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Southport to Crewe Anytime - valid via Man Picc?

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trainophile

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I’ve got the return half of a CRE-SOP Anytime Short Return, so travelling SOP-CRE. Ticket reads “Valid via any permitted route”. Would this be valid via WGN and MAN or would I have to go direct WGN-CRE?

I know it’s longer but I prefer boarding at the start of a service!
 
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Bletchleyite

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I’ve got the return half of a CRE-SOP Anytime Short Return, so travelling SOP-CRE. Ticket reads “Valid via any permitted route”. Would this be valid via WGN and MAN or would I have to go direct WGN-CRE?

I know it’s longer but I prefer boarding at the start of a service!

I don't know (it seems a bit way-off to me), but if you try getting an itinerary from the National Rail Enquiries site and it does it with the ticket you intend to use then that's definitive that it is - print it out and take it with you. If it's offered but with two or more tickets then not.

How about via Liverpool if you want to board both services at their origin? That's to me the obviously sensible route, not Wigan.
 

roversfan2001

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A quick check of the routeing guide reveals that maps CH, CV or NC can be used (the first two using Liverpool Group and the last one using Wigan Group). The only permitted routes are via Wigan, via Liverpool or via Chester.

NRE offers a split at Stockport when searching for CRE-SOP via MAN just to confirm it.
 

trainophile

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Wow thanks for quick replies. It’s actually today I’m travelling and I have an TfW Advance from Crewe on the 1509 so by the time I’ve wrapped everything up at the flat and got to SOP station I don’t think I’d have time to get to LIV. Actually MAN would have been tight. Will stick with Plan A, but thanks for the info which is useful for future plans.
 

Watershed

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Unfortunately not, unless you can find a website that will offer you an itinerary that way.

It should be valid - it's the only route that offers a cross-platform interchange (at Stockport), and it can be the fastest route, but unfortunately it's not defined as a permitted route.

I imagine that it would probably be accepted anyway, but if you want to be sure of validity you could buy/excess your ticket to Sandbach. However, you would also need to take a train that stops at Sandbach, and if you wanted to use it to go to Crewe, you'd need a Sandbach to Crewe return on top.

Alternatively you would need to split at Manchester - but that increases the cost by quite a bit, and ties you to going via Manchester.

I can't find any ticket that's valid via all possible reasonable routes - via Liverpool and Acton Bridge, via Liverpool and Chester, via Wigan and Warrington, and via Wigan and Manchester - if you actually want to go to Crewe.

The fact that you can get that full choice of routes, for the same price, if you're going to Sandbach gives away the fact that it's not really to do with preventing anomalies. It's just down to being "simple" (read: needlessly restrictive).
 
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trainophile

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Haha yes “simple“ crossed my mind while reading your post! I have been trying various alternatives since TfW started doing reasonable Advances on various routes that they never used to offer. Seeking a combination of cheapness and convenience, and I must admit I prefer to avoid Merseyrail where possible nowadays.
 
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