Trivia: Tickets that are impossible to use

[Panceltic]

Just had a look at the Ardwick to Manchester Piccadilly Off-Peak Day Return (£3.50)

Ardwick to Piccadilly has one service daily (Mon-Sat) at 0716

Piccadilly to Ardwick has one service daily (Mon-Fri) at 1657

It is impossible to use the Off-Peak Day Return since it is only valid from 0930 to 1600 and after 1830 (Mon-Fri).

Are there any other situations like this floating in the system?

Thanks

 

[miklcct]

How about Drem - East Linton? Is this ticket valid by anything other than the direct route (which no services call at both station)?

 

[Jan Mayen]

Anywhere to Altnabreac.

 

[Kite159]

Teeside Airport to Stanlow & Thornton

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

Good luck starting your journey from a mothballed station to another mothballed station

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Just had a look at the Ardwick to Manchester Piccadilly Off-Peak Day Return (£3.50)

Ardwick to Piccadilly has one service daily (Mon-Sat) at 0716

Piccadilly to Ardwick has one service daily (Mon-Fri) at 1657

It is impossible to use the Off-Peak Day Return since it is only valid from 0930 to 1600 and after 1830 (Mon-Fri).

The particular Off Peak Day Return that you mention, would, I think, be valid on a Bank Holiday, if the trains run.

 

[Kite159]

The particular Off Peak Day Return that you mention, would, I think, be valid on a Bank Holiday, if the trains run.

Isn't Northern on of the operators which generally runs a Saturday timetable on bank holidays?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Isn't Northern on of the operators which generally runs a Saturday timetable on bank holidays?

National Rail timetable planner currently showing the 0716 Ardwick->Manchester Piccadilly service as running on Wednesday 1st January 2025, as well as the return afternoon working. Whether it does, remains to be seen.

 

[Panceltic]

I can't see the return service on 1 January.

But you are correct about the restrictions, they seem to be lifted for bank holidays (according to brfares.com) - seemingly to no practical effect as there aren't any return services!

Come to think of it, a Manchester-Ardwick Day Return is totally unusable.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how many customers buy tickets to Ardwick solely to bypass the barriers at Manchester Piccadilly. Assuming that is the cheapest ticket.

 

[Watershed]

I wonder how many customers buy tickets to Ardwick solely to bypass the barriers at Manchester Piccadilly. Assuming that is the cheapest ticket.

Bit of a stupid idea seeing that at most times of day, it will be obvious what you are doing.

A ticket to Manchester Oxford Rd - or indeed an Advance ticket on a local Northern service - may well be cheaper anyway.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I wonder how many customers buy tickets to Ardwick solely to bypass the barriers at Manchester Piccadilly. Assuming that is the cheapest ticket.

Walk-up fares are priced the same from Ashburys.

 

[Kite159]

Walk-up fares are priced the same from Ashburys.

Which probably won't rise as many alarm bells in the event of a manual check.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Day returns from Reddish South or Denton to Guide Bridge or Stalybridge.
(the only return possible from those two stations is to Stockport)

Probably a mountain more with those two stations.

 

[infobleep]

Day returns from Reddish South or Denton to Guide Bridge or Stalybridge.
(the only return possible from those two stations is to Stockport)

Probably a mountain more with those two stations.

If you bought the off peak return, which is the same price as the any time single, at £3.70, and got delayed, you wouldn't get a much delay repay.

You'd need to buy it on a ticket machine that doesn't use journey planners or allows you to bypass such a thing.

 

[island]

I think it used to be the case that doing a day return between the furthest reaches of the Network Railcard zone (and starting after 1000 as one must) was not doable. Exeter St Davids to Walton on the Naze with a Network Railcard is (just) doable nowadays, but you have a mere 5 minutes before having to turn around and come back.

 

[Haywain]

I think it used to be the case that doing a day return between the furthest reaches of the Network Railcard zone (and starting after 1000 as one must) was not doable. Exeter St Davids to Walton on the Naze with a Network Railcard is (just) doable nowadays, but you have a mere 5 minutes before having to turn around and come back.

Except that from Exeter St David's you can start at 08:23 with a Network Railcard, which means you could have a whole 2 hours in Walton on the Naze.

 

[A S Leib]

More pointless than unusable, but Heysham – Morecambe and vice-versa has off-peak and anytime day returns. The only weekday service at Heysham gets there at 13:08 and leaves at 13:21, making the anytime fare pointless.

Eccles Road – Norwich on weekdays requires an anytime ticket; the off-peak's valid from 08:45 and 06:56 and 07:57 are the only morning departures.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

More pointless than unusable, but Heysham – Morecambe and vice-versa has off-peak and anytime day returns. The only weekday service at Heysham gets there at 13:08 and leaves at 13:21, making the anytime fare pointless.

And why any Anytime (or Off Peak) Day Returns from Heysham Port to/from Morecambe? You're not going to be getting back to Heysham Port the same day by train!

 

[ServerHoster]

Denton/Reddish South to Brigg/Kirton Lindsey - Anytime Single

Denton and Reddish South only get trains on Saturdays. An Anytime Single is valid for 2 days (so on the Saturday and the Sunday)
But Brigg and Kirton Lindsey only get trains on Mondays to Fridays.

In the other direction, it is possible if you start from Brigg/Kirton Lindsey on a Friday, sleep overnight in Stockport then continue to Denton/Reddish South in the morning.

 

[A S Leib]

There's an off-peak return from Polesworth to Coombe Junction Halt, which is unusable except on Saturdays (can't be used before 09:30, only train at Polesworth at 06:48). This probably applies to most off-peak CrossCountry fares from / to Polesworth.

I think the Polesworth – Tamworth fares are even stranger. There's

• Anytime day return (how do you return?) for £22.40
• Off-peak day return (not valid before 08:59) for £15.90
• Anytime day return not via Birmingham (how do you return, and how would you go via Birmingham without going via Tamworth?) for £4.20
• Anytime single any permitted (again, no way to go any route except directly) for £14.10
• Anytime day single not via Birmingham for £3.40

 

[Fermiboson]

Day returns from Reddish South or Denton to Guide Bridge or Stalybridge.
(the only return possible from those two stations is to Stockport)

Probably a mountain more with those two stations.

Same is true of day return routed not via Manchester for Guide Bridge to Stalybridge. Equally pointless is of course the seven day season ticket available for the same.

 

[kieron]

How about Drem - East Linton? Is this ticket valid by anything other than the direct route (which no services call at both station)?

It's valid on the shortest route served by a regular passenger service (Drem-Wallyford-East Linton), and on direct trains to and from the common routeing point (Drem-Edinburgh-East Linton).

There are no direct Drem-Newcastle trains, so it isn't valid in that direction.

There's an off-peak return from Polesworth to Coombe Junction Halt, which is unusable except on Saturdays (can't be used before 09:30, only train at Polesworth at 06:48).

The ticket is usable. It lets you break your journey, so you can use most of the validity the ticket gives you and just miss out the Polesworth-Tamworth and Atherstone-Polesworth bits if you can't travel at the weekend.

A Polesworth-London Euston super off peak single forbids break of journey, so can next be used on 23rd December.

 

[JoeM1V]

Fort William to Glasgow, super off peak day return. The first valid outward train gets into Queen St after the last valid return train departs.

Still worth buying on occasion though as it’s cheaper than any of the non-Advance singles

 

[tram21]

Teeside Airport to Stanlow & Thornton

Look up fares for any train journey in Britain

Full details of all British rail Single, Return & Season tickets and Travelcards. Built-in Season Ticket Calculator.

www.brfares.com

Good luck starting your journey from a mothballed station to another mothballed station

Do you think this would be possible to buy at some TVMs?

 

[yorkie]

Tutbury and Hatton to Rugeley Trent Valley has no permitted routes, since RDG messed up the shortest route data. Many TOC sites say there are no journeys available. Some sites sell a combination of tickets (Chiltern's site is particularly misleading for such journeys)

York to Stafford route Any Permitted is superfluous, as it is priced by XC to be valid via Tamworth (& Birmingham) however has no permitted routes that way.

 

[Kite159]

..

Tutbury and Hatton to Rugeley Trent Valley has no permitted routes, since RDG messed up the shortest route data. Many TOC sites say there are no journeys available. Some sites sell a combination of tickets (Chiltern's site is particularly misleading for such journeys)

York to Stafford route Any Permitted is superfluous, as it is priced by XC to be valid via Tamworth (& Birmingham) however has no permitted routes that way.

I guess the RDG has included the (mostly) freight only line between Lichfield & Burton into their calculation for Tutbury - Rugeley

 

[Watershed]

I guess the RDG has included the (mostly) freight only line between Lichfield & Burton into their calculation for Tutbury - Rugeley

On the route via Burton, the data also deems there to be a link between Willington and Peartree - ignoring the fact that the XC services via Burton don't stop at Peartree, so you have no choice but to double back between Peartree and Derby.

On the route via Stoke, the data includes mileage from Stone to Rugeley via Hixon, but it isn't sufficiently granular for journey planners tombe able to work out that you can't actually get a train from Stoke via Hixon that calls at Rugeley.

So in essence the data is misleading and makes it appear like the only feasible routes (via Derby or Stafford) are more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route.

 

[Kite159]

Do you think this would be possible to buy at some TVMs?

Yep, on non journey planner based ones which have the ability to sell from a different starting location.

 

[infobleep]

Yep, on non journey planner based ones which have the ability to sell from a different starting location.

Not all stations are in the TMVs.

 

[philthetube]

More pointless than unusable, but Heysham – Morecambe and vice-versa has off-peak and anytime day returns. The only weekday service at Heysham gets there at 13:08 and leaves at 13:21, making the anytime fare pointless.

Eccles Road – Norwich on weekdays requires an anytime ticket; the off-peak's valid from 08:45 and 06:56 and 07:57 are the only morning departures.

Possible, though unlikely, that people may want to meet friends/family off the ship.