Hi, trying to get a return for my sister from Wolverhampton to Birmingham, an open return doesn't seem to be available? Virgin and London Midland's websites only seem to be giving me singles each way (or a day return).
People are going to get confused, so I'd better give an explanation at this point!
I advise against the use of the term "open return" because there used to be a ticket type Standard/First Open Return (
SOR/
FOR). This type no longer exists by that name, though the SOR/FOR codes remain. Now known as Anytime. So the ticket you are asking for, if you are using the old ticket names, is now an Anytime Return (SOR). However that is not available for this particular flow, so singles will need to be purchased instead (I'll come to that later).
However some people use the term "open return" to mean any ticket that does
not tie you to a
specific train, in other words, any
non-Advance ticket is seen as "open", and that includes tickets that are only valid for one day and tickets that have restrictions. So, under this definition, an Off Peak Day Return (
CDR; formerly Cheap Day Return) is an "open return", but this ticket is a far cry from an SOR!
In this case, I can figure out that you are referring to the old ticket type, but many people will be confused when the term "open return" is used.
The confusion appears to have been started by Thetrainline who used the term "open return" on their website as an option to leave the return journey blank to obtain a non-Advance ticket. This lead was then followed by other booking sites.
The single tickets that are available on this flow, which can be matched to provide a return journey on a different day are as follows:
Route: Any Permitted
EGS Super Off Peak Day Single £2.00
(Valid from 1830 Mondays-Sundays onwards
SDS Anytime Day Single £4.20
(No restriction applies)
FDS Anytime Day
1st Single £6.30
(No restriction applies)
Route: Virgin Trnsonly
SDS Anytime Day Single £3.10
(No restriction applies)
FDS Anytime Day
1st Single £4.60
(No restriction applies)
For example a passenger travelling outward around 1835 in Std class on XC, and returning the next day at 0830 on Virgin in 1st class, would pay £6.60 in total.
