"Phil W Lee" wrote in message
news
"Paul Scott" considered Wed, 28 Sep
2011 19:02:26 +0100 the perfect time to write:

"Francis Davey" wrote in message
...
I wondered if anyone can help me. I've just had a very unhelpful
discussion with a ticket vendor at Finsbury Park station, but i don't
entirely trust his response.

I'd like to travel from Finsbury Park to Shelford (Cambridgeshire).
There are two obvious routes: (1) train to Cambridge and then train to
Shelford; (2) Tube to Tottenham Hale and then train to Shelford.

I'll probably go via Cambridge, but coming back it looks like both
routes may be quickest depending on when I arrive at the station
(which is a random variable).

Last time I did this I was sold a ticket:

From: U23* LONDN
To: Shelford Cambs
Route: NOT LONDON

I've now been told this is wrong as it won't allow me to travel from
Finsbury Park to Shelford via Cambridge.

Is that right? Is there any way I can do this (I don't mind having to
buy underground tickets as well if necessary)?

Your help would be greatly appreciated. If there is a website that
explains all this, I am happy to look there.

National Rail's online journey planner shows different fares for the two
routes, but more importantly explicitly states that you need buy multiple
(ie two) tickets for the journey via Cambridge - that strongly suggests
that
the advice at FP is correct...

The U23* origin is an underground ticket, but AFAICS having bought it you
are constrained to the Victoria Line and a change at Tottenham Hale.

I think it is a route where once you've bought a ticket (or tickets) for
one
route or the other you lose the other choice...

Paul

This has been a total mess for at least the last 25 years.
My wife's best friend, who was staying at her aunt's in Hoddesdon, was
made to route via Liverpool St, King's Cross and Royston to get to
Meldreth to meet my wife for our wedding where she was to be a
bridesmaid. Royston was being run as a sort of double ended terminus
in those days, as it was the limit of electrification, which made the
route via Cambridge both shorter and much quicker, and the one we had
worked out timetabling for (being by far the most obvious).
Obviously, this was pre-mobile phones, so we had no idea why she was
delayed, or any chance to give her any advice (she didn't know this
part of the country at all), so she was left completely at the mercy
of the numpty selling tickets at Hoddesdon.

If he'd had any sense at all, he'd have advised her to get 2 returns -
Hoddesdon - Cambridge and Cambridge - Meldreth, even if it wasn't
offered as a single ticket route.
I think they'd rather run empty trains, and have the potential
passengers drive instead.

I can't make up my mind whether some of these problems stem from the person
in the ticket office, the local manager or the TOC. Experience with a
range for FGW offices tends to suggest a localised problem rather than the
TOC because I've had some (one in particular) refuse to sell valid
combinations where others might grumble at the amount of work but do as
requested. The one that refuses to sell certain things has been doing it
since Thames Trains days and the staff in the office haven't changed much so
I'm guessing it's totally localised. I did complain on one occasion and
things improved for a while but a recent incident shows they are back to
their old, bad, ways again.