Vauxhall - Chertsey Permitted Routes

[Sleeper]

Hi there you Routing Guide and fares experts! I wonder if I could enlist your help please?

I’ll be using some station names more than once in this query, so here are the codes:-

VXH – Vauxhall
WIM - Wimbledon
CHK – Chiswick
CHY – Chertsey
WYB – Weybridge
BFN – Byfleet & New Haw.

Next Sunday (24th April) I shall be travelling with a 12 year old boy from VXH to CHY by whichever service comes first, whether via WIM or CHK. We’ll be coming back later in the day, breaking the journey at CHK before ending up back at VXH.

AIUI, the “through train rule” would generally mean that any journey VXH – CHK – CHY would be allowed with a ticket routed Any Permitted.

But the facts that we want to break at CHK on the return, and that this is not the shortest route, means (IIUC) that the route via CHK must be a Permitted Route for the tickets held.

I have a Freedom Pass and a Senior Railcard; the boy has a Zip-Card — a form of child’s PAYG Oyster. What tickets should we buy? (It may be best to forget the zip-card as I think it would involve touching out/in mid-journey.)

NOTES ON SERVICES AND MILEAGES

The normal through weekday service runs Waterloo – VHX – CHK – Staines – CHY – WYB. On Sundays the trains run not to WYB but via BFN to Woking.

So whilst the VHX – CHY journey can be made on a through train via CHK, it is feasible to travel via WIM changing at WYB (on weekdays) or BNH (on Sundays). Indeed the journey is both shorter and quicker that way.

Information in GBTT tables 149 and 155 is insufficient to compute all the VHX – CHY mileages, but they appear to be approximately:-
via WIM & WYB, 22.25
via WIM & BNH, 24
via CHK, 25.5.

I know this looks complicated enough for a test exercise on a ticketing course, but I promise it is a real journey we intend to make! Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Romilly]

If you have a Vauxhall-Chertsey ticket, the journey planners show both routes, i.e. via Chiswick, and via Wimbledon (changing at Byfleet), as routes for which the ticket is valid.

 

[Sleeper]

If you have a Vauxhall-Chertsey ticket, the journey planners show both routes, i.e. via Chiswick, and via Wimbledon (changing at Byfleet), as routes for which the ticket is valid.

Thank you for replying, Romilly. But my concern is that the intended journey is more complicated than the planners can handle.

Can I buy one return ticket that is valid out via the shortest route (WIM) and back via CHK - where I want to break the journey - which is considerably longer?

 

[bb21]

No journey planner will be able to do that.

You can however buy the ticket with an itinerary via Chiswick, as the route via Richmond is highly unlikely to be questioned. If you wish to have back-up, just bring the journey up on the planner when required.

 

[greatkingrat]

As you have a Freedom Pass, you can just buy a Boundary Zone 6 - Chertsey ticket, which will be valid both ways.