Manchester Stations validity

[Par]

A quick question regarding validity.

I have the Advance ticket shown in the photo below. It is issued from Manchester Stations, but the reservation is from Piccadilly. Am I right in thinking that boarding at Oxford Road would in this case be prohibited?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LOL The Irony]

A quick question regarding validity.

I have the Advance ticket shown in the photo below. It is issued from Manchester Stations, but the reservation is from Piccadilly. Am I right in thinking that boarding at Oxford Road would in this case be prohibited?

Thanks in advance.

Manchester Stations is Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Deansgate & Victoria, so it should still be valid from Oxford Road. If you're still unsure, try contacting EMR. However saying that, I highly doubt a ticket check will be conducted between Oxford Road and Piccadilly. The only hiccup I can see happening is at the Oxford Road barriers. Once again, just check with EMR if unsure.

Hope this helped.

 

[Watershed]

A quick question regarding validity.

I have the Advance ticket shown in the photo below. It is issued from Manchester Stations, but the reservation is from Piccadilly. Am I right in thinking that boarding at Oxford Road would in this case be prohibited?

Thanks in advance.

As an Advance, in theory you are only valid to travel on the booked itinerary, which in your case means travelling from Piccadilly rather than Oxford Road.

Some tickets are printed in a way which makes it possible to deviate from the booked itinerary without anyone knowing (e.g. if you have portions of the journey with unreservable trains not printed on the ticket). But unfortunately this is not of that type.

In practice there is no chance whatsoever of a ticket check between Oxford Road and Piccadilly, so it is just a matter of whether the barriers at Oxford Road will let you through (I suspect so, it being a Manchester Stations ticket - the booked trains aren't encoded into the magnetic strip on a paper ticket). And if not, whether the barrier staff will let you through instead (I suspect so, based on personal experience).

You could try contacting EMR to ask them whether you're OK to board at Oxford Road (likely to be a mixed bag, but no harm in trying). Or if all else fails you'll either have to rebook (shouldn't cost you anything extra, thanks to the Book with Confidence scheme), buy a single from Oxford Road for a ripoff £1.70 each, or just walk it!

 

[island]

(shouldn't cost you anything extra, thanks to the Book with Confidence scheme)

Unless of course the advance tier in question is sold out at the point of rebooking!

 

[Merseysider]

You’ll be fine boarding at Oxford Road, providing it is the EMR service you take as that is the TOC indicated on the ticket.

I can assure you that precisely nobody at Oxford Road will have an issue with you using a Manchester Stations ticket even if your reservation is from Piccadilly.

 

[Djgr]

Probably worth saying that you can walk from one to another in ten minutes.

 

[scrapy]

The barriers at Oxford Rd will let you through with that ticket. The barriers will read the origin on the ticket (Manchester stations) and see it as valid.

The only issue I can possibly see being a problem is if the booked service is started from Manchester Piccadilly due to any disruption and you are at Oxford Rd. This of course should be known about 2 hours in advance as the unit won't have gone to Liverpool. Your ticket may not be accepted on the next service if your booked train ran as scheduled from Piccadilly. This scenario is unlikely as EMT usually turn round at Oxford Rd anyway in disruption.

 

[LOL The Irony]

The only issue I can possibly see being a problem is if the booked service is started from Manchester Piccadilly due to any disruption and you are at Oxford Rd. This of course should be known about 2 hours in advance as the unit won't have gone to Liverpool. Your ticket may not be accepted on the next service if your booked train ran as scheduled from Piccadilly. This scenario is unlikely as EMT usually turn round at Oxford Rd anyway in disruption.

Even then, if you get another service to Piccadilly, who'll know? It's borderline impossible to do a revenue check between the 2 stations.

 

[Par]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I am aware that ordinarily a flexible ticket issued from Manchester Stations would be valid from Oxford Road as well as Piccadilly (and also Deansgate and Victoria). My main issue was whether it would it operate the barriers at Oxford Road, which from the replies above, it seems it will.

There is also the issue that it is well understood that Advances have a strict (completely inflexible) itinerary and starting long and finishing short are forbidden and this itinerary states Piccadilly.

Also recognise that the chances of a ticket inspection between Oxford Road and Piccadilly would be infinitesimally small.

 

[Howardh]

Would a free ride on the tram between stations be allowed with that ticket? Wouldn't be useful for Oxford rd in fairness but if it says Manchester Stations surely it would be?

 

[Watershed]

Would a free ride on the tram between stations be allowed with that ticket? Wouldn't be useful for Oxford rd in fairness but if it says Manchester Stations surely it would be?

No, only tickets issued to/from/via "Manchester Ctlz" or "Metrolink Zone [1/2/3/4]" are valid on the Metrolink. Metrolink isn't a party to the NRCoT so validity on their services is only included where specifically noted.

 

[Par]

Just one more thing to add.

Forum members might reasonably ask why I didn’t book the ticket initially from Oxford Road? Well, the answer is that a discounted (Advance) fare wasn’t available even though I bought these on the first day they went on sale.

I checked again this morning and Advances are still available from Piccadilly but not Oxford Road for this particular service.

 

[stephen rp]

Probably worth saying that you can walk from one to another in ten minutes.

I wouldn't fancy walking Oxford Road to the business end of platform 13 in less than 15, even if you did know where you were going.

 

[Watershed]

I wouldn't fancy walking Oxford Road to the business end of platform 13 in less than 15, even if you did know where you were going.

Perfectly doable but it does depend on your walking pace. Can't say if the Fairfield Street lift is open at the moment, but if it is, that's going to save quite a bit of time over going through the concourse.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A single from Oxford Road to Picc is £2.60*. A bit pricey for the short distance, but if the barriers don't open just buy one of those. I've never heard of a ticket check between Oxford Road and Picc.

* Corrected. Inexplicably there's a TfW Only fare for £2.20. Lord only knows what the point in that is.

 

[stephen rp]

Perfectly doable but it does depend on your walking pace. Can't say if the Fairfield Street lift is open at the moment, but if it is, that's going to save quite a bit of time over going through the concourse.

It's three quarters of a mile to the lift, so if you add in waiting for umpteen traffic lights and then for the lift...

 

[Par]

A single from Oxford Road to Picc is £2.60*. A bit pricey for the short distance, but if the barriers don't open just buy one of those. I've never heard of a ticket check between Oxford Road and Picc.

* Corrected. Inexplicably there's a TfW Only fare for £2.20. Lord only knows what the point in that is.

£1.70 Anytime Single with Railcard discount, so in the event my ticket doesn’t open the barriers, it’ll have to be a pair of those.

I’m not actually hung up about boarding at Oxford Road, just that it offers me some advantage, not least of which is the guaranteed availability of a pair of seats!

 

[Watershed]

It's three quarters of a mile to the lift, so if you add in waiting for umpteen traffic lights and then for the lift...

Maybe it's just my walking pace, but I've done it in 10 mins plenty of times. But yes, for someone unfamiliar I'd allow at least 15 mins if not 20.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Can't say if the Fairfield Street lift is open at the moment, but if it is, that's going to save quite a bit of time over going through the concourse.

It was still closed when I was there on Saturday.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Inexplicably there's a TfW Only fare for £2.20. Lord only knows what the point in that is.

Competition, innit? Will save you all of 40p on the hourly TfW services between Oxford Road and Piccadilly. Excepting of course the times of the day midweek when it's not valid. (Before 0930 or between 1600 and 1829). Bargain!

 

[Starmill]

Perfectly doable but it does depend on your walking pace. Can't say if the Fairfield Street lift is open at the moment, but if it is, that's going to save quite a bit of time over going through the concourse.

I travelled in the lift between Fairfield Street and Platform 13&14 concourse on Wednesday, so unless it's out of order again now (which is possible!) it should be working.

 

[gray1404]

If the ticket does not open the barriers show it to the staff manning the barriers and they may let you through.

 

[jfollows]

Maybe it's just my walking pace, but I've done it in 10 mins plenty of times. But yes, for someone unfamiliar I'd allow at least 15 mins if not 20.

At the age of 11, my bus from school would arrive close to the bottom of the steps up to Oxford Road too late for the 15:57 to Piccadilly, so I would walk to Piccadilly and although it was somewhat brisk I would always make the 16:10 departure for Poynton.

 

[plugwash]

Maybe it's just my walking pace, but I've done it in 10 mins plenty of times. But yes, for someone unfamiliar I'd allow at least 15 mins if not 20.

It also depends on what your attitude to crossing roads is.

The road junction outside picadilly is pedestrian hostile. It's set up so all the pedestrian lights go green at the same time, but the green man time is pretty short.

So you either.

1. Wait for a green man, cross part of the junction and then wait a complete cycle for another one.
2. Wait for a green man, then run straight across the middle of the junction.
3. Cross some parts of the junction on a red man

 

[Watershed]

It also depends on what your attitude to crossing roads is.

The road junction outside picadilly is pedestrian hostile. It's set up so all the pedestrian lights go green at the same time, but the green man time is pretty short.

So you either.

1. Wait for a green man, cross part of the junction and then wait a complete cycle for another one.
2. Wait for a green man, then run straight across the middle of the junction.
3. Cross some parts of the junction on a red man

I think the third approach is necessary if you don't fancy waiting half a lifetime at some of the crossings!

Crossing slightly further north under the protection of a tram going to/from the undercroft can also be another method. And just next to that (but a bit of a detour when coming from Oxford Road) there is a footbridge leading to the main concourse.

 

[jfollows]

Slightly further north is the route I'd take, when I was 11 it'd lead to Store Street and a flight of steps up to the front of the station concourse, but these have now been closed off and the tram stop is the next-best thing. I certainly agree about the Fairfield Street/London Road intersection, it's not very friendly.

Slightly slower would be to go along the canal as far as possible, which would then lead you to the footbridge over London Road, so the only interaction with traffic of any significance is crossing Aytoun Street, but I see that the route from there to the east (at the bottom of the Piccadilly Station approach) has been closed off to traffic so perhaps there's less traffic on Aytoun Street today as a result.

 

[Marten]

Slightly further north is the route I'd take, when I was 11 it'd lead to Store Street and a flight of steps up to the front of the station concourse,

Aha, Store Street steps, long gone but not forgotten!

 

[jfollows]

Aha, Store Street steps, long gone but not forgotten!

Along with Haig & Hochland bookstore, much missed, just a little way along the route, now turned into flats.

 

[Watershed]

Slightly further north is the route I'd take, when I was 11 it'd lead to Store Street and a flight of steps up to the front of the station concourse, but these have now been closed off and the tram stop is the next-best thing. I certainly agree about the Fairfield Street/London Road intersection, it's not very friendly.

Slightly slower would be to go along the canal as far as possible, which would then lead you to the footbridge over London Road, so the only interaction with traffic of any significance is crossing Aytoun Street, but I see that the route from there to the east (at the bottom of the Piccadilly Station approach) has been closed off to traffic so perhaps there's less traffic on Aytoun Street today as a result.

Yes, and crossing Aytoun Street you again often have the protection of a tram. However even Canal Street involves several busy road crossings, i.e. Minshull and Sackville Streets.

There's no perfect route.