Eastbourne to Loughborough Junction via St Leonards - permitted route/excess fare question

[BRX]

I have an off peak return from south london to Eastbourne. Routing is "not via London".

The obvious route is via Lewes and that's how I travelled down. However it involves a tedious rail replacement bus and I'd rather return via St Leonards.

Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be a permitted route. However I'm wondering:

1. Is there a station between Eastbourne and St leonards from which either route is valid?

2. If so can I ask for my existing return ticket to be excessed to that station, allowing me to travel back to London on the route i want?

 

[Class800]

Basically you want to go up the Hastings line it seems. Will leave it to the experts to decide how to do that with tickets, yet useful to clarify the intended route

 

[BRX]

Basically you want to go up the Hastings line it seems

Yes. Along the coast then up the hastings line

 

[paul1609]

Id suggest it depends what your origin station is in south london.

 

[CarrotPie]

I have an off peak return from south london to Eastbourne. Routing is "not via London".

The obvious route is via Lewes and that's how I travelled down. However it involves a tedious rail replacement bus and I'd rather return via St Leonards.

Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be a permitted route. However I'm wondering:

1. Is there a station between Eastbourne and St leonards from which either route is valid?

2. If so can I ask for my existing return ticket to be excessed to that station, allowing me to travel back to London on the route i want?

Can't you change at Tonbridge and pop over to Redhill? (I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here)

 

[JonathanH]

Can't you change at Tonbridge and pop over to Redhill? (I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here)

Only if the routeing of the ticket allows it.

 

[CarrotPie]

Only if the routeing of the ticket allows it.

And does "not via London" not allow it?

 

[JonathanH]

And does "not via London" not allow it?

Not if, for example, the ticket is Eastbourne to East Croydon.

The cheapest way to make a one way journey from Eastbourne to Redhill via St Leonards may be to buy a return from Chichester to Battle routed via Edenbridge / Polegate, or more conventionally Redhill to Hastings, and start long, although there is emergency track work closing the line from Edenbridge to Tonbridge at the moment.

Tickets from Eastbourne to places like Orpington are valid up the line via Tunbridge Wells.

 

[paul1609]

Can't you change at Tonbridge and pop over to Redhill? (I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here)

That lines currently closed because of a landslip https://www.southernrailway.com/ser...978360000#INC87979700B5F64C8E8BEFAC8EC2E297DF

 

[BRX]

London station is Loughborough junction. I was imagining my route would be through sevenoaks & herne hill, something like that.

 

[yorksrob]

Is London terminals - Eastbourne (any permitted) valid via St Leonards ?

 

[JonathanH]

Is London terminals - Eastbourne (any permitted) valid via St Leonards ?

No. Valid on maps LB and VB only, which only describe routes via East Croydon.

 

[paul1609]

London station is Loughborough junction. I was imagining my route would be through sevenoaks & herne hill, something like that.

Is the journey today? Do you realise that Eastbourne to Bexhill is also RRB?
If it was me Id get the service bus from Eastbourne to Newhaven Town or Brighton (11, 12 etc) £2 and a nice journey over the downs.

 

[JonathanH]

London station is Loughborough junction. I was imagining my route would be through sevenoaks & herne hill, something like that.

Unfortunately, that isn't valid. Herne Hill and Denmark Hill are the relevant routeing points, and from Eastbourne, can only be reached via Gatwick.

The furthest tickets are valid from Eastbourne up the Tunbridge Wells line are when they have a destination of Elmstead Woods and further south.

 

[Hadders]

I took the RRB from Eastbourne to Lewes yesterday (having done the Seven Siters walk from Seaford). It was well organised at Eastbourne, bus arrived a few minutes early at Lewes.

 

[JonathanH]

1. Is there a station between Eastbourne and St leonards from which either route is valid?

Normans Bay / Cooden Beach are the first stations which typically pass the fares check for going via St Leonards. However, even Hastings Group to Herne Hill isn't valid via Wadhurst, only on map LB via Gatwick, so that doesn't help.

 

[yorkie]

I have an off peak return from south london to Eastbourne. Routing is "not via London".

The obvious route is via Lewes and that's how I travelled down. However it involves a tedious rail replacement bus and I'd rather return via St Leonards.

Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be a permitted route. However I'm wondering:

1. Is there a station between Eastbourne and St leonards from which either route is valid?

2. If so can I ask for my existing return ticket to be excessed to that station, allowing me to travel back to London on the route i want?

London station is Loughborough junction. I was imagining my route would be through sevenoaks & herne hill, something like that.

Firstly, to avoid confusion, can you please amend your title to refer to Eastbourne to Loughborough Junction, please?

Secondly, can you clarify the date of travel? If it's today, then specifying via St Leonards gives a longer journey time and also involves a rail replacement bus (two, in fact).

For future reference, if you want to travel via an unusual route, your best bet is to specify this at the time of purchase, using a site that allows you to specify various requirements (e.g. up to 3 avoid points, up to 3 via points, TOC & mode choices); if you use a ticketing website such as ours to achieve this, you would be offered an appropriate combination of tickets, if a through fare isn't valid with your search parameters.

 

[yorksrob]

No. Valid on maps LB and VB only, which only describe routes via East Croydon.

That seems very poor and anti-passenger.

No one could seriously suggest that the route isn't reasonable.

 

[JonathanH]

That seems very poor and anti-passenger.

No one could seriously suggest that the route isn't reasonable.

20% further from London Bridge to Eastbourne via St Leonards than via Gatwick. Where do you draw the line?

 

[yorkie]

20% further from London Bridge to Eastbourne via St Leonards than via Gatwick. Where do you draw the line?

20% doesn't sound unreasonable, however, any proposals to change the permitted routes should be posted in Speculative Discussion. This is an advice thread in a non-speculative forum section.

 

[BRX]

Is the journey today? Do you realise that Eastbourne to Bexhill is also RRB?
If it was me Id get the service bus from Eastbourne to Newhaven Town or Brighton (11, 12 etc) £2 and a nice journey over the downs.

Eastbourne to hastings is only RRB to pevensey as far as I can see.

 

[yorksrob]

20% further from London Bridge to Eastbourne via St Leonards than via Gatwick. Where do you draw the line?

I think that Brighton or Lewes via Eastbourne would be too much. But since there isn't a direct route from Eastbourne to London (you have to go some way west before going North) allowing people to go east would be a sensible option.

Incidentally, Hastings to London is allowed via Lewes as well as Battle, which must be a much bigger difference.

 

[30907]

Eastbourne to hastings is only RRB to pevensey as far as I can see.

You have a choice of Pevensey or Bexhill.

An innocent passenger could be forgiven for thinking that Battle was a valid NOT LONDON route, and I suspect on-board staff might.

 

[paul1609]

Eastbourne to hastings is only RRB to pevensey as far as I can see.

What normally happens is that RRBs run Eastbourne to Bexhill including non stop buses at peak times Via the A22/27/259. Theres also stopping buses that call at Pevensey & Westham. The trains turnback at Pevensey & Westham. Theres not enough room at Pevensey to terminate the RRBs as its a level crossing on a back B road.

I think that Brighton or Lewes via Eastbourne would be too much. But since there isn't a direct route from Eastbourne to London (you have to go some way west before going North) allowing people to go east would be a sensible option.

Incidentally, Hastings to London is allowed via Lewes as well as Battle, which must be a much bigger difference.

Hastings to London has route +hs1, not hs1 & via Haywards Heath to accomodate this though and advances by three different routes. On Marshlink we now have Advances on 4 different routes.