Rail Refund

[ugly_bob]

Not sure if this still applies - used to when it was British Rail
Went to cricket yesterday (Sat). Bought return tickets from Bedfrod to Birmingham new street (via Liecester). No problems (except i tonly started raining as we pulled into brum - can't really blame the trains for that-)
After we eventually saw some cricket, went back to New street (approx 8pm) to go back to Liecester, only to be told there were no trains that night (and I think poss today also) due to engineering works.
Only way we got home was to leg it across brum centre to moor st, then get on train to Marylebone. Train didn't get to London til 11.30, which convientley was when the last train left KX/Pad to get us anywhere near home.
Basically, we got a taxi from Banbury to home, costing �120. Do we have any discourse to get the money back from the rail company?
With BR, the answer was yes
Plus, they never told us about the fact that we couldn't get home when we bought our return tickets.
I'm going to send lots of nasty e-mails and letters anyway
And I've got a receipt from the Taxi co.
Any advice?

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Up until recently, I ran a large railway station so I think that I'm well placed to tell you the current policies.

Train operating companies are responsible for providing alternative transport and/or compensation for disrupted journeys when their trains have not run to the published timetable. However, it must be noted that the term 'published timetable' includes all revisions which have been made available to the public prior to the day of travel.

If the engineering work which was taking place was 'planned' (rather than 'emergency') work, the changes to the timetable will have been available on the website of the train operating company and on the National Rail website. Additionally, the information would have been available by phoning the train operator or National Rail Enquiries. It's also likely that the information would have been displayed on station noticeboards.

Printed timetables (either in booklet form or on station noticeboards) nearly always contain a statement along the lines of "Engineering work often takes place at weekends. Customers are advised to check for timetable alterations prior to travelling". The train operating company is responsible for ensuring that the information is made available to the public but it's the customer's responsibility to check.

So, if the engineering works were 'planned' and the relevant timetable changes had been made available to you, through the means described above, you have no right to any form of compensation from the train company.

[Buenchico]

The person who sells you your ticket can't be expected to know your travel plans. If you asked for a Saver ticket, this is valid for return any time with a month, so the sales assistant wouldn't know that you were planning to return the same day. Even if you asked for a 'Day Return' (which doesn't actually exist - you'd have been sold a Saver ticket anyway), the assistant would have had no idea what time you were expecting to travel back. It's not his job to check
your travel plans. It's yours. (Of course, if you'd have asked the ticket assistant to give you the return times he would have been obliged to give you the information).

I'm also confused as to why you travelled to Banbury. If you were at Marylebone at 2330, all you had to do was to take the Tube to Farringdon (changing at Baker Street) and you'd have had plenty of time to catch the train from there to Bedford at 0034. (Alternatively, if you only found out about this train when you got to Kings Cross you could just have walked down the road to Kings Cross Thameslink station and caught it at 0038). The First Capital Connect list of engineering works for this bank holiday weekend indicates that this train should have run normally.

I don't think that you've got any valid claim against Central Trains for the absence of a train to Leicester (although I'm surprised that there wasn't a bus replacement service still left at 2000). However, if whoever told you about trains from London (whether at Birmingham, Marylebone or Kings Cross) failed to tell you about the service from Farringdon, you might have some sort of a claim against the company which employs him.

Chris

[Grunty]

In my experience, lots of nasty e-mails and letters often have a negative effect on the recipient. Better to communicate politely, stating the grounds for your displeasure. You are then likely to get a similar reply.

[dzug]

Are you saying the 1955 to Leicester didn't run (assuming the timetable is the same as next Saturday) or that you missed it? If you arrived at the station at 2000 it would have gone.

It's no consolation, but you could have got home without resorting to a taxi and without going to London. Had you stayed on the train at Banbury to the next station, Bicester North, you would have had half an hour to walk into town and get a bus to Bedford.

[ugly_bob]

Thanks all. Turns out we could have got home a better way.
Was a bit complicated at the time - we'd had a few.
Think we just missed the 19.45 from New Street to Leicester
I'll write to them (I will be polite) - can't hurt