Virgin Off Peak Return - Wembley

[julzdyer]

hi all

after some advice as i am becoming more and more confused

i am travelling down from Birmingham to Wembley to watch the Carling Cup Final at the end of the month

i am very flexible travelling down, on either the saturday or sunday first thing

however, coming back it is more confusing

i want to book the virgin train returning from Euston to Birmingham at 19:18 to reach my connecting train

however, when i go to book the return, what happens if there is extra time/penalties and i miss the 19:18, can i catch a leter train?? or is this where an 'offpeak' booking works? i have spoken to Virgin who have complicated it even more!!

many thanks

 

[tony_mac]

Yes, you can book an off-peak return which is valid on any train over the weekend.
An 'Advance' ticket is only valid on that train, so you would have to book the latest one you might need and hang around if you get there early. You could ask the guard if he will let you on early, but he can say no. It's not worth the risk just trying it, you could get charged a fortune on the train if your ticket isn't valid. (another £70).

If you book on Virgin's website, you can book an Advance ticket going down, and an 'off-peak single' which is half the cost of an off-peak return, to come back which will be valid on any train on Sunday.
You can only book this particular combination from Virgin's website, it's not available any other way.

If you don't mind doing it slowly, (and not as nicely), a ticket valid only on London Midland trains is £17 return and valid on any of their trains at the weekend.

For £19.50 you can get a super-off-peak return from Moor St, via High Wycombe. This is on Chiltern Railways, and still about an hour slower than the Virgin train. It takes you to Marylebone instead of Euston, but is apparently a much more comfortable train than London Midland.

 

[julzdyer]

cheers tony mac, thats really helpful

so an advanced ticket going down and an 'offpeak' single coming back, we can then jump on any train if we miss the 19:18

what about if i book first class on the offpeak single and i book a seat

i assume that if i miss the 19:18 and jump on the 19:38 i can still travel first class but at a 'non reserved' seat?

cheers

 

[class377man]

Chiltern trains call at Wembley Stadium, so if going via High Wycombe you need not enter Central London at all.

 

[tony_mac]

what about if i book first class on the offpeak single and i book a seat

i assume that if i miss the 19:18 and jump on the 19:38 i can still travel first class but at a 'non reserved' seat?

cheers

Yes, but that would be crazy!
A first class single is £120, and the off-peak single (which is really half a return) is about £21, then pay £15 for a weekend first upgrade.

 

[julzdyer]

oh ok

so, i can :

travel down 27/2 on an advance standard single at 13:10 for £14
return 28/2 on an offpeak first class at 20:18 for £35.95

if i miss the 20:18 i can then catch any later virgin train

ok?

 

[tony_mac]

Yes, that looks good to me.

If you look at the £35.95, it actually tells you that this is an off-peak single with a £15 upgrade.

If you were to get an off-peak instead on the way down, that would be £7 more, but then you can just jump on the first train after you get to New St, instead of having to wait for the 13:10 or risk missing it.

 

[julzdyer]

Yes, that looks good to me.

If you look at the £35.95, it actually tells you that this is an off-peak single with a £15 upgrade.

If you were to get an off-peak instead on the way down, that would be £7 more, but then you can just jump on the first train after you get to New St, instead of having to wait for the 13:10 or risk missing it.

excellent, thanks for your help

not a problem catching the 13:10 as my connecting train arrives well before

thanks again

 

[Daz28]

If you book on Virgin's website, you can book an Advance ticket going down, and an 'off-peak single' which is half the cost of an off-peak return, to come back which will be valid on any train on Sunday.
You can only book this particular combination from Virgin's website, it's not available any other way.

I've booked that combination via thetrainline and in person at my local station, so it cannot be exclusive to the Virgin website.

 

[tony_mac]

yes, you're right - sorry for the duff information!