Travelling from Edinburgh query.

[jadmor]

I'm travelling to London.

I usually depart from Edinburgh Waverley.

On this occasion, it was cheaper to buy a ticket departing from Haymarket.

My question is: can I board the train at Waverley (which is the second stop)?

The ticket code is BPT.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@jadmor. What ticket type is this? Advance? Super Off Peak? Other? And are you travelling to Kings Cross?

Also, how much did you pay? Was there any railcard discount?

 

[sheff1]

BPT is an Advance ticket type which is only valid for the specific journey booked i.e. from Haymarket.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

BPT is an Advance ticket type which is only valid for the specific journey booked i.e. from Haymarket.

Standard class £36.90 Advance Single (route "LNER & Connections").

Restriction code is actually 'GC'. (Valid on London North Eastern Railway and connecting services. Seat reservations are compulsory).

Ticket Restriction GC | National Rail

Ticket restriction details GC. Each train ticket restriction code states when and/or on what train(s) the ticket is not valid and the days and/or dates that these restrictions apply.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

So, is what the OP has asked permitted, or not? (Presume not).

 

[Watershed]

Ticket code BPT is an Advance ticket. With Advance tickets, on paper the rules say you must travel from the booked origin station to the booked destination station, and that break of journey (which includes starting or finishing your journey at an intermediate station) isn't permitted.

However, in practice, tickets for Edinburgh Waverley and Haymarket have long been treated as interchangeable (equivalent to an unofficial "Edinburgh Stations" group) and so I wouldn't expect any difficulties starting your journey at Waverley.

In fact, in many situations you'd have to pass through two sets of barriers at Waverley to change trains when coming from Haymarket, so it wouldn't even be evident that you're "starting late" if you pass through a gateline at Waverley to take your booked LNER service.

After a widely publicised story back in 2010 about a professor being penalised for getting off one stop early at Darlington, on an Advance from London to Durham, internal industry guidelines were written which still stand to this day and advise that no penalty should be imposed for break of journey on an Advance unless there is clear evidence of intent to avoid a higher intermediate fare.

Although of course we couldn't advise knowingly breaking the terms of your Advance ticket, it seems pretty unlikely that - even if any member of staff somehow realised you were starting your journey at Waverley and took exception to this - you would be penalised in view of the above factors.

The worst penalty that could lawfully be imposed would be to have to pay the "excess" (difference) between the fare paid and the cheapest valid walk-up fare that permits break of journey. Seeing as Haymarket isn't included in LNER's rip-off "Simpler Fares trial", the cheapest valid walk-up fare permitting break of journey would be the £91.20 Super Off-Peak Single for all London-bound trains after the 06:26 from Waverley on Mon-Thu - and for all trains on Fri-Sun. So in the worst case scenario you'd be liable for an excess of £54.30 - not ideal, but not necessarily the end of the world.

I think the only situation where I would advise caution would be if you were booked on one of the handful of direct Haymarket to Kings Cross services, as here it would be slightly more obvious that you were starting your journey at the 'wrong' Edinburgh station.

 

[WittyUsername]

Going the other way, I often get a ticket to EDB, change at Waverley - often needing to go through at least one barrier - and exit at Haymarket with no problems.

Doing what you want has also worked fine, I just do it less often.

 

[Willie Bee]

On this occasion, it was cheaper to buy a ticket departing from Haymarket.

Depending on what you saved on the ticket price ... wouldn't it be worth taking a bus from Waverley to Haymarket (perhaps £2 only) or tram maybe .. or if you are feeling fit, it's only a little over one mile to walk.

 

[wilbers]

Depending on what you saved on the ticket price ... wouldn't it be worth taking a bus from Waverley to Haymarket (perhaps £2 only) or tram maybe .. or if you are feeling fit, it's only a little over one mile to walk.

Remember that Waverley as a whole isn't gated, only certain parts of it. While I've been through Haymarket, I've never actually got off or boarded a train there - if that isn't gated (?) then that means there can't be a complication of not having a barrier scan on it.

 

[Gaelan]

intent to avoid a higher intermediate fare.

Which is of course exactly what OP is doing here…

Remember that Waverley as a whole isn't gated, only certain parts of it. While I've been through Haymarket, I've never actually got off or boarded a train there - if that isn't gated (?) then that means there can't be a complication of not having a barrier scan on it.

Haymarket is gated.

 

[najaB]

Depending on what you saved on the ticket price ... wouldn't it be worth taking a bus from Waverley to Haymarket (perhaps £2 only) or tram maybe .. or if you are feeling fit, it's only a little over one mile to walk.

That seems like the best option to me. While there's almost zero chance of getting hassle starting short at Waverley you could bring it down to exactly zero with about a 20 minute walk.

Haymarket is gated.

Indeed it is. I've had a Waverley ticket rejected by the barriers there, the staff were happy to let me through though.

 

[Benjwri]

However, in practice, tickets for Edinburgh Waverley and Haymarket have long been treated as interchangeable (equivalent to an unofficial "Edinburgh Stations" group) and so I wouldn't expect any difficulties starting your journey at Waverley.

I've heard of one person getting hassle for it recently though, apparently something to do with the Off Peak removal from sale (Not sure how it affected in this case, but apparently that's what was said...

 

[30907]

I've heard of one person getting hassle for it recently though, apparently something to do with the Off Peak removal from sale (Not sure how it affected in this case, but apparently that's what was said...

Haymarket to/from London is not part of the "no Offpeak" trial, and therefore (I presume) Advance tickets are effectively capped at the Super OP Single rate.

 

[Siemens Trains]

Indeed it is. I've had a Waverley ticket rejected by the barriers there, the staff were happy to let me through though.

That's interesting - I buy ScotRail tickets at random to Waverley or Haymarket then randomly alight or board the return journey at either station. The only time I've had difficulties with barriers is if I mix up the outward or return portions. Never because it's the wrong station on the ticket.

But anyway, the question is really about arrangements at Waverley. In my experience if you're boarding or alighting from an LNER train at a rare gated platform here (probably only applicable to platforms 6 or 7) any barriers are left open and there are no ticket checks. I've found King's Cross much more problematic, where barriers often require some persuasion.

 

[najaB]

That's interesting - I buy ScotRail tickets at random to Waverley or Haymarket then randomly alight or board the return journey at either station. The only time I've had difficulties with barriers is if I mix up the outward or return portions. Never because it's the wrong station on the ticket.

It's only happened the once, it might have been rejected for some other reason (or the barrier was just in a mood!)

 

[sheff1]

I think the only situation where I would advise caution would be if you were booked on one of the handful of direct Haymarket to Kings Cross services, as here it would be slightly more obvious that you were starting your journey at the 'wrong' Edinburgh station.

The OP said

can I board the train at Waverley (which is the second stop)

which to me suggests they are talking about one of the direct services. Maybe they can clarify.

Of course those trains use an ungated platform but there could always be a manual check, even if I have never seen one.

 

[Siemens Trains]

Of course those trains use an ungated platform

I wondered if a through train might use platform 7/11 on the south side of Waverley station (gated, but usually left open for LNER customers).