Is there a UK train ticket that allows for a interrupted journey between Birmingham-Reading-Gatwick?
I want to travel between Birmingham and Gatwick Airport, but need to make a 4-day stopover in Reading. Is there a train ticket covering this journey, or do I have to buy two tickets? Birmingham to Reading, and then Reading to Gatwick Airport)
Best Answer
Summary: You will need two separate tickets for this particular journey.
The National Rail Enquiries website gives the following description when introducing the Anytime tickets, the most flexible single journey ticket available:
Anytime Tickets
Buy any time, travel any time.
What are Anytime tickets? Anytime fares are fully flexible tickets, with no time restrictions on when you can travel. Perfect for people who need complete flexibility.
You can buy Anytime tickets any time before you travel and you can use your ticket to travel on any train. With an Anytime ticket you can also break your journey at stations along the route of travel.
When can I use an Anytime ticket? Anytime Day (Single and Return) tickets must be used on the date shown on your ticket and up to 04:29 the following day.
Anytime Single must be used within 2 days of the date shown on the ticket and up until 04:29 after the last day of validity.
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Given you are staying in Reading for four days, and not returning to Birmingham but heading to Gatwick Airport, you cannot use an Anytime Single ticket.
Since this is the most flexible single journey ticket available and it is still not valid for your case, you will need two separate tickets, one between Birmingham and Reading, and another one between Reading and Gatwick Airport.
Technically, there are tickets that cover such journey (e.g. season tickets, rover tickets), but they are very unlikely to be economical. Moreover, if you know which train you are going to catch, buying two Advance Single tickets might work out cheaper than one Anytime/Off-peak ticket (if that exist at all).
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Can you get off a train in between stops?
Yes, you can break your journey while travelling with an Anytime Single or Return ticket. This means you can get off the train at any connecting stop and leave the station, before boarding a later train to complete your journey.Can you use a train ticket for a different time?
An anytime ticket allows you to return on any train within the dates displayed on your ticket. Advance tickets are the best value tickets available but can only be used for your chosen train on the specific date and time. They are non-refundable and if you miss your train, you will need to buy a new ticket to travel.Can I use an off-peak ticket on a different train?
Off-Peak Return With Return tickets you can travel on any Off-Peak train. For the outward journey this must be on the date shown on the ticket and for the return journey, within one calendar month.Can you break journey overnight off-peak return?
Break of journey is permitted on the outward portion of a Super Off-Peak Return unless otherwise indicated by a restriction shown against the ticket's Restriction Code. Overnight break of journey - if the journey cannot be completed in this time, the ticket may be used to continue the journey on the following day.North Downs Line (Reading to Gatwick Airport) - DRIVERS EYE VIEW
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