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Travel via Brighton doubling back via Preston Park

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infobleep

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I have a train ticket valid via Brighton. I need to stop off at Brighton on route. Then I'm heading north towards Burgess Hill

Given there is engineering works National Rail Enquries is routing people via Preston Park.

Can I go that way? Under normal circumstances it wouldn't it be a double back?

It maybe that it is just a quick to walk from Hove to Brighton.
 
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yorkie

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What ticket do you have and what journey are you making?

I am struggling to understand your question.
 
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JonathanH

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It maybe that it is just a quick to walk from Hove to Brighton.
That will depend on where you need to be in Brighton but Hove Station (and indeed Preston Park) is within two miles of the centre of Brighton.

Realistically, I can't see any reason why a ticket inspector (if you even see one) would take umbridge at using something like a Southampton to Haywards Heath ticket (that would ordinarily be fine via Brighton) to access Brighton via Preston Park given the circumstances of no trains between Hove and Brighton.
 

pepperpot80

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If you're travelling today (25th) or tomorrow (26th), the direct line between Hove & Brighton is closed.

Thus, if you're travelling along the coast toward Brighton, you'll need to change at Preston Park for Brighton. You can then continue to Burgess Hill later.

You could instead alight at Hove and catch the number 7 bus outside The Station pub (immediately outside the railway station); the bus is accepting rail tickets and it saves faffing about at Preston Park.

In normal times, a Hove - Preston Park - Brighton - Preston Park - Burgess Hill would probably be a double-back strictly by the rules. That said, locally the generally accepted practice is that you can go 'either way' round the triangle, and by extension any ticket that's valid for entry/exit at one station on the triangle is also accepted for entry/exit at both of the other two. Also in normal times it's not common to get good connections going Hove - Preston Park - Brighton, so it would rarely make sense to do the double-back anyway.

So strictly speaking, yes, it's a double-back, but in practice no-one's going to bat an eyelid, and in reality there's rarely need to do it.
 

Watershed

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It may be a double back, but provided it's no more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route for your journey, it would be permitted anyway, even in the absence of any engineering work easements.
 

infobleep

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It may be a double back, but provided it's no more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route for your journey, it would be permitted anyway, even in the absence of any engineering work easements.
Interesting. I didn't know this. Or if I was told this or read it, it didn't sink in.
 

AlbertBeale

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Interesting. I didn't know this. Or if I was told this or read it, it didn't sink in.
It may be a double back, but provided it's no more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route for your journey, it would be permitted anyway, even in the absence of any engineering work easements.

Indeed, no two sides of that triangle total 3 miles more than the third side - so by this rule almost any ticket valid between any two of those stations could be used to go via the other one en route - unless it was a ticket which itself had some specific TOC restriction or anything like that which precluded it.

And of course if you made the detour because you wanted to break your journey at the extra one you've gone via (such as for the pleasant chippie by Hove station or the excellent pub 100 yards from Brighton station!) you might be caught out by any break of journey restriction on your ticket. (I can't off-hand think of many reasons to want to break a journey at Preston Park - but I'm sure there must be!!)
 

Watershed

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Interesting. I didn't know this. Or if I was told this or read it, it didn't sink in.
There is no automatic ban on doubling back. Lots of journeys allow or even require doubling back. The only general restriction is on doubling back when tracing mapped routes.
 

infobleep

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There is no automatic ban on doubling back. Lots of journeys allow or even require doubling back. The only general restriction is on doubling back when tracing mapped routes.
Is the latter that I remember and thus for et it only applies to mapped router, save easements.
 
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