Railway return journeys

[tyreon]

Unenlightened. But scared.

As my city becomes more and more festooned by mushrooming inbuilds and suburbs, I am thinking of catching a train to a station then cycling to a rendevous but to return from another station nearer to my city to catch a train home. It sounds simple. But an open day return ticket does not appear to allow me to catch a train from a station nearer my return destination...at least 'online'. I seem to have to buy two one way tickets incurring additional costs rather than purchasing at return ticket to station A(for example),but cycling nearer my home city. The rail mileage is less but by having to purchase two single tickets I would be charged more. Have I got this correct? Or am I becoming confused. I want to become enlightened and would seek help from the rail authority,but to e mail the authority and get some reply appears an impossible task.

Anyone else on here heard of passengers being prosecuted for having a valid return ticket but alighting at a train nearer their destination but being fined for taking the shorter railway journey? I think I read it some time back.

I have tried to find times and trains for my proposed journey with ticket prices,but I appear lost. I now plan to do the journey by car,bicycle attached

Apropos consolidation and rationalisation and retrenchment of rail staff and human contact: In Germany my wife and I wanted to purchase two tickets at a railway station to another German town. No staff. The railway station was unmanned. On the station was a machine. Altho it had explanations and ticketing instructions in alternate languages,we couldnt make out how to use it,pay or wotnot. Asking other platform passengers no one could help when a German railway employee came to our assistance. He couldnt work it out. Eventually he helped us purchase two tickets which he thought right for our journey...whereupon a gaggle of other German passengers then came up to us asking for help: no one understood the machine or how payment was worked. It was all a palaver. People were pleading for help When we got on the crowded train  a ticket inspector came forward and made motion we had to pay more,or had the wrong tickets. Right or wrong,we just spoke English and made no attempt to pay any additional costs.
Sorry.

Going postal: I am concerned that those who have some visual impairment, or cognitive dissonance, or other disability(or are just plain non tech)are getting disadvantaged these days.

Your thoughts or comments

I have some(limited)computer skills. But it appears as the human interface communications shrink,those of us with less techy skills are being left isolated.

[Aleman]

It's even more crazy here in the UK.

I can buy a ticket from Blackpool To London for, say, £238 (Changing at Preston) ... A ticket on the same train (Glasgow - London via Preston ) but from Lancaster costs £156 A ticket from Blackpool to Lancaster (Change at Preston) is £14. So In thoery I can buy a ticket From Blackpool To Lancaster, and a Ticket from Lancaster To London for £170, saving £68. I then get on the train at Blackpool,  travel to Preston, Get off the train at Preston, and wait for the Glasgow-London train, Get on the train at Preston, only to be told, that I don't have a valid ticket for the journey because I didn't board at Lancaster!

Or the time I went from Blackpool To London, using one of the many journey splitting services, it was cheaper to travel Blackpool to Birmingham, and Birmingham to London ... ON THE SAME TRAIN!! Yet because I didn't get off the train at Birmingham, and get back on it, getting my ticket "Stamped" my second ticket wasn't valid for the second part of the journey.

In the UK public transport system, the lunatics have truly taken over the asylum!!!

[PH]

Anyone else on here heard of passengers being prosecuted for having a valid return ticket but alighting at a train nearer their destination but being fined for taking the shorter railway journey? I think I read it some time back.

it's called traveling short and whether it's permitted depends on the type of ticket you have.  if the ticket says not permitted to break the journey, then it's only permitted to be used between those two specific stations, if the ticket doesn't say that then there may be specific conditions, or you may be free to get on and off at any intermediate.
Usually an off peak return permits you to break the journey on the outward leg
https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ticketterms/show?ticketTypeCode=SVR

The cheaper advance tickets usually don't allow this.

I've frequently got off a train heading for Birmingham a few stops early in Derby, maybe twenty times, twice I've had an issue, once I got let off with a warning, the other time they wanted me to pay the full fare for the complete journey (Over £150) but in the end settled for the fare I would have paid if I'd stayed on the train to Birmingham and bought a ticket back to Derby (About £10).  It's madness.
Where are you?  Some counties or regions have explorer type tickets, where you can get on and off trains all day.  It's sometimes cheaper than a return ticket, the Derbyshire one (Which includes a couple of stations in other counties) cost £13.40 or £6.70 for concessions, I use them quite frequently.

[PH]

Or the time I went from Blackpool To London, using one of the many journey splitting services, it was cheaper to travel Blackpool to Birmingham, and Birmingham to London ... ON THE SAME TRAIN!! Yet because I didn't get off the train at Birmingham, and get back on it, getting my ticket "Stamped" my second ticket wasn't valid for the second part of the journey.

This isn't correct, your train must stop at the station you've split your ticket at, but there's no requirement for you to get off and on again
https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/great-britain/split-tickets

I made the mistake of getting on an express train from Manchester to Sheffield assuming they all stopped at wherever I'd split the ticket, cost me the full fare.

[martinf]

Not just trains. I once got caught on Brittany Ferries from Plymouth to Roscoff.

They had a cheap short-stay return ticket that was cheaper than the one-way ticket I wanted.

So I bought the return ticket.

And, when I didn't take the return trip, a few days later they debited my credit card for the difference.

[Aleman]

Or the time I went from Blackpool To London, using one of the many journey splitting services, it was cheaper to travel Blackpool to Birmingham, and Birmingham to London ... ON THE SAME TRAIN!! Yet because I didn't get off the train at Birmingham, and get back on it, getting my ticket "Stamped" my second ticket wasn't valid for the second part of the journey.

This isn't correct, your train must stop at the station you've split your ticket at, but there's no requirement for you to get off and on again
https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/great-britain/split-tickets

It may not be correct, but the "Jobsworth" ticket "collector" just didn't want to discuss it, or even read the info on my phone at the time!!

[PH]

It may not be correct, but the "Jobsworth" ticket "collector" just didn't want to discuss it, or even read the info on my phone at the time!!

Yes, I've come across the difference between the regulation and those enforcing it before! I hope you refused to pay.
I posted the link for information, rather than criticism. Forewarned and all that...

[tyreon]

I shall make a personal journey to ask in person about my planned rail journey and its costs when I have time.

It may be worthy of note that train managers can earn additional pay by collecting fares on trains. The more they collect,the more they earn. As it was told to me that if the manager does not meet a set agreed collection of money s/he is called in to see why they are underperforming. As of late,I guess this has all been suspended due to covid.

Unable or unwilling to go out by train yesterday,I took the car and bike out to where I had planned my cycle ride. Not a happy journey: hold ups,increased traffic volumes;a longer journey to break free from the growing metropolis. On the re-configured route on the complex and torturous plan I had to navigate to break into open space,I travelled along some rat runs I now have classified as kill-runs: all but straight roads with minor kinks and some bends that transport hurried commuter motorists to B roads to A roads wherein they become arterial roads that head into the Spiders Nest that is the city. I think all motorists should now be enforced to wear at least bicycle helmets when driving! I was being urged to drive faster by higher and bigger monster cars that had on giant lit headlights and that appeared to be inches behind me. Coming towards me(and what was once some country lane,albeit always prone to being a speedway)was a convoy of vehicles and trucks all going at speed. Amazing. Frightening. There I saw one old codger(probably 10 years younger than me)cycling along hands gripped in terror. I let out a prayer for him

Itsa brave man(or woman)who cycles around these parts theseadays. Yes,I know it can be done. But is it pleasant. Or safe?

The inbuilding of houses and into villages is growing at-a-pace around here. Possibly each house to have 3 cars. There really is some right Monza stuff hereabouts. Even the dustcarts go ape:
 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/I+PRAYED+AS+THE+LORRY+CRUSHED+MY+CAR%3b+Pearce+escapes+with+injured...-a060662497 

Its why I had hoped to travel by train

[JohnR]

Whether driving or cycling I try to avoid the times when commuters (which includes all the parents chauffeuring their children to and from school) may be on the roads. The increase in traffic this past week with people home from holidays and schools reopening was very noticeable.