The Train Route That Confuses Ticket Apps

It's not that it confuses the journey planners, its more so that the journey from Penyffordd to Edale via Shotton/Manchester Piccadilly isn't a valid route, so it shows you the only trains running that do offer the valid route, which is via Wrexham and Chester instead. It's not valid, ultimately because you're going further than you need to, (up to Shotton) but there's only 2 services in a day that allow the correct transfers at the right stations. TfW are the flow owners for this fare, so might be worth reaching out to them and getting clarification because it's always a pretty interesting topic

For those of us not familiar with the area, it would’ve helped showing some kind of map at the beginning of the video.

The TPE train getting cancelled twice and then the following train also being cancelled is the most TPE thing I've ever seen

Tricking the app into giving you the journey you want is an art form in its own right

Any split-ticket supporting journey planner actually does show this journey as they use there own routing algorithms rather than using the National Rail Enquiries one.

Merseyrail offers a great quirk for pricing. Chester to Blackpool is £37.00 return or thereabouts. Hooton to Blackpool is £25.00 and has a permitted route through (with a change of service in) Chester.

I had a similar problem when trying to travel the Brigg line, National Rail wouldn't sell an 'any permitted route' ticket Nottingham-Barnetby, I'm guessing because of the limited service. Like you I'm finding I'm visiting a split level station much more than usual recently, in my case it's Tamworth. Keep up showing us the obscure journeys.

On National Rail enquiries the greenford line is not shown for West Ealing to Greenford, even though the branch is shorter and more frequent

Penyffordd - my home station! And good job on the pronunciation 🙂

Did you check if the ticket office staff knew the straightforward journey? Apps are supposed to replace them, but the ticket prices from the ticket office are often cheaper.

One reason why I would never trust a single app for journey planning, but also check other sources of information such as National Rail Enquiries and Real Time Trains. Some of the results they come up with are totally weird and make no sense

This might interest you: If you try Penyffordd to Edale in the journey planer of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways), it shows the route you took and even more. From the morning to midnight it shows more than 20 different travel times.

Thought I'd check this out in the South Western railway app and that one does give you journeys via Shotton and Piccadilly and will happily sell you a ticket via that route

6:15 is right as there is the holyhead - birmingham intl service that goes through chester via wrexham

Pontefract Monkhill (or Tanshelf) to Pontefract Baghill would be a good "pointless journey" for the future. Monkhill to Tanshelf would be a bit uneventful of course!

Journeys from St Budeaux are like that. Like many places the legacy of having two railway companies gave the village two stations. St Budeaux Ferry Road two platforms on Great Western and St Budeaux Victoria Road now a single platform on the old LSWR. Fares vary from both stations despite being a few metres apart. Unlike most multistation places that have an all stations ticket St Budeaux missed this luxury!

i live in Eastbourne on the South Coast and to travel across London they always tell you to use the underground which is another expense rather than using overground routes which you can get discounted fares on. I very rarely use the underground as i can go from Eastbourne to St Pancras, Kings Cross and Paddington by overground routes.

I assume the original idea was to do Hope to Hope. if not that would maybe be an interesting video idea

@4:32 HAHAHAHA I am literally ROTFLOL. They got the stations wrong.. they crazy man, they reallll crazy

I’m surprised you didn’t do Hope (Clwyd) to Hope (Derbyshire)! 😜