How can I travel from North Berwick (or Drem) to Dunbar using one single ticket?

[miklcct]

As title. There seems to be no direct service between Drem and Dunbar and any doubleback requires multiple tickets as shown in National Rail Enquiries.

(I tried to plan such a journey in the past but I was put off because I couldn't work out a way how I could travel from North Berwick back to Dunbar where I could pick up an intercity train back home, as the last bus departed too early (16:00 from North Berwick).)

 

[MikeWh]

How can I travel from North Berwick (or Drem) to Dunbar using one single ticket?​

Simple answer, you can't!

 

[VioletEclipse]

quite an example of how nonsensical and confusing the current ticketing system is. The opposite of user-friendly.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Does the £13.20 Anytime Day Single from Drem to Dunbar effectively allow some doubling back easement via a station in the Edinburgh direction (maybe Musselburgh) to enable the journey to be made?

 

[Watershed]

Doubling back via Edinburgh is permitted, provided direct trains to and from Edinburgh are used - i.e. a break of journey at Musselburgh etc. wouldn't be permitted.

Under the Routeing Guide, this journey counts as a "local journey" as both stations have one or more Routeing Points in common (Edinburgh Group and Newcastle, in this case).

For local journeys, the Routeing Guide states that along with the shortest route, a route within 3 miles thereof or a direct train, one may also use direct trains to and from a common Routeing Point. As Edinburgh is a common Routeing Point to both stations, travel on direct trains to and from Edinburgh is permitted.

Journey planners work to a different set of rules, which don't fully embody the Routeing Guide. With this in mind, the outcome of claiming that multiple tickets are required for this journey is not entirely surprising, even though it's clearly unacceptable that people are being overcharged and misled.

 

[kieron]

The reason for miklcct's difficulty may be that there are no flexible tickets available between North Berwick and Dunbar, and I don't know if any advance tickets are sold for that route. There are flexible tickets between North Berwick and Reston, so one of those may be suitable.

As an alternative, there are single tickets available for the North Berwick-Dunbar bus.

 

[Bovverboy]

The reason for miklcct's difficulty may be that there are no flexible tickets available between North Berwick and Dunbar, and I don't know if any advance tickets are sold for that route.

Advance tickets appear to be available.

As an alternative, there are single tickets available for the North Berwick-Dunbar bus.

The OP said from the outset that the last bus from North Berwick was too early - at 1600, which, on a Sunday, it is, so I presume Sunday was the intended day of travel.

Surely the issue is that, on a Sunday, it is not so much a matter of no through fares being available, but the fact that there are no through trains. The OP's argument seems to be that, even if he is forced to travel via Edinburgh, he shouldn't have to pay to Edinburgh and back. There is bound to be a limit on such easements.

I presume the OP already had a ticket from Dunbar to his ultimate destination - would he have been able to have that ticket excessed to start from Edinburgh, or would he have needed a single Edinburgh - Dunbar?

 

[yorkie]

As title. There seems to be no direct service between Drem and Dunbar and any doubleback requires multiple tickets as shown in National Rail Enquiries.

(I tried to plan such a journey in the past but I was put off because I couldn't work out a way how I could travel from North Berwick back to Dunbar where I could pick up an intercity train back home, as the last bus departed too early (16:00 from North Berwick).)

What are your journey requirements exactly?

...The OP's argument seems to be that, even if he is forced to travel via Edinburgh, he shouldn't have to pay to Edinburgh and back. ...

The OP has previously indicated support for mileage-based pricing, therefore I assume they are supportive of being required for the additional mileage via Edinburgh.

I presume the OP already had a ticket from Dunbar to his ultimate destination - would he have been able to have that ticket excessed to start from Edinburgh, or would he have needed a single Edinburgh - Dunbar?

If the bus is not being caught then train tickets need to cover the full journey being made. But without knowing the detail of the journey being made, we're not able to advise further.

 

[miklcct]

What are your journey requirements exactly?

That's theoretical now as I had already been put off making the journey, but what I planned to do was to travel from Stirling via Edinburgh to North Berwick, have a stopover there, then continue to London. The time departing North Berwick would be approximately 18:00 on a Sunday.

There is still a possibility that I want to do the journey in summer 2024, starting from Edinburgh rather than from Stirling.

 

[Bovverboy]

If the bus is not being caught then train tickets need to cover the full journey being made.

Sorry, one thing I omitted to say, I was presuming the OP would purchase a single ticket North Berwick to Edinburgh. It was Edinburgh to Dunbar I was unsure of what he would need to do.

 

[takno]

That's theoretical now as I had already been put off making the journey, but what I planned to do was to travel from Stirling via Edinburgh to North Berwick, have a stopover there, then continue to London. The time departing North Berwick would be approximately 18:00 on a Sunday.

There is still a possibility that I want to do the journey in summer 2024, starting from Edinburgh rather than from Stirling.

On open tickets the most effective way to do this is surely to break the journey at Edinburgh and get a day return to North Berwick. Can you even get to London that late on a Sunday without going via Edinburgh anyway? Messing around with Dunbar and another minor station seems like asking for trouble

 

[miklcct]

On open tickets the most effective way to do this is surely to break the journey at Edinburgh and get a day return to North Berwick. Can you even get to London that late on a Sunday without going via Edinburgh anyway? Messing around with Dunbar and another minor station seems like asking for trouble

My plan was to break my journey at Drem on my open ticket, use another ticket to go to North Berwick, and continue my journey on the open ticket at Drem or Dunbar. However I couldn't work out the timing to make such journey (as the last bus from North Berwick to Dunbar was at 16:00, and I couldn't find a train service going eastward from Drem along the main line) so I was put off making the journey.

 

[Haywain]

Can you even get to London that late on a Sunday without going via Edinburgh anyway?

The last LNER service from Edinburgh to London calls at Dunbar. The problem for the OP would be in getting from North Berwick to Edinburgh in time for a valid connection to that train, or to Dunbar for any sort of connection.

 

[hkstudent]

It's seems to be an oversight by Scotrail to not to set the walkup fare. Worth a letter to Scotrail or even Scottish Parliament if the OP sees fit.
Especially a person would not be able to buy a ticket from ticket machine for such a journey.

 

[TUC]

I can see why such a fare might be expensive, given the routing, but it does seem odd in terms of completeness that one has not been set. An equivalent in terms of two places for whom the point to point distance is much less than the rail journey is Whitby-Scarborough-18 miles apart, but an eye-watering. £98.10 by rail. (Even the Off-Peak Return is £70.90.)

 

[eoff]

I did
Dunbar <-> Musselburgh <> Prestonpans
a few times some years ago but the way the timetable worked I don't think it was likely that you saved any time over going to Edinburgh and back.