Superbreak Tickets

[Darandio]

Hi guys

I have a two night break in London booked for a week on Tuesday (23rd March) and returning on the Thursday with tickets included for travel on East Coast.

Now, the tickets have arrived and they are more akin to business cards, little white things with East Coast branding etc. They have our outward date of travel (23rd), from any EC station to London and return within one month of outward travel. There are time restrictions which I know about so need no further help on this.

Do I need to do any more with these, i.e go into the ticket office before travel and get "proper" tickets issued on behalf of these? Or can I just travel with them as normal?

 

[furryfeet]

they should be good to travel with as they are.
unless they have "Not valid for travel" stamped on them.

 

[transportphoto]

Off Subject Sorry - Make use of them go the furthest possible route (eg) Aberdeen./ Inverness to London. Knock up your mileage.

(Going by what you said

from any EC station to London

you can do this!)

But yes I would think they should be valid - but better to be safe than Sorry. Check in a ticket office / travel center (best with a EC one)!

 

[142094]

I've never heard of this before, can't see why they didn't provide you with a normal ticket. Does it include the seat reservations as well?

 

[Darandio]

No mate, no seat reservations but although they are not "real" tickets, they are definetely valid, I just need to have my documentation/booking with me. I just wondered if I did need to exchange them for proper tickets or not.

@transportphoto I would! But I am travelling with my partner and she wont!

 

[142094]

Just wondering if this is something issued by a travel agent or something along those lines. Did you book the hotel and train travel through a company like Reader Travel which are usually in newspapers? They often do promotions such as a hotel and train travel for a West End show and things like that.

 

[Darandio]

Yeah, Superbreak. http://www.superbreak.com/rail/east_coast-2.htm

 

[John @ home]

Do I need to do any more with these, i.e go into the ticket office before travel and get "proper" tickets issued on behalf of these? Or can I just travel with them as normal?

No, these are the proper tickets. The key words are printed on the back:

This ticket is issued subject to the conditions shown in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage and in any other publications and notices applicable to its use.

I used the East Coast offer with Superbreak twice last year.

It was the "Any EC Station" flexibility which made this package cost in for me. On one occasion, I travelled outward Leeds to Glasgow (via Doncaster because the route is "East Coast Trains only" - this is not normally a permitted route for that journey) and returned Glasgow - Kings Cross.

East Coast guards are familiar with these white tickets and will just stamp them as normal. I notice from the stamp that I travelled on train 1D28 on 19 April 2009.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

they should be good to travel with as they are.
unless they have "Not valid for travel" stamped on them.

They are perfectly valid as they are, but please note they are valid on East Coast Trains only. We get them quite a lot on TPE trains and people get stroppy when we don't accept them and charge them again.

 

[John @ home]

please note they are valid on East Coast Trains only. We get them quite a lot on TPE trains

Yes. I don't think it's at all obvious from the documentation that journeys from Leeds to anywhere north must be made via Doncaster.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Yes. I don't think it's at all obvious from the documentation that journeys from Leeds to anywhere north must be made via Doncaster.

Yes, we get quite a few from York to Leeds and vice versa. We also get quite a few joining at Huddersfield going to Leeds. It is a bit silly that really as the holiday booking they have shows them travelling Huddersfield to Leeds, but they give them an East Coast only ticket!

 

[John @ home]

We also get quite a few joining at Huddersfield going to Leeds. It is a bit silly that really as the holiday booking they have shows them travelling Huddersfield to Leeds, but they give them an East Coast only ticket!

That's even worse than the Harrogate example I had encountered! The time restrictions on Superbreak tickets mean that there is one valid train a week at 0744 on a Saturday morning. So the burghers of Harrogate may go on their Superbreak holiday then.

But there is no East Coast service to Harrogate at all. Therefore they are never permitted to return from their holiday! Depending on their point of view, that may be a fatal flaw or an added attraction.

 

[A60K]

That's even worse than the Harrogate example I had encountered! The time restrictions on Superbreak tickets mean that there is one valid train a week at 0744 on a Saturday morning. So the burghers of Harrogate may go on their Superbreak holiday then.

But there is no East Coast service to Harrogate at all. Therefore they are never permitted to return from their holiday! Depending on their point of view, that may be a fatal flaw or an added attraction.

If it means getting off at wandering around Leeds station forever on their return journey then I would certainly count it as the former of those

 

[Darandio]

They are perfectly valid as they are, but please note they are valid on East Coast Trains only. We get them quite a lot on TPE trains and people get stroppy when we don't accept them and charge them again.

Dont worry, I am not that daft!

One further question I have though. When it gets stamped on the outbound journey, is it the same pair of tickets I keep for the way back or are new ones issued?

 

[John @ home]

When it gets stamped on the outbound journey, is it the same pair of tickets I keep for the way back or are new ones issued?

I was given two tickets:
Ticket 1 for 2 Adults "To GLASGOW From ANY EC STATION"
Ticket 2 for 2 Adults "From GLASGOW To ANY EC STATION"

What do you have?

 

[Darandio]

Ah yes, cheers John, it was me not looking properly!

I have the same but to and from London.

 

[royaloak]

Dont worry, I am not that daft!

Ah yes, cheers John, it was me not looking properly!

I have the same but to and from London.

The second quote contradicts the first , sorry