Splitting Tickets

[Hyperen]

Hello there,

Is it possible to buy split tickets on the day from my station?

I would like to go from Newport (South Wales) down to Dawlish Warren tomorrow.

I have worked out that it would be cheaper to get a return from Newport to Bristol Temple Meads, a return from Temple Meads to Exeter St Davids and then a return from Exeter to Dawlish Warren rather than a return from Newport all the way to Dawlish Warren.

Would my local station (Newport) be allowed to sell me the return tickets starting at Temple Meads and Exeter?

 

[dan_atki]

Yes, you should be able to buy them all at the start of the journey tomorrow.

Although, I would say get to the station a little earlier then you normally would to ensure that you don't miss the train you want to use, after all the clerk who is serving you may not have done remote origin tickets before.

 

[yorkie]

Would my local station (Newport) be allowed to sell me the return tickets starting at Temple Meads and Exeter?

If you ask them to do that, then they are compelled to. They are not allowed to refuse!

My advice is, first specify that you want a few tickets and state any railcard discount, and then state the combinations you want. e.g "Can I have a few tickets please, all with a young persons railcard for today... the first one is Newport to Bristol Temple Meads..." (wait 'til they're ready) "..the next one is from Bristol Temple Meads to...."

If buying for a group then at the start you would say e.g. "...all for 3 people" at the start, as I once witnessed someone ask for a lengthy combination and then say "the same again for another person", the ticket clerk wasn't happy as it would have been a lot quicker for them to have known it was for 2 people in the first place.

You could also write them down for them, and hand it to them.

Check the combinations are exactly right before paying though!

 

[me123]

Probably best to allow time for emergencies in case the staff don't know how to do it, and carry enough money in case you have to buy the full return if the staff can't find it in time. And I'd agree with Yorkie in recommending the written down approach. Having been a GP receptionist, I find making appointments for a large family all on different days can be slightly taxing in the brain.

 

[rail-britain]

You can purchase your tickets in advance, and for multiple journey tickets this is recommended

Last week I purchased a "split-journey" ticket from Cumbernauld to Kettering
The direct Saver Return was £97.80
I purchase a Falkirk - Crewe at £34 to take me on the sleeper
I then looked in to the return for that leg, but it was "cheaper" to travel visa London and upgrade to First Class, giving me a nice wee day out!
Crewe to Kettering is cheaper with a split at Derby, so I then asked for that portion of the ticket, which saved me another £12
The final ticket is the first journey, from Cumbernauld to Falkirk

Adding the Crewe - London leg took the fare to £152.10
I paid just £162.20 and that includes First Class on the return portion!

 

[pedned]

Alot of teh tiem its easiest to go to the Customer services section of the ticket office...

1. It saves you holding as many people up.

2. Customer services are more likely to know how to do it (more trained/more experienced).

Goodd luck

 

[Tom B]

Customer services section? We have a little desk outside the ticket office and they have even less clue than the staff in the ticket office - which is saying something.

 

[Max]

The staff at Hull are all as poorly trained as each other :roll:

To be fair, the girl who I had last week when purchasing a combination of three tickets was ok, but most of them are complete dopes.

 

[Tom B]

I had one at Retford who took five or six attempts to issue a ticket from Doncaster to Gainsborough Lea Road traveling tomorrow with a Young Persons Railcard. I even said them in the order she had to punch them into the screen, but every time it was either not YP discounted, going to the wrong place, on the wrong date, or a combination of them...

 

[me123]

Motherwell usually have very nice staff, if they are a bit slow. That's good for me as I usually have to buy some quite complicated tickets from there and they usually understand what I'm asking for. Had no real problems there to date.

 

[rail-britain]

Motherwell staff will be quite used to complex tickets, as they have a variety of passengers, from local commuters to those travelling on GNER and VT

 

[Hyperen]

Thanks, I got down to the station with plenty of time to spare - luckily the clerk knew what to do and it all went smoothly - didn't take much longer than normally getting tickets.

 

[me123]

Glad all went well.