Trivia - routes which surprisingly DO have a valid ticket?

[Howardh]

Caught Geoff Marshall's video about stations which are close together but you can't get a valid rail ticket between them (even though you could use Oyster and travel an odd route to travel between them...when otherwise it's a short walk!) and examples are the two Tyndrum stations, the two Wigan ones etc.

But I looked up St Pancras to Kings Cross thinking there's no way there would be a valid rail ticket between those two - virtually opposite each other across a road! But there is, you have to go away, and return on the tube but it's there! £6.40 single (rail out, tube onwards) via Finsbury Park.

Just wondered if there are any other like this where people wouldn't think there's a valid ticket??

 

[Dent]

But I looked up St Pancras to Kings Cross thinking there's no way there would be a valid rail ticket between those two - virtually opposite each other across a road! But there is, you have to go away, and return on the tube but it's there! £6.40 single (rail out, tube onwards) via Finsbury Park.

Are you sure? I just checked BRFares for tickets from St Pancras to King's Cross, and the only fares which come up are travelcards.

 

[vlad]

There's a fare between Frimley and Farnborough North. On foot it's only about a mile from one to the other but if you go by rail you'd reverse at Aldershot then change at Ash.

 

[greatkingrat]

The £6.40 ticket is actually an SDS London Terminals - Zone U12* Londn, and while it could be used to travel from King's Cross to St Pancras via Finsbury Park, it is not specifically intended for that journey.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The £6.40 ticket is actually an SDS London Terminals - Zone U12* Londn, and while it could be used to travel from King's Cross to St Pancras via Finsbury Park, it is not specifically intended for that journey.

What is that intended for - is it just a 2-zone Tube ticket?

 

[greatkingrat]

Yes, it is valid to any tube station in zones 1 or 2 (including King's Cross St Pancras)

 

[Ianno87]

You can buy a ticket between Lidlington and Ridgmont routed via London (100+ miles), as opposed to just travelling directly (about 3 miles)

 

[Dent]

Yes, it is valid to any tube station in zones 1 or 2 (including King's Cross St Pancras)

So not by any means a fare specifically for travel between King's Cross and St Pancras. What is in any way surprising about a ticket valid between any two stations in a zone being valid between two particular stations which are both in that zone?

 

[lyndhurst25]

You can buy a single ticket from Liverpool Central to Liverpool Lime Street. It's only a short walk between the two. To use the train, because of the one-way Merseyrail loop line, you'd have to change trains at either Moorfields or James Street.

 

[yorkie]

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[yorkie]

But I looked up St Pancras to Kings Cross thinking there's no way there would be a valid rail ticket between those two - virtually opposite each other across a road! But there is, you have to go away, and return on the tube but it's there! £6.40 single (rail out, tube onwards) via Finsbury Park.

Just wondered if there are any other like this where people wouldn't think there's a valid ticket??

By the above logic, there is a ticket for every journey because of products such as Travelcards, Day Rangers and Rovers!

 

[Howardh]

By the above logic, there is a ticket for every journey because of products such as Travelcards, Day Rangers and Rovers!

One wonders if there are any parts of the UK NOT covered by such!
I have just checked national rail enquiries and you can buy a ticket for the two Tyndrum stations, as long as you travel (and change) at Crianlarich. But Not Wigan NW to Wallgate even though it's perfectly possible - change at Ince in theory but probably in reality Salford Crescent as I doubt any trains going through NW call at Ince. Mind you, as Yorkie states, the GM Ranger covers the journey, so there IS a ticket even if there isn't....but it doesn't come up on the NRE site.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

One wonders if there are any parts of the UK NOT covered by such!
I have just checked national rail enquiries and you can buy a ticket for the two Tyndrum stations, as long as you travel (and change) at Crianlarich. But Not Wigan NW to Wallgate even though it's perfectly possible - change at Ince in theory but probably in reality Salford Crescent as I doubt any trains going through NW call at Ince. Mind you, as Yorkie states, the GM Ranger covers the journey, so there IS a ticket even if there isn't....but it doesn't come up on the NRE site.

The All Line Rover exists...

 

[Howardh]

The All Line Rover exists...

Darned....
Wouldn't cover you for Bury - Rawtenstall though!!!

 

[Springs Branch]

• Hyde North to Flowery Field

400 metre 5 min walk between stations.
£3.30 single and around 15 mins by train, changing at Guide Bridge.
In comparison the £2.70 fare from Rose Hill Marple to Marple (changing at Romiley) seems a bargain to avoid the 1.1 mile /20+ minute walk.

Outside metropolitan areas there are some situations where fares have been defined between stations close together as a result of the method of setting fares between groups of stations rather than individual locations.
Whether or not these fares are then offered on booking sites seems to vary.
Presumably in some cases the system has been configured to suppress a fare which is technically in the database.
For example:-

• New Mills Newtown and New Mills Central
  Geographically ¾ mile walk downhill (uphill coming back)
  National Rail Enquiries planner says no fares available, travel time is 18 mins with comment "Passengers should make their own way between these stations, the journey returned is based on the estimated walking time"
  But Northern (and other TOC websites) will sell you an Anytime Day Single for £15.50, route via Manchester.
  BR Fares website shows this £15.50 fare applies between any stations in "Buxton cluster" and the "Marple cluster".

• Burscough Junction to Burscough Bridge
  Geographically ¾ mile walk (flat)
  National Rail Enquiries planner says no fares available, travel time 16 mins and "Passengers should make their own way between these stations, the journey returned is based on the estimated walking time"
  Northern website says "No tickets available, please refine your search".
  BR Fares website shows a £10.90 Anytime Day Single. The same price applies between any stations in the Ormskirk cluster (which includes BCJ) and any in the Wigan cluster (including BCB), so you would pay the same £10.90 for a perfectly plausible single from Ormskirk to Atherton.

 

[Haywain]

Darned....
Wouldn't cover you for Bury - Rawtenstall though!!!

Neither of those towns are currently on the National Rail network.

 

[yorkie]

I have just checked national rail enquiries and you can buy a ticket for the two Tyndrum stations, as long as you travel (and change) at Crianlarich.

No, you cannot buy "a ticket" (except for a Rover product); you can buy tickets (plural) to cover any journey and NRE will often show this.

But Not Wigan NW to Wallgate even though it's perfectly possible - change at Ince in theory but probably in reality Salford Crescent as I doubt any trains going through NW call at Ince. Mind you, as Yorkie states, the GM Ranger covers the journey, so there IS a ticket even if there isn't....but it doesn't come up on the NRE site.

There is a fixed link between them, but if you force a via point, it will show a combination of tickets.

I don't see why you are using NRE to do this; NRE is very poor at explaining what the combinations of tickets it is suggesting actually consist of, and they have chosen NOT to link the "buy now" button to a split ticketing website that could actually sell the tickets, instead linking to websites that do not support split ticketing, resulting in error messages.

They've obviously tested this system, they know it is happening. It has been like this for years. A solution would be easy. I can therefore only conclude it is a deliberate policy decision.

 

[tony_mac]

and they have chosen NOT to link the "buy now" button to a split ticketing website that could actually sell the tickets, instead linking to websites that do not support split ticketing, resulting in error messages.

It does actually work with some providers and puts both tickets in your basket. e.g., TransPennine or Hull Trains.