I often travel to London Paddington from Bath Spa. Not unreasonable, since Bath is the place where I live. I need to go to Paddington for work most often, so my company pays for the ticket. Going on peak is now a staggering £108. Off-peak, it's £45. So, I reasoned, it's not that unreasonable to want to find out when peak time finishes so I can choose to travel after it. However, it's nowhere to be seen on the website. So I wrote to First Great Western. They replied with this:
Dear Mr Grabham
Thank you for taking the time to email us regarding peak times for travelling in and out of Paddington. This information is not stated in the national fares manual, however is not widely advertised as it differs depending on what type of ticket you hold. Each ticket holds a different restriction code. This information is available upon purchasing your ticket, however due to the complexity of this, it is not feasible to issue these with every transaction, however all tickets do state that there are restrictions.
Right. So they won't tell me, as there are several different ticket options. But could they not have a simple grid-like graphic telling you which tickets are available at which times from the appropriate stations? It seems not. And so, the farce of UK train travel continues. Not only that, but First Great Western also chooses to continue its letter:
Therefore if you are not already aware of restrictions I would strongly advise you to enquire about this before purchasing your tickets.
I hope this clarifies matters for you. We look forward to welcoming you on board our services in the near future.
Yours sincerely
Kerry Townsend
Customer Service Advisor
Most amusing is the line "Therefore if you are not already aware of restrictions". Exactly how would I have become aware of these restrictions I wonder? Trial and error, perhaps?
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