Missed connections caused by delayed charters/railtours

[The_Train]

If a connection is missed on a regular passenger TOC because of a late running charter you are on, does the passenger TOC still have to accept you on the next service available as they would if a connection was missed because of delays by other TOCs?

I am considering the Intercity charter from EUS-MAN on Friday which is advertised to arrive MAN 2112 and will be looking to connect onto the 2127 XC service. If the charter is delayed as it was last week, I would miss that connection and would then have to rely on the 2207 XC to get me home but would XC have to honour an advance ticket for the 2127 on this service? Equally, if the charter was delayed to the point that I missed the last train back to the Midlands, what entitlement would I have for onward travel?

I have messaged Intercity about this but they haven't responded, which suggests they don't want anything to do with this potential issue and as I have not done charter travel before, I'm not sure on the rules and regulations for this!

 

[Haywain]

It's an interesting question because the answer would be yes if it were an open access operator, but it doesn't look so clear cut when it's a charter operator (that's trying to look like an open access operator!).

 

[Bertie the bus]

No, they wouldn't have to honour it. Charters are not governed by the NRCoT so getting to your starting point by a charter is the same as getting to it by a bus which is delayed.

The TM might accept you but the company doesn't have to.

 

[skyhigh]

Equally, if the charter was delayed to the point that I missed the last train back to the Midlands, what entitlement would I have for onward travel?

Essentially nothing. Same as if your flight was delayed or your coach got cancelled. The charter is outside of the NRCoT so none of the protection it gives applies.

 

[Kilopylae]

Though you wouldn't be entitled to anything, I have more than once found XC staff to be quite chill about accepting Advances on later trains when I have been delayed by buses and trams, so it might be worth asking them via Twitter/e-mail to see what they say.

 

[ainsworth74]

If a connection is missed on a regular passenger TOC because of a late running charter you are on, does the passenger TOC still have to accept you on the next service available as they would if a connection was missed because of delays by other TOCs?

No you have no protection in that situation. The TOC staff may apply discretion and allow you to travel anyway but have no obligation to assist nor provide onward travel. In my experience most Railtour operators make it clear that you'd be on your own in their booking information.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How much is the difference in fare between an advance and a walk up ticket on the 2127 XC service?

 

[The_Train]

How much is the difference in fare between an advance and a walk up ticket on the 2127 XC service?

£11.20 for the advance single and £28.90 for an anytime single.
To be honest, the big concern would be missing both services available to me and being left with a mammoth taxi fare to get home.

Thanks to everyone for the responses, I thought this would be the case but just hoped there may be something in place I hadn't seen. Considering me going to MAN was purely because the cost of the ticket is the same irrelevant of where you alight )and for a bit of extra mileage behind a legendary class of loco), I'll probably not take the risk of heading the full distance.

 

[fireftrm]

The answer is no. Whether a train manager/conductor/guard may be kind enough to allow you travel is absolutely discretionary.

 

[skyhigh]

Though you wouldn't be entitled to anything, I have more than once found XC staff to be quite chill about accepting Advances on later trains when I have been delayed by buses and trams, so it might be worth asking them via Twitter/e-mail to see what they say.

The guard may give discretion on the day, but I'd fully expect to be given the official line if you contacted them ahead of time.

 

[gray1404]

Why don't you book it advance ticket for the later train. Or why don't you get a off peak single and then you have the option of taking both trains. You can monitor the progress of your charter train on the day and make writing informed decision as to what time it should arrive in Manchester or if you should alight sooner

Have you considered a hotel stop in Manchester or an overnight National Express service?