Cross Country 1st Class Upgrade

[Aictos]

I'm looking at maybe doing York to Bristol Parkway with Cross Country one Saturday and the fares on offer are just confusing as always ie National Rail Enquires states that:

CrossCountry Trains:

Priced at either £10.00, £15.00 or £20.00 depending on the journey being made. Available to holders of valid Standard Class tickets on board the train, and subject to space being available in First Class.

If purchasing the ticket at the station it is possible to purchase the upgrade in advance and reserve a seat, but a seat is not guaranteed if customer chooses to travel on an alternative service.

Please note customers holding Standard Class Advance fares cannot purchase the First Class upgrade. Customers should purchase a First Class Advance ticket for their journey if they are looking to travel in First Class.

So are they trying to say that if I book a Standard Class Advance fare I cannot upgrade it at the booking office or can I?

Secondly what's the cheapest way to go First Class either if it means split tickets, if I have to split I guess it would be York - Birmingham New Street then Birmingham New Street - Bristol Parkway, it's the same train anyway.

 

[voyagerdude220]

I've always had the feeling that XC Advance Singles aren't allowed to be upgraded using Weekend First at all, regardless of when/where you do it i'm afraid.

I've rarely travelled with XC over the weekend, but did Christmas 2008.

The TM on the way down hesitated a few moments, but in the end upgraded my Advance single.

The TM on the way back just stuck to the rules, explaining the change since Virgin lost the franchise.

I personally find it very daft that you can't upgrade the tickets on a quiet train- I have a feeling that many people who would previously be very happy to part with 10-20 pounds won't even give a second thought to paying for the full amount.

Even standard anytime ticket holders have had their right to a free upgrade taken away from them by XC.

 

[sonic2009]

when are you thinking of going?

 

[MikeWh]

A standard class advance ticket cannot be upgraded to a first class ticket at all. You can purchase the upgrade for non-advance tickets in advance, but that doesn't mean the ticket becomes an advance ticket. Advance is both the name of a ticket (which can't be changed) and the description of when you can buy a ticket. Does that make sense.

Someone else will help with splitting - that's not my expertise.

 

[Aictos]

when are you thinking of going?

21st August, 28th August or 4th September as I especially would like to do the route between York and Bristol but I would prefer the HSTs to the Voyagers.

I'm going by the HST diagrams as provided on the 125 Group site.

 

[sonic2009]

are you returning?

 

[John @ home]

A standard class advance ticket cannot be upgraded to a first class ticket at all.

That statement is true in the context of this discussion about CrossCountry, but is not an accurate description of the position for the railway network as a whole. For example

East Coast Weekend First
London/Stevenage – Wakefield/York and north thereof £25·00.
All other East Coast journeys £20.00.
Holders of all valid Standard tickets and passes can travel in extra comfort on EC services on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays in First Class accommodation labelled "Weekend First", on payment of the relevant supplement.
For the avoidance of doubt, this includes “Advance” tickets, Off-Peak Day tickets, Rail Rovers, BritRail, Railcard-reduced tickets and Staff Passes.

 

[Aictos]

are you returning?

No, I'm heading back to Peterborough via Paddington and Kings Cross.

 

[MikeWh]

That statement is true in the context of this discussion about CrossCountry, but is not an accurate description of the position for the railway network as a whole.

Thanks for that info.

 

[Paul Kelly]

An example:

Sat 21 Aug

dep YRK 12:45
arr BPW 16:29

There is a 1st advance fare of £77.00 available. I'd say this is really quite cheap by CrossCountry standards, all things considered. You can save another £2 by splitting:

YRK-DBY
£27.00

DBY-CNM
£31.50

CNM-BPW
£16.50
(This is only *20p* cheaper than the Any Permitted anytime 1st single, and there is also a XC-only anytime 1st single for £17.50; I wonder who buys that..)

The last two could equally well be split as
DBY-TAM £15
TAM-BPW £33

Total £75. Not really worth it in this case but there aren't many trains available at £77 so could be worth it for others, as the next higher advance 1st fare is £139.50. Sheffield is usually a good split point as well. And often Birmingham New Street too obviously.