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Milton Keynes - Euston Avanti Only - Break of Journey permitted?

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Huntergreed

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Came across a ticket anomaly I’m curious about earlier:



I’ve got an Avanti Only Off-Peak Day Return from London Euston to Milton Keynes (Restriction Code JD)



On the return leg, from Milton Keynes to London Euston, certain Avanti services were advertised as calling at Watford Junction. According to the terms and conditions of Off-Peak tickets:



6. Break of journey

6.1 Break of journey is allowed on the outward and return portions of Off-Peak tickets unless otherwise indicated by a restriction shown against the ticket's validity code.



(https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46590.aspx)



There is nothing in the restriction code JD explicitly stating that a break of journey is not permitted:



https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/JD



My question is, due to the set-down only restriction on all Avanti services at Watford, is a break of journey at Watford Junction permitted on this ticket?
There is nothing explicitly stating this is not permitted, there certainly is no advertised announcement or information anywhere that states a break of journey is not permitted. For an average passenger, I’m sure this would seem legitimate.



I am however concerned that upon doing so, boarding a southbound Avanti service would not be permitted at Watford Junction and the ticket would be excessed back to the previous stop on the boarded service (as the ticket has already been used for Milton Keynes - Watford, this creates an anomaly of a Watford - Euston Avanti ticket, which shouldn’t exist).
What’s the correct interpretation of the contradictory rules associated with this ticket?
 
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JonathanH

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You won't be allowed to board an Avanti service at Watford Junction heading towards Euston regardless of the ticket you hold.

You can get off at Watford Junction but won't be able to continue your journey.

There is no contradiction about break of journey being permitted - it is permitted on almost all journeys between adjacent stations yet you can't actually break your journey.
 

yorkie

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You won't be allowed to board an Avanti service at Watford Junction heading towards Euston regardless of the ticket you hold.

You can get off at Watford Junction but won't be able to continue your journey.
Agreed.

It could effectively only be done in the other direction.
 

Huntergreed

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What would the legal stance of a passenger who held this ticket and decided to “break their journey” at Watford and was denied further travel be in that case? (Ie is the contractual obligation of the railway to get you to your final destination overridden by the set-down only restriction?)
 

yorkie

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What would the legal stance of a passenger who held this ticket and decided to “break their journey” at Watford and was denied further travel be in that case? (Ie is the contractual obligation of the railway to get you to your final destination overridden by the set-down only restriction?)
It's an interesting case; presumably the argument would be that the passenger looks at destination boards at MKC, sees WFJ as an intermediate point, doesn't use a journey planner, and assumes that the trains will call normally, without knowledge that they are "set down only"?

Whether that is a reasonable argument on contract and consumer law terms, I am unsure...
 

Watershed

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It's an interesting case; presumably the argument would be that the passenger looks at destination boards at MKC, sees WFJ as an intermediate point, doesn't use a journey planner, and assumes that the trains will call normally, without knowledge that they are "set down only"?

Whether that is a reasonable argument on contract and consumer law terms, I am unsure...
Although the NRCoT make no reference to timetables governing the validity of tickets, it would undoubtedly be deemed an implied term of the contract.

For example, if you had an Anytime Day Single from London to Swansea and broke your journey in Cardiff, but then missed the last train of the day to continue on to Swansea - you can't expect the railway to provide you with alternative transport.

So the principle here is the same. If you decide to break your journey at Watford Junction you are effectively forfeiting the right to use the remainder of your ticket.

Of course, if you managed to get on the train and by some miracle were checked between Watford and London, Avanti couldn't really do anything about it - you have a ticket that's valid between Watford and London, and are travelling on a train from Watford to London.
 
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