There is an easement for using the Two Together Railcard on sleeper services.
Agreed, but there does not appear to be consistent information in the public domain to explain whether or not the
£104 Anytime Return (SOR) London Terminals - Belfast NI route +Cairnryan Stena may be discounted by a
Two Together Railcard.
The
definitive source of customer information for all passenger rail services on the National Rail network in England, Wales and Scotland states that "
Railcard holders get 1/3 off all Standard Class Anytime fares" but it is not clear whether that extends to Anytime fares to and from Northern Ireland.
The
Anytime ticket terms and conditions describe Railcard discounts for the 16-25, Disabled Persons, Family & Friends, HM Forces, Network and Senior Railcards, but this has not yet been updated to reflect the introduction of the
Two Together Railcard.
The
Anytime ticket terms and conditions state that "
you may start, break and resume, or end your journey at any intermediate station along the route of travel" but, in contradiction of this, the National Fares Manual CD and
brfares.com state that Restriction Code 1X, "
break of journey not permitted, except to change trains", applies to the
£104 Anytime Return (SOR) London Terminals - Belfast NI route +Cairnryan Stena. Detailed examination of Restriction Code 1X, however, shows that it purports to apply to ticket type GVR only, not to type SOR.
Using the National Fares Manual CD or
brfares.com, attempting to apply a
Two Together Railcard discount to a
£104 Anytime Return (SOR) London Terminals - Belfast NI route +Cairnryan Stena generates the message "
No fares available", but this may well be out of date.
The list of
Travel times & tickets has now been amended to show that "
Two Together Railcard discounted tickets are accepted on Sleeper services, providing you board the train before 0430. Discounts are not available on Sleeper berths or travel/berth inclusive tickets." There is no mention of any exclusion of tickets to or from Northern Ireland.
The specialist press details the frequent tinkering with the
Two Together Railcard rules, for example
Barry Doe said:
RAIL 745, 2-15 April 2014
Resolving Two Together Railcard Confusion
I'm now being told that some booking clerks are coming up with their own versions of the time restrictions, and that some do not know that it can be used on Sleepers (which is hardly surprising, seeing a the leaflets don't refer to Sleepers, and the internal instructions have yet to be amended). ...
Would have been so hard to decide exactly what will be allowed, as well as the precise time restrictions and rules about trains passing through the period, before it all went to print?
RAIL 746, 16-29 April 2014
More Confusion on Two Together Railcard
ScotRail refused to offer a discount on a Sleeper booking to a reader, saying that the Railcard was not accepted on journeys that passed into the 0430 - 0930 time band. To ScotRail's credit, once the reader contacted me then went back to the company with the facts, ScotRail did offer a refund.
It's not right that the onus should be on the public to put rail staff right, all because the true conditions are not properly advertised. I'm now told the publicity will be re-issued in September, so five more months of confusion will follow. That isn't good enough.
In the circumstances, I don't think we're in a position to advise the OP whether or not a
£104 Anytime Return (SOR) London Terminals - Belfast NI route +Cairnryan Stena may be discounted by a
Two Together Railcard today. And it may all change tomorrow!
