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Sleeper ticket query

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Barclay

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Chaps

I wonder if someone could clarify something for me?

On January 2nd, I have a Advance Single ticket for the Inverness - Euston Sleeper which cost over £90.

I am staying at Invergarry over the New Year, which is roughly halfway between Fort William and Inverness. I had planned to catch a bus to Inverness at some point on the 2nd, but have subsequently discovered there is no bus service on the 2nd as it is a bank holiday in Scotland.

I may be able to get a lift to Dalwhinnie, where I could pick up the Inverness sleeper. However, when I 'phoned Scotrail telesales, the (rather patronising) agent told me there was categorically no way I could pick up the train from Dalwhinnie and there was no way of changing my ticket. Is this right?
 
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EltonRoad

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Not according to the conditions on ScotRail web site, where it says Sleeper Advance tickets can be changed up to close of reservations on the day of travel subject to a £10 admin fee.
 

bb21

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What is the exact price of your ticket?
 

yorkie

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It is right, an Advance ticket is non-refundable, and changes to travel plans can be made (ie, changing the date/time) before departure subject to a £10 admin charge, but "The origin, destination and Train Company or route shown on the ticket(s) must remain the same."

If you were finishing short, it would be less of an issue, but starting short could be a big problem, and your seat or berth (it is unclear which you have) could be re-allocated if you do not occupy it at Inverness. For daytime trains the seat issue isn't a big problem as you can sit elsewhere or stand, but for sleepers that is a problem.

Is there any way at all you can get from Invergarry to Inverness?
 

raildude

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Stagecoach in Inverness Route 19 should be running according to Traveline. (Only 2 buses run on Bank Holidays though, this one is most suited).

Dep Invergarry 16:20
Arr Inverness 17:33

From: Invergarry, after Junction on A82
To: Inverness, Stance 2 Bus Station on Farraline Park
Departs at 02/01/2012 16:20
Arrives at 02/01/2012 17:33
Duration 1 hours 13 mins
 

Barclay

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Hi Chaps

Thanks for the replies. Traveline is wrong (The fact it is advertising a service is what led me to booking the ticket in the first place), there's no bus service on January 2nd. I phoned Inverness bus station to confirm this today.

The ticket is for a berth, not seat. It was £90.30.

Seems just bonkers that I can't join the train at Dalwhinnie when I've paid from Inverness!
 

Welshman

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If there are no buses running at all, you could always try to get your lift to Dalwhinnie a few hours earlier to allow you to go to Inverness on the 1625 train!
That would cost you an extra £10.30p, leave you kicking your heels in Inverness for 2.5 hours, and seems a crazy way to do it, but I can't think of any other solution.
 

bb21

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The ticket is for a berth, not seat. It was £90.30.

Having looked up the detailed terms relating to this ticket, I have to say that I agree with the other posters. I think the best solution is for you to get the lift to Dalwhinnie earlier and then travel to Inverness to catch your sleeper. It would cost you £10 to change the date of travel anyway otherwise.

I would say if you really want to, you can write to Scotrail, explain the circumstance and see if they will exercise some discretion and provide you with some written authority allowing you to board midway. However I wouldn't count on it although it won't hurt to try.
 

142094

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Seems just bonkers that I can't join the train at Dalwhinnie when I've paid from Inverness!

Unfortunately that is the conditions of the ticket that you paid for - with some other tickets it would be perfectly possible to start or end short, but not with this one I'm afraid.

Best advice is to get the train from Dalwhinnie back to Inverness to meet the sleeper.
 

Barclay

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Unfortunately that is the conditions of the ticket that you paid for - with some other tickets it would be perfectly possible to start or end short, but not with this one I'm afraid.

Best advice is to get the train from Dalwhinnie back to Inverness to meet the sleeper.

It's still bonkers though! I only bought the ticket and didn't bother with flying because I thought the sleeper would be less hassle and give me a good full day in Scotland. It's not as if my ticket was particularly cheap, if I'd bought a bargain berth I wouldn't complain.
 

bb21

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It's still bonkers though! I only bought the ticket and didn't bother with flying because I thought the sleeper would be less hassle and give me a good full day in Scotland. It's not as if my ticket was particularly cheap, if I'd bought a bargain berth I wouldn't complain.

It is bonkers. Unfortunately this is the way it is at the moment and the only thing we can do is to work around it.

You have sufficient time to write to Scotrail (or ring them if you prefer) and seek some help that way. This is the best you can do at this stage unfortunately.
 

yorkie

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It's still bonkers though! I only bought the ticket and didn't bother with flying because I thought the sleeper would be less hassle and give me a good full day in Scotland. It's not as if my ticket was particularly cheap, if I'd bought a bargain berth I wouldn't complain.
The question has been answered, but if it's opinions we're talking now, then yes it is utterly bonkers.

You could, of course, try making this point to Scotrail. If you feel that you don't receive a suitable response, you could also contact your MP, mentioning that you're aware that the service is subsidised by taxpayers, and asking whether such rules are a good use of taxpayers money.
 

LexyBoy

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Not being allowed to start short in this instance is perfectly reasonable, as it means that no-shows can have berths reallocated. The bonkers part is not being able to change the origin/destination station.
 
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