that assumption. Companies are still entitled to prevent anyone they wish from buying from them, and the counterbalance to this is called "the market". If Ryanair's terms were that onerous that enough people chose to do business with someone else, it would be forced to change or go out of business. Last I checked Ryanair is not loss-making.

As I understand it, however, Ryanair's requirement for domestic passengers to produce a passport was implemented so that all their flights would have the same requirement, therefore it could simplify staff training and not have to have a large binder at every boarding gate listing the different kinds of ID that are accepted for different categories of flights.

Again, don't like it? Don't book with Ryanair.

Going to Newcastle on BA isn't a particularly useful way of someone with no ID getting to, say, Dublin is it? Your 'choice' argument doesn't stand up to a lot of scrutiny.

Well, I said someone wanting to go to Dublin with a student card can travel on Aer Lingus. The other items were further examples of how people could avoid Ryanair's requirement that you hold a passport, which you brought up in the first place.
 
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