Why does National Rail suggest an Off-Peak Return for a Friday morning into London? Is the ticket valid?
Why does National Rail suggest an Off-Peak Return for a departure from Reading to London on a Friday morning? Clicking through to the relevant restrictions clearly states that the ticket is Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:29 and before 09:30. Christmas lifting of restrictions do not start until the 23rd of December.
Is there a bug in the National Rail travel planner? Is there another obscure rule that I'm not aware of? Is the Off-Peak ticket offered valid on this service? It does apply the "Railcard not valid" rule (I searched for 2 people with 1 Two Together Railcard).
Best Answer
Looking up the Reading to London journey on the BR Fares website (not an official website, but contains details of ticketing restrictions in the national fares database), and querying that fare, you find under the Unpublished Restrictions section of the Off Peak Return ticket (5B):
Restriction Code: 5B
OFF-PEAK
This restriction code applies on the following dates/days:
From Until Applies on these days:
Sun 3 Sep 2017 Sun 3 Sep 2017 Tu We Th Fr
Mon 4 Sep 2017 Sun 17 Dec 2017 Mo Tu We Th Fr <<<--- Should be 23rd Dec
Tues 8 May 2018 Mon 28 May 2018 Mo Tu We Th Fr
Tues 29 May 2018 Mon 4 Jun 2018 Tu We Th Fr
Tues 5 Jun 2018 Mon 27 Aug 2018 Mo Tu We Th Fr
Which to me suggests they have not correctly programmed the Christmas lifting of restrictions into the fares database - the 5B code doesn't apply after the 17th December here. If you query that fare on the National Rail website for, say, the 15th December, it only offers you the Anytime Return as being valid, as expected.
Seems like a programming error in the database. Technically it should be accepted if you have been sold that ticket via the website and can produce the valid itinerary, but it might be difficult to argue this with the conductor on the day.
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Can an Off-Peak Return be used on any day?
Not to be confused with Off-Peak Day Returns, the Off-Peak Return ticket requires you to make the outward part of your journey on the date shown on the ticket. The return part of your journey, however, can be completed on any day on an Off-Peak train within one calendar month of the ticket's issue date.What time can I use an Off-Peak Day Return train ticket?
Ticket type Off-Peak Day Return tickets are valid for travel on the date shown on the ticket and until 04:29 the following day. All travel must be completed by this time. This ticket is valid at any time. This ticket is valid at any time.What does Off-Peak Return train ticket mean?
Ticket name Off-Peak Return. Description. Off-Peak fares are cheaper tickets for travelling on trains that are less busy. You may need to travel at specific times of the day, days of the week and sometimes on specific routes or operators.What times are off-peak on national rail?
A general rule of thumb is that Off-Peak will begin at 09:30 Mondays to Fridays in cities and large towns, and 09:00 across the rest of the network. Weekends and Bank Holidays are Off-Peak all day.7 Handy Tips for Using Trains in the UK From A Local
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