London to Folkestone on bog roll.

[Argyle 1980]

Does anyone know firstly if a St Pancras to Folkestone Central ticket will be sold and secondly if it will be accepted or if I will potentially experience trouble with it at St Pancras.
I'll be travelling up from Cornwall on Monday morning so will be buying my tickets on board. I know it's not possible to buy a through ticket from Cornwall but I need to but the Saltash/St Germans to Paddington ticket separately anyway as NHS will only reimburse that particular journey. Will be heading to Folkestone afterwards but will be extremely limited for time both between arrival in London and after meeting. Have a fighting chance of making the 1307 from St Pancras so categorically do not want TOD or queuing at the counter at St Pancras gateline

 

[Birmingham]

I don’t know whether that particular ticket would be fulfilled to PRT but I’ve passed multiple Southeastern gatelines without barcode readers holding PRT tickets and not had a problem showing them to staff, so you should be alright if it is.

 

[Benjwri]

They will be able to sell it onboard, although they aren't obliged to. If they aren't pushed for time they'll most likely by happy to. All TOCs are required to accept PRT tickets, so yes it would be accepted, just you would obviously have to show it to a staff member.

 

[Watershed]

Unfortunately e-tickets aren't yet available for this journey. Southeastern say they will be enabling e-tickets for journeys to/from St Pancras "later this year" but I'd expect it to take well into next year for that process to be completed.

Could you not buy your ticket, or pick up a TOD booking, in Cornwall? The TVM should allow you to select tickets from a different station.

Otherwise the only other option is to buy a "bog roll" ticket from the Train Manager. Or to use Oyster/contactless from St Pancras to Stratford International (in theory you should touch out at Stratford, but in practice you will be charged the correct fare anyway just by touching in), and then an e-ticket from there to Folkestone - but this would cost substantially more in total.

 

[Benjwri]

The TVM should allow you to select tickets from a different station.

As far as I'm aware, and have ever been able to work out, at least the older GWR TVMs do not allow you to buy tickets from another station.

 

[davetheguard]

Does anyone know firstly if a St Pancras to Folkestone Central ticket will be sold

There's fares for this journey in brfares.com, so I don't see why not.

I know it's not possible to buy a through ticket from Cornwall

Yes, it is! of course it is. There's fares from St. Germans to Folkestone Central. Again, see brfares.com But as you say it won't help you in this case due to your employers only reimbursing you for part of the journey.

On the subject of bog roll, many train managers who work to Paddington have ticket machines that issue cardboard magnetic stripe tickets (i.e. not bog roll) which will work the gates in London.

 

[Class800]

There's fares for this journey in brfares.com, so I don't see why not.



Yes, it is! of course it is. There's fares from St. Germans to Folkestone Central. Again, see brfares.com But as you say it won't help you in this case due to your employers only reimbursing you for part of the journey.

On the subject of bog roll, many train managers who work to London have ticket machines that issue cardboard magnetic stripe tickets (i.e. not bog roll) which will work the gates in London.

But you could do what I've done before and get through ticket and come to an agreement with your manager how much they'll reimburse if there's a price difference?

 

[paul1609]

I dont see any problem with the PRT being accepted at St Pancras but the Southeastern TVMs are next to the gateline upstairs so you could probably just buy the ticket in about 30 secs. Theres unlikely to be any queue at lunchtime.

 

[Haywain]

I dont see any problem with the PRT being accepted at St Pancras but the Southeastern TVMs are next to the gateline upstairs so you could probably just buy the ticket in about 30 secs. Theres unlikely to be any queue at lunchtime.

And St Pancras has two more ticket offices, operated by Thameslink and East Midlands Railway respectively, who would both be happy to sell such a ticket.

 

[Argyle 1980]

Thanks for heads up everyone.
Unfortunately coming to agreement with finance about the ticket is a non starter. Can't remember if it was a Dawlish block or the 802 cracks but once drove to Pinhoe and got train from there and got absolutely grilled by finance as to why I had that ticket, even though it was cheaper than what it would have been from home. They even get funny if you buy two singles, even if it's saving them money.
I have in the past bought a Saltash to London ticket and then immediately applied for a refund so I had a ticket to give to finance and then just by a new ticket to use but as I'll be needing an anytime ticket to get to London then it will be a much more expensive way of doing it. The mileage rates are so poor too it's not even going to cover half the cost of the train ticket if I claimed that instead.
Will try and buy a ticket off TM when I get my Paddington ticket on Monday. Wanted to avoid ticket machines at St Pancras if at all possible as I know in the time frame I've got to get from The Royal London Hospital of IM to the gateline usually takes me about 15 to 20 mins so making the train is dependent of getting straight there and across Euston Road swiftly. Rushing on TVMs often leads to expensive mistakes.

 

[Class800]

They even get funny if you buy two singles, even if it's saving them money.

Crazy - they lack basic business skills. OK just get the best ticket you can for the second part of journey. I'm glad to work for an organisation that is reasonable, if I want to go home from Leeds not Manchester it's OK for them.

 

[Benjwri]

Will try and buy a ticket off TM when I get my Paddington ticket on Monday.

Can also try any ticket office you come across en route, or at Paddington, who will be able to sell it.

Crazy - they lack basic business skills.

It’s the NHS, wasting money is a fundamental part of them. They haemorrhage money, one train ticket is the least of they worries.

 

[Hadders]

Get an overdistance excess.

 

[Class800]

Get an overdistance excess.

Good idea. They aren't that well known so would be great if could explain how to get one.

 

[RPI]

If you're buying on board from GWR then the ticket can be fulfilled to TOD, basically the guard takes the payment for the transaction and selects "TOD" as delivery option, this prints a voucher with an Aztec code that will allow you through the gates at Pad and also a TOD reference, this can then be printed at a TVM.

 

[island]

Yes, this ticket can be issued to paper roll stock.

They are in the process of fitting barcode readers to the Southeastern gateline at St. Pancras, and from memory Folkestone is undated, not that the validity depends on this.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

from memory Folkestone is undated

Folkestone West is open, Folkestone Central has barriers with barcode readers on at least some of them.

 

[bkhtele]

Think I would buy London terminals to Folkestone from train manager & use contactless to cross London on the tube, easy!

OR Acton main line to Folkestone to include the tube from Paddington. If you want to use HS1 to Folkestone I think you need to buy the more expensive ticket. £49.80 (off peak). Someone will correct me if I am wrong

 

[Argyle 1980]

Update.
Had to delay trip to today. Thought I'd found a solution to negate TOD and potential delays associated with TOD. Found my old Southeastern Key so just tried to buy a super off peak return to cover me St Pancras to Folkestone Central for later today (£24.45) with idea of NFCing it onto the Key and it seems like Etickets have finally been enabled from London Terminals so problem solved.
Southeastern IMO have always had the best and most informative and glitch free app, my only gripe with it (and Southern's) is there seems to be no way to save tickets to a wallet on phone. Fine if your printing tickets at home but a bit of a pain if not as need to search downloaded files for relevant PDFs.

Get an overdistance excess.

Tried that in past at EMR office at St Pancras plus at some other stations in other instances and the EMR office were adamant it cannot be done (even on that occasion i had a card type ticket) though we all know that's not true and tickets can be excess up. Think it's a case of certain staff either not knowing how to or simply not wanting too. I was on an XC Plymouth-Manchester not long ago and a lad near me had an off peak single (on XC app) that he thought was a return. Train manager phoned up her control, got a code and charged him £1 to excess it to a return and save him £150 odd.
I know staff at Penzance and Aylesham have happily done it for me before no problem.

Can also try any ticket office you come across en route, or at Paddington, who will be able to sell it.

It’s the NHS, wasting money is a fundamental part of them. They haemorrhage money, one train ticket is the least of they worries.

I do audit consultancy work for NHS so know just how good they are at wasting public money. The only other time I've seen public money haemorrhaged on a greater scale was when I was a civil servant.

 

[fireftrm]

You can buy the ticket as a through one and it normally offers St Pancras as the departing terminal from London to Folekstone.

 

[paul1609]

Update.
Had to delay trip to today. Thought I'd found a solution to negate TOD and potential delays associated with TOD. Found my old Southeastern Key so just tried to buy a super off peak return to cover me St Pancras to Folkestone Central for later today (£24.45) with idea of NFCing it onto the Key and it seems like Etickets have finally been enabled from London Terminals so problem solved.
Southeastern IMO have always had the best and most informative and glitch free app, my only gripe with it (and Southern's) is there seems to be no way to save tickets to a wallet on phone. Fine if your printing tickets at home but a bit of a pain if not as need to search downloaded files for relevant PDFs.


Tried that in past at EMR office at St Pancras plus at some other stations in other instances and the EMR office were adamant it cannot be done (even on that occasion i had a card type ticket) though we all know that's not true and tickets can be excess up. Think it's a case of certain staff either not knowing how to or simply not wanting too. I was on an XC Plymouth-Manchester not long ago and a lad near me had an off peak single (on XC app) that he thought was a return. Train manager phoned up her control, got a code and charged him £1 to excess it to a return and save him £150 odd.
I know staff at Penzance and Aylesham have happily done it for me before no problem.

I think that if you have arrived at your destination on the original ticket (presumably LondonTerminals in this case) St Pancras ticket office are right that you can't then buy an over distance excess. You need to buy it before you get to Paddington.

 

[Birmingham]

It would be worth asking the Train Manager of your train to Paddington about the overdistance excess. They may be happy to sit down with you and figure it out.