Rail Tickets

[granny grump]

We have pre-booked rail tickets to go south on Friday. Where do we stand if any part of the journey is cancelled prior to travel Are we entitled to a refund?

[Buenchico]

If an individual train is cancelled you can use your tickets on a later train. (In most cases if you get to the station early, and see that your scheduled service is cancelled, you can travel on earlier train too).

If a problem with one train service on your journey means that you miss your scheduled connection, you can travel on a later service.

If a line is completely closed, with no alternative transport laid on, you can travel on the first day when the service is restored or get a refund on your tickets.

Further, if you're delayed by 30 to 59 minutes you can claim back 50% of the price of a single ticket or 25% of the price of a return ticket. If you're delayed by between 60 and 119 minutes you can claim back the full price of a single ticket or 50% of the cost of a return ticket. If you're delayed by 120 minutes or more you can claim back the full cost of both single and return tickets. (Those detail apply across most rail operators but individual franchises might have variations).

Full details can be found in the passenger charter for the relevant rail company. Look for the link to it here:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types.aspx#Refund

[granny grump]

thank you Buenchico - So we would have to turn up We couldn't just ring the railway station?

[Jackdaw33]

You can't ring stations directly anymore. You would need to ring National Rail Enquiries for possible disruptions, the likelihood is you will be speaking to someone in India. Queries about refunds should be made to the relevant operator from whom you bought the tickets.

[granny grump]

Thank you jackdaw

[Buenchico]

You can see how services are running from any station by entering the name of the station here and clicking the Search button:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/default.aspx
Then click on 'Live Departures'. (It's in the light blue box at the top right of the page).

You can get a more general overview of how a particular journey in the near future might be affected by problems through entering it as a timetable enquiry here:
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

As JD33 indicates, all rail station phone numbers are ex-directory these days. You an either phone National Rail Enquiries on 03457 48 49 50 or, probably better, phone the Customer Services number for the relevant rail operator. (If you don't know it, please tell me either the train company or the rail station involved).

[Buenchico]

PS: If you were mad enough to buy your tickets through a third party (such as The Trainline) you might find that you need to seek a refund through them, rather than with the train operator.

[Stephen_G]

IF you wanted to travel on Saturday (Or the Weather breaks and you can travel...), you could still use your tickets and they will still be valid (If you have a seat reservation, then that will no longer be valid). This happened to me in October 2013, when the strong winds battered the south of the country. I was booked for the Monday, but had to make the journey on he Tuesday instead.

You should be able to find all the relevant information on the site of the train provider, regarding travelling/not travelling/refunds.

[granny grump]

Thank you all for your comments

[granny grump]

Update - I've been in touch with Trainline (Which I thought was the same as National Rail - silly me - but I got there in the end) and they are processing a refund. I had to send back the unused tickets although they wont be of any use to anyone though Thank you all for your help