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Super Off-Peak Return Durham-Oxford validity

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cuccir

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Hello all,

I'm planning to travel from Durham to Oxford on 25th June.

I want to use a Super-Off Peak return, as I will be attending a meeting at 16:30. I'm expecting this to finish before the last possible train back to Durham (20:07 from Oxford via London). There's an outside chance it will run over, in which case I have arranged to travel to Leamington Spa where I can stay with a friend, and will resume my journey the next day.

I looked up the validity code, to confirm that break of journey would be allowed on the return leg. It is, but another issue has cropped up:

I was hoping to travel from Durham on the 08:47 direct to Oxford on 25th, as this was the earliest train suggested by eastcoast.co.uk. The validity code is 1L, which includes the note
For journeys to southern England via Birmingham on CrossCountry, use restriction code 2V.
Code 2V tells me:
Outward and Return Journeys -
By any train except those scheduled to depart before 09:30.

This implies to me that it shouldn't be valid on the 08:47 from Durham. Can someone confirm whether this is in fact the case? Although I Could get a later train, I would like to get the 08:47 (the meeting is a job interview so I'd like to arrive as early as possible!) and I'm sure I'll be OK if I book a seat, but it would be good to know if I've missed something here?

(Codes from http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/pdfs/OffPeak.pdf by the way)
 
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SS4

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Off Peak tickets are not valid because XC in their infinite wisdom have put a blanket restriction on, supposedly to ease congestion in the middle section.

Have you tried splitting at the first station after 9:30? In the case of the 0847 this is York although of course your return train would need to call there.

Edit: Not sure, the code tells you to look up 2V which makes me think that you should then use that code but the ticket is route any permitted rather than route not london
 

calc7

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I would look for a Virgin-priced Off-Peak Return from Scotland (typically in the Glasgow area) to Oxford, that is also valid via Edinburgh and therefore Durham and does not prohibit break of journey outbound. They tend to cost not much more than the Durham to Oxford Any Permitted Super Off-Peak Return, and the restriction codes on them tend not to reference the draconian CrossCountry 2V code.
 

General Zod

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Any fares involving XC seem to be very oddly priced and very confusing. Durham - Oxford Off Peak Returns ( not London) are not valid till after 0930 but strangely enough the Super Off Peak ( via Any Permitted ) is valid on the 0847 ?! Would XC Train Managers be versed in the subtle differences between the two tickets and the validity of the latter ? XC own website is willing to sell you the said ticket.
 

calc7

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Actually, as mentioned by SS4 a Durham to York Off-Peak Return (valid after 0415) combined with a York to Oxford Super Off-Peak Return +Any Permitted (uses 2V if going via Birmingham [valid after 0930], and takes 1L ie. usual ECML restrictions on the return) is not a bad shout. I believe the 0847 from Durham departs York at 0934.
 

General Zod

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I'm surprised they haven't altered the validity of the Durham-York SVR. But I guess it doesn't hurt EC as much as it does XC.
 

cuccir

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OK, so it seems reasonable to presume that what's happening is that the booking engines aren't implementing the 'go to validity code 2V' for the any permitted ticket, and are thus allowing travel on the 08:47?
 

yorkie

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I'm surprised they haven't altered the validity of the Durham-York SVR. But I guess it doesn't hurt EC as much as it does XC.
Your surprise surprises me! ;)

Who do you mean by 'they'? This fare is set by East Coast and is in line with all their SVR fares set by EC for non-London journeys.

'They' already 'altered' it at Simplification when they bumped up the price of the SVR to an inflated price, and a new, restricted SSR introduced at the price of the old SVR!
 

bb21

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Are you being reimbursed for the travel ticket if it is an interview?
 

cuccir

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Yes, so ultimately I could just get an Anytime if I really wanted. I was mainly asking because I wanted to know if I'd made a mistake when reading the validity codes.
 
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