National Conditions of Carriage
SECTION I CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE FOR PASSENGERS
A. TICKETS
1. Your contract
A ticket that has been issued to you is evidence of a contract between you and each Train Company whose trains you have the right to use.
If a ticket entitles you to any goods or services from another person (including the right to travel in another person’s transport services), it is also evidence of a contract between you and that person.
Tickets remain the property of the relevant Train Company. Each ticket is issued subject to:
(a) these Conditions;
(b) the applicable byelaws;
(c) the conditions which apply to Electronic Tickets, Smartcards, other devices used for storing Electronic Tickets and certain types of reduced and discounted fare tickets as set out in the notices and other publications issued by the Train Companies whose trains you are entitled to use; and
(d) the conditions set out in the notices and other publications issued by another person if the ticket enables you to use any of their goods or services.
Details of how to get copies of the relevant Train Company’s notices and other publications relevant to your journey will be available when you buy a ticket. If the ticket entitles you to obtain goods or services from another person, then you can get copies of relevant notices and publications from that person.
If a Train Company’s special conditions apply to the use of a ticket, the seller will make these clear to you.
2. Requirement to hold a ticket
Before you travel you must have a ticket or other authority to travel which is valid for the train(s) you intend to use and for the journey you intend to make. If you travel in a train:
(a) without a ticket; or
(b) the circumstances described in Conditions 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 22, 30, 35 and 39 apply;
you will be liable to pay the full single fare or full return fare or, if appropriate, a Penalty Fare (see Condition 4) for your journey. You will not be entitled to any discounts or special terms unless either:
(i) at the station where you started your journey:
there was no ticket office or no ticket office was open
and
there were no self-service ticket machines or no self-service ticket machines were in full working order
and
in Penalty Fares areas you bought a Permit to Travel unless no Permit to Travel issuing machine was in full working order
or
(ii) the notices and other publications issued by the Train Company in whose train you are travelling indicate that you can buy tickets in that train. In circumstances where (i) or (ii) apply, you only need to pay the fare that you would have paid if you had bought a ticket immediately before your journey.
Special arrangements may apply if you are disabled. You will find details of these arrangements in each Train Company’s ‘Disabled People’s Protection Policy’.
For the purposes of this Condition, and Conditions 4, 39 and 41, "full single fare or full return fare" means the highest priced single or (if requested by the passenger) return fare appropriate to the class of travel for the journey you are making.
3. Where the full range of tickets is not available
If you cannot buy an appropriate ticket for the journey you want to make because the range of tickets that is available at the station from which you intend to start your journey is restricted, you must buy a ticket or Permit to Travel before you travel that entitles you to make at least part of the journey. Then you must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, buy an appropriate ticket to complete your journey. In these circumstances, you only need to pay the fare that you would have paid if you had bought a ticket immediately before your journey. The price you will have to pay will be reduced by the amount paid for the ticket or Permit to Travel.
4. Penalty Fares
Penalty Fares are charged by Train Companies at some stations and in some trains. You may be liable to pay a Penalty Fare if:
(a) you travel in a train without a ticket or Permit to Travel; or
(b) you travel in a class of accommodation for which the ticket is not valid; or
(c) you travel in a train and the circumstances set out in Conditions 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 22, 30, 35 and 39 apply; or
(d) you are present in a Compulsory Ticket Area without a ticket or Permit to Travel.
Warning notices are displayed at stations where Penalty Fares are charged. You will not have to pay the full single fare or full return fare under Condition 2 if a Penalty Fare is charged. A Train Company which operates a Penalty Fares scheme will send you a copy of the rules about Penalty Fares and a summary of their scheme if you ask.
5.Children
Up to two children under five years of age may accompany each fare-paying passenger free of charge. However, children under five years of age who are travelling free may only occupy a seat which is not required by a fare-paying passenger.
Children under 16 years of age are entitled to discounts on most tickets. You will be advised in the notices and publications of the Train Companies whose trains you wish to use if a discount is not available.
6. You may not transfer a ticket to another person
A ticket may only be used by the person for whom it has been bought. It may not be resold or passed on to anyone else unless this is specifically allowed by the terms and conditions which apply to that ticket and which are set out in the notices and publications of the relevant Train Company.
7. Train Company’s responsibilities
The Train Company whose trains you have the right to use, or who has agreed to provide you with any other goods or services, is responsible for providing the goods or services it has agreed to provide. However, the Train Company or its agent(s) are not responsible for:
(a) another Train Company not running any trains;
(b) another person not providing goods or services;
(c) any losses that occur while you are travelling on any other Train Company’s trains;
(d) any losses that occur while you are using those other goods or services.
However, each Train Company or its agent(s) will help you if you have a claim (see Condition 63) or a complaint about your journey, either by dealing with the matter itself or by passing it on to the Train Company(s) or other person(s) providing the goods or services in question.
8. International journeys
These Conditions do not apply if a ticket is issued for an international rail journey within Europe (including any journey wholly within one country to connect with an international rail journey). In such cases, carriage is subject to:
(a) the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail (CIV), these being appendix A to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980 in the version of the Protocol of Modification of 3 June 1999. Both documents are available from the website of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) which is: www.otif.org;
(b) to the extent provided in the CIV, the conditions of carriage of the carrier in question.
9. Electronic Tickets
In some cases a Train Company, a travel agent or other authorised person, may issue you with a ticket where the details of the trains you are entitled to use, together with any rights to goods or services supplied by another person, are stored only in electronic form. Such a ticket is referred to in these Conditions as an Electronic Ticket. Any reference in these Conditions to the term “ticket” includes an Electronic Ticket unless specifically stated otherwise.
An Electronic Ticket may be stored on a:
(i) Smartcard;
(ii) payment card or identity card;
(iii) mobile telephone;
(iv) personal organiser; or
(v) other mobile electronic device.
If a Smartcard is issued by a Train Company, it remains the property of that Train Company and you may be charged a deposit. If a Smartcard is no longer required and is returned to the office of issue in good condition any deposit paid will be refunded. A Smartcard which does not contain an Electronic Ticket is not a valid authority to travel.
Some Smartcards may be used to buy stored credit which you can use later to buy Electronic Tickets. In these Conditions, credit stored in this way is termed Electronic Funds. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have enough Electronic Funds on your Smartcard to pay for the Electronic Ticket required for the journey you intend to make.
Wherever reference is made in these Conditions to information about restrictions, stations, routes and period of validity being shown on tickets, this information will not be shown on Smartcards and may not be displayed on the cards or devices in (ii) to (v) of this Condition, for any Electronic Tickets they contain. However, any restrictions or other terms of use (including these Conditions) will still apply. You can get details of restrictions and terms of use from the seller of the Electronic Ticket.
B. VALIDITY OF TICKETS
10. Tickets valid only in trains of particular Train Companies
The validity of a ticket may:
a) be restricted to; or
b) prohibit travel in the trains of a particular Train Company or Train Companies. Any such restriction or prohibition will be shown on the ticket. If you travel in a train with a ticket that is not valid, the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply. If you are unable to use a ticket or any part of it, you may be able to claim a refund under Condition 26 or Condition 36.
11. The period during which you can use a ticket
The period during which a ticket is valid is printed on the ticket or set out in the notices and other publications of the relevant Train Companies. If you use a ticket after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you may be treated as having joined a train without a ticket and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply.
If the validity of the ticket you are using expires during your journey (for example, your train does not reach its destination until after midnight), you will still be allowed to complete that journey. However, in these circumstances, you may not break your journey unless your train is extensively delayed.
12. Restrictions on when you can travel
Restrictions apply to the use of some tickets (including those bought with a Railcard) such as the dates, days, and times when you can use them, and the trains in which they can be used. These restrictions are set out in the notices and other publications of the Train Companies whose trains you are entitled to use. If a restriction applies and the ticket you are using is not valid for the train you are travelling in, then:
(a) you will be liable to pay an excess fare (the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to travel in that train for the journey shown on the ticket); or
(b) in the case of some types of discounted tickets (as indicated in the notices and publications) the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply.
13. The route you are entitled to take
(a) You may travel between the stations shown on the ticket you hold in:
(i) a through train;
(ii) trains which take the shortest route which can be used by scheduled passenger services; or
(iii) trains which take the routes shown in the National Routeing Guide (details as to how you can obtain this information will be available when you buy your ticket).
(b) If you are using a Zonal Ticket you may travel in trains which take any route within the zone or zones shown on the ticket.
(c) Together, the routes referred to in (a) (ii), (a) (iii) and (b) above are the “permitted routes”
(d) The use of some tickets may be restricted to trains which take:
(i) routes passing through, or avoiding, particular locations; or
(ii) the most direct route. These restrictions will be shown on the ticket.
(e) If you make your journey by a route other than those referred to in (a) and (b) above, you will be liable to pay an excess fare. This excess fare will be the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket(s) available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to travel by that route.
(f) For the purposes of this Condition, a “through train” is one which may be used by a passenger to make their entire journey without changing trains.
14. Railcards
If you buy a ticket using a Railcard, you must have with you when you travel, the ticket, that Railcard and any photocard that may be required. Additional conditions apply to the use of Railcards. Details of those conditions are available from the Railcard seller.
15. Photocards
Some types of tickets (including many Season Tickets, tickets bought with a Railcard and Electronic Tickets) are only valid with either:
(a) a photocard showing a photograph which is a true likeness of the person for whom the ticket was issued; or
(b) another form of personal identification.
Details of this requirement, and the tickets to which it applies, are available where the relevant tickets are sold. If the use of a Season Ticket or Railcard requires you to carry a photocard, the Season Ticket (unless it is an Electronic Ticket like Oyster) or Railcard must show the photocard serial number.
If you lose your photocard, or the photocard is no longer a true likeness of you, then, a new photocard will be required. In these circumstances, whoever sold you the Season Ticket or, in the case of a Railcard any Train Company, will issue a replacement showing your new photocard serial number if applicable. You may have to pay a reasonable administration charge (not exceeding £10) for the replacement.
C. USE OF TICKETS
16. Starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations
You may start, or break and resume, a journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) at any intermediate station, as long as the ticket you hold is valid for the trains you want to use. You may also end your journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) before the destination shown on the ticket. However, these rights may not apply to some types of tickets for which a break of journey is prohibited, in which case the relevant Train Companies will make this clear in their notices and other publications.
If you start, break and resume, or end your journey at an intermediate station when you are not entitled to do so, you will be liable to pay an excess fare. This excess fare will be the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket(s) available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to start, break and resume, or end your journey at that station on the service(s) you have used.
A ticket which entitles you to travel on the London Underground and/or Docklands Light Railway does not entitle you to break and resume your journey at any of the stations on these networks unless it is a Season Ticket or a Travelcard.
For the purposes of this Condition and Condition 11, you will be treated as breaking your journey if you leave a Train Company’s or Rail Service Company’s stations after you start your journey other than:
(i) to join a train at another station, or
(ii) to stay in overnight accommodation when you cannot reasonably complete your journey within one day, or
(iii) to follow any instructions given by a member of a Train Company’s staff.
17. Using a return ticket
A return ticket (including a two-part return ticket) is only valid for the outward journey shown on that ticket if the ticket is completely unused. You may not use the outward part of a return ticket after you have used the return part.
18. If you travel further than a ticket allows
If you travel beyond the destination shown on the ticket, you will be treated as having joined the train without a ticket for that additional part of your journey. The relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply for that additional part of your journey.
19. Using a combination of tickets
You may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover the entire journey and one of the following applies:
(a) they are both Zonal Tickets (unless special conditions prohibit their use);
(b) the train you are in calls at the station where you change from one ticket to another; or
(c) one of the tickets is a Season Ticket (which for this purpose does not include Season Tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport executive or local authority) or a leisure travel pass, and the other ticket(s) is/are not.
You must comply with any restriction shown on the tickets relating to travel in the trains of a particular Train Company or Train Companies (see Condition 10). If you do not comply with this Condition, you will be treated as having joined the train without a ticket and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply, either to the entire journey, or from the last station where the train stopped at which at least one of the tickets was valid.
For the purposes of this Condition, a “leisure travel pass” means any multi-journey ticket (excluding Season Tickets) valid for:
(i) at least 7 consecutive days; or
(ii) at least 3 days in a period of at least 7 consecutive days
and includes rover tickets, travel passes, flexipass tickets and BritRail passes.
20. Withdrawal of tickets
If you do not comply in a material way with any Condition that applies to the use of a ticket, staff or agents of any Train Company may withdraw the ticket and you will be given a receipt. In the case of an Electronic Ticket, this may require you to either allow the staff or agent of the Train Company to delete the stored data, or demonstrate to them that you have done so in accordance with the conditions of use of that ticket.
D. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
21. Buying tickets
As soon as you can, you should check that the details shown on the ticket are consistent with the journey you intend to make and that you have received the correct change. If you think a mistake has been made you should tell the person who sold you the ticket.
22. Inspection of tickets
You must show and, if asked to do so by the staff of a Train Company or its agent, hand over for inspection a valid ticket and any relevant Railcard, photocard or other form of personal identification in accordance with Condition 15. If you do not, you will be treated as having joined a train without a ticket and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply. If an Electronic Ticket cannot be displayed, you will be treated as if you were unable to hand over for inspection a valid ticket.
23. If a ticket is damaged or altered
If a ticket has been damaged or has been tampered with or altered in any way, it is not valid for travel. However, if you return it to the Train Company or travel agent which sold it to you, they will arrange for a replacement ticket to be issued unless it has reason to suspect that the ticket has, or will be, used for fraudulent or improper purposes. You may have to pay a reasonable administrative charge (not exceeding £10) for the replacement.
24. Lost, stolen or mislaid tickets
A ticket is your evidence of your right to make a rail journey and it is your responsibility to keep it safe. If you lose or mislay a ticket or a Smartcard or it is stolen, it will not be replaced nor will any of the cost be refunded. However, Train Companies will replace certain Season Tickets in the circumstances set out in Condition 34.
25. Boarding, alighting or changing trains
When boarding, alighting or changing trains during your journey you should make sure that:
a) you board the correct trains;
b) if appropriate, you travel in the correct part of a train;
c) you alight from a train at the correct station, including any station where you need to change trains;
d) if your journey involves a change of train, you allow at least the minimum interchange time shown in the National Rail timetable for the station where you change trains (details as to how you can obtain this information will be available when you buy your ticket), or at least 5 minutes if no minimum interchange time is shown for that station; 9
e) you keep your luggage, and any other possessions, with you at all times.
Unless a Train Company has agreed to provide assistance, it will not be responsible for any loss or delay to your journey arising from any failure in this regard.
E.YOUR REFUND RIGHTS
26. Refunds on tickets which have not been used
If you decide not to use a ticket (other than a Season Ticket - see Condition 36) to make all or part of your intended journey, then:
(a) if the train you intended to use is cancelled, delayed or your reservation will not be honoured, you decide not to travel and at that time you return the unused ticket to any ticket office, the Train Company responsible for that ticket office will, if it is in a position to do so, give you an immediate full refund as shown in Condition 27;
(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply and the ticket has been bought from a Train Company’s ticket office (or a self-service machine) and you return your ticket at any Train Company’s ticket office no later than 28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund (subject to the notes below); or
(c) if paragraph (a) does not apply, the ticket has been bought from a Train Company’s telesales office or a Train Company’s internet website and you return the ticket to an address notified by that Train Company no later than 28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund (subject to the notes below); or
(d) if paragraph (a) does not apply and the ticket has been bought from a travel agent, if you return the ticket to that agent no later than 28 days after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you will receive a refund (subject to the notes below).
Notes:
(i) The amount of the refund will normally take into account any use you have made of the ticket and in some circumstances no refund will be paid.
(ii) In the case of a refund made under (b), (c), or (d) above, you may have to pay a reasonable administrative charge (not exceeding £10).
(iii) Your right to receive a refund of all or part of the price paid may be restricted in the case of some types of reduced and discounted fare tickets, for example, those with an advance purchase requirement. These rights are set out in the notices and other publications of the relevant Train Companies.
(iv) In the case of a refund under (b), (c), or (d) above, you will not receive an immediate refund but your refund application will be processed as soon as reasonably practicable.
(v) In the case of an Electronic Ticket, the refund process may require you to allow the person making the refund to delete the stored ticket data or to demonstrate to that person that you have done so in accordance with the conditions of that ticket.
27. Method of refund
The method of refund is detailed below:
Cash
Cash or cheque at the discretion of the Train Company or travel agent. Any immediate refund given under Condition 26 (a) will be made in cash where the Train Company is in a position to do this
Cheque
Cash or cheque (which could include the return of your cheque) at the discretion of the Train Company or travel agent.
Credit or Debit Card
Issue of a credit voucher and credit to the relevant account.
Rail Travel Warrant
Credit to the relevant warrant account.
Rail Travel Voucher
Vouchers of equivalent value or cash at the discretion of the Train Company or travel agent. Any immediate refund given under Condition 26 (a) will be made in cash where the Train Company is in a position to do this.
28. Cancellation of fraudulent payment
You are entitled to cancel a payment where fraudulent use has been made of your credit or debit card in connection with the purchase of a ticket which is made other than at a ticket office (e.g. by telephone or website).
F. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS APPLYING ONLY TO SEASON TICKETS
29. Application
Conditions 29 to 37 apply to Season Tickets and Smartcards containing Season Tickets. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between them and any other Conditions, then Conditions 29 to 37 will apply.
30. Validity
A Season Ticket gives you the right to travel between particular stations or within particular zones during the period up to and including the Season Ticket’s expiry date. Except in the case of a Season Ticket which is an Electronic Ticket, the relevant stations or zones and expiry date are shown on the ticket. This includes the right to start, break and resume, or end your journey, as described in Condition 16. If you use the Season Ticket to travel beyond the station or zones for which it is valid, you will be treated as having joined the train without a ticket for that additional part of your journey and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply. The routes you are entitled to take with a Season Ticket are explained in Condition 13.
31. Expiry of validity
A Season Ticket remains the property of the Train Companies. When its validity expires you must hand it in to the Train Company which issued it if you are asked to do so. You do not need to hand in a Smartcard which contains an expired Season Ticket.
32. Improper use
A Train Company may refuse to sell a new Season Ticket, or renew or replace an existing Season Ticket if it has reason to suspect that it has, or will be, used for fraudulent or improper purposes.
33. Damaged tickets
If a Season Ticket (or a Smartcard containing a Season Ticket) is damaged, or can no longer be read easily, or no longer works in automatic ticket gates, it will be replaced at the office from which it was bought provided the Train Company which sold it can confirm the ticket is still valid. You will not have to pay an administrative charge.
34. Lost, stolen or mislaid tickets
If you lose or mislay a Season Ticket (or a Smartcard containing a Season Ticket) or it is stolen, unless Condition 32 applies, the Train Company which sold it will arrange for it to be replaced with a duplicate Season Ticket or, if relevant, a duplicate Smartcard provided that:
(a) you tell staff at the office from which it was bought as soon as you reasonably can and, if required, you give a reasonable explanation for the loss;
(b) you agree to return immediately the lost Season Ticket, or Smartcard containing a Season Ticket, if you find it, to the office from which it was bought;
(c) the lost Season Ticket is valid for one month or longer; and
(d) you pay a reasonable administrative charge (not exceeding £20) for the issue of the duplicate Season Ticket.
Only one duplicate will normally be allowed for any lost or stolen Season Ticket. However, a second duplicate will usually be allowed if:
(i) the original Season Ticket or Smartcard containing a Season Ticket is returned to the Train Company which sold it within one month of it having been told of the loss; or
(ii) the first or second request for a duplicate was a result of a verifiable theft, robbery, fire, or other exceptional circumstances which have been reported to the police, the fire service or another appropriate organisation.
You will not, in any circumstances, be issued with more than two duplicate Season Tickets in any 12 month period.