What happens if you travel via a different route not valid on your ticket? Do you end up paying a penalty fare?

[SouthEastBuses]

Not sure if this is the right thread or not, if not then mods please move this to the correct thread.

On my Dorset trip planned for June, I am hoping, with my return train ticket, to get the train from Weymouth to Horsham (departing Weymouth at 19:59 and arriving Horsham at 23:36), changing trains at Southampton Central.

My ticket will only be valid for travel via (changing trains or passing through) Barnham.

I am hoping that the 19:59 SWR service from Weymouth arriving Southampton Central at 21:28 is on time, where I can then get the Southern service at 21:33 to Horsham arriving at 23:36.

However, should it be late for any reason and I miss my connection, will I be able to continue further and change trains at Clapham Junction instead, or would this mean I get a penalty fare (or a fine) as if I didn't pay the ticket?

 

[miklcct]

You can excess it on board in this situation.

 

[Watershed]

The default principle is that there is no 'penalty' (as in, Penalty Fare or other criminal liability) for travelling via the wrong route.

You must simply pay the excess to the appropriate route of fare, e.g. if you had an Off-Peak Day Return route 'via Barnham', and took the 19:59 through to Clapham Junction, the excess would be £15.55 (half the difference between the £29.90 'via Barnham' CDR and the £61.00 'not via London' SSR).

In this particular case, the 21:33 is the last train from Southampton which will enable you to comply with the route restriction 'via Barnham' (later trains run to Littlehampton and Brighton but there is no onward connection to Littlehampton). Accordingly, if the 19:59 from Weymouth is running late and it could reasonably be anticipated that you will miss the connection, Article 16 of EU Regulation 1371/2007 kicks in, giving you the right to opt to be re-routed to your destination at the earliest available opportunity.

In practice, this would likely mean SWR allowing you to travel via Clapham Junction on your 'via Barnham' ticket. Of course if they are able to arrange for the Southern service to be held then this would not be needed, but it is unlikely that the Southern service would be held at all (as it's a different TOC), let alone for any substantial length of time.

If the train starts to get delayed, I would make sure to sit near wherever the guard announces they are situated (on SWR they are usually very good about announcing this) and then explain your predicament to them if need be. Most guards are perfectly reasonable people and would allow you to re-route regardless, but if they insist you need to pay an excess then I would simply do this and claim it back afterwards.

Remember that you would also be entitled to claim Delay Repay if you are delayed by 15+ mins.

 

[Haywain]

Accordingly, if the 19:59 from Weymouth is running late and it could reasonably be anticipated that you will miss the connection, Article 16 of EU Regulation 1371/2007 kicks in, giving you the right to opt to be re-routed to your destination at the earliest available opportunity.

If the train from Weymouth is running late and it is not going to be possible to get to the final destination by the relevant route, the train company is duty bound to help regardless of Article 16 - it's covered in the National Rail Conditions of Travel. However, either way I am not convinced that rerouteing is going to be the only option, even if it is likely to be the preferred option.

 

[Watershed]

If the train from Weymouth is running late and it is not going to be possible to get to the final destination by the relevant route, the train company is duty bound to help regardless of Article 16 - it's covered in the National Rail Conditions of Travel.

Indeed, and there can be advantages to relying on the NRCoT rights (e.g. that any train company is obliged to assist, as opposed to just the carrier at fault). However the NRCoT right to alternative transport does not say anything about the alternative having to be the earliest opportunity. Therefore in this particular situation, the EU rights offer you more protection, as SWR can't just say "we'd rather send you in a taxi".

However, either way I am not convinced that rerouteing is going to be the only option, even if it is likely to be the preferred option.

It is one of the rights which the OP has in that situation. They do have other rights (including to return to their origin and obtain a full refund, or to continue the journey at a later date or time), but these seem unlikely to be of interest to OP in the event they do miss the connection.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

Thank you for your very helpful advice guys! At least it's not really a big deal if you travel a via different route (because at the end of the day, you have payed for your fare, and you bought your ticket before boarding the train and following the rules as much as possible). I honestly was quite worried, so seriously, thank you very much!

As the 21:33 Southern service from Southampton Central is the last train to Horsham of the day, to avoid the risk of missing that and coming back really late, I am going to leave slightly early (getting the train at around 18:30) from Weymouth, and get the 20:33 from Southampton Central instead.

 

[WesternLancer]

I note that it seems the recognised 'official' time required to make a change at S'tonCentral is 4 mins if changing between SW Railway and Southern Railway (if I have understood it correctly).

@SouthEastBuses - you could presumably use Real time Trains to check which platform you will arrive at and which to depart from as well as get an idea eg from a station plan of where best to alight the train from in order to be well placed for the footbridge should it be needed to make the connection. Apols if you know the station layout well of course.

 

[methecooldude]

A note if you do end up missing the connection... speak to the guard ASAP. You'll find most of them are quite amenable if you find them and explain your case. If they have to find you with a technically invalid ticket, you might have some hassle

 

[yorkie]

A note if you do end up missing the connection... speak to the guard ASAP. You'll find most of them are quite amenable if you find them and explain your case. If they have to find you with a technically invalid ticket, you might have some hassle

If a connection is missed, the railway companies are obliged to provide assistance as appropriate, such as allowing re-routing onto a route not normally valid by the ticket(s) held, to avoid stranding the customer.

A member of staff who finds a customer in possession of a route restricted ticket who has to take a different route, due to disruption, to avoid being stranded, should not be giving a passenger any "hassle"

In a worst case scenario, if the passenger would not otherwise be stranded, the worst that could happen is they would be sold an excess fare, in this case priced at half the difference between the fare paid and the appropriate fare (including any relevant discounts, and taking into account the time and day of travel).