Conditions of Travel 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. Where the company selling you the ticket is not one of the Train Companies on whose services you are travelling, the seller is acting as agent for the Train Company or Companies in whose trains you are entitled to travel.
If a ticket entitles you to any goods or services from another party (including the right to travel in another party's transport services), it is also evidence of a contract between you and that other party. The conditions relating to these additional goods or services may be different, and will be obtainable from that other party.
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. Train Companies will ensure that you can be provided with or have access to the conditions applying to any ticket you buy, as well as the Byelaws, before you buy your ticket.
In the case of electronic tickets and tickets issued on Oyster cards, see Condition 9.

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, unless the circumstances set out in (b) (i) or (ii) below apply.
Train Companies will make tickets and reservations available at stations, over the internet or by telephone as appropriate. Where there are no facilities for buying a ticket at the station, tickets will be available for sale during or at the end of your journey.

Train Companies will offer reservations (where applicable) and tickets to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility at no additional cost.
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 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. You must then, 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. Warning notices are clearly displayed where Penalty Fares apply.
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.
You will not have to pay the full single fare or full return fare under Condition 2 if a Penalty Fare is charged, but you will need a valid ticket from the next station at which the train stops. A Train Company which operates a Penalty Fares scheme will supply you with 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 travel free of charge with a passenger holding a ticket or other authority to travel. However, children under five years of age who are travelling free may only occupy a seat which is not required by a passenger holding a ticket or appropriate authority to travel.
Children under 16 years of age are entitled to discounts on most tickets. If a discount is not available, it will be made clear to you when you buy your ticket.

6. Transferring a ticket to another person
A ticket may only be used by the person who bought that ticket, or the person on whose behalf that ticket was bought. When a ticket is purchased on behalf of an organisation, business or similar entity, then that ticket may be used by any person employed by such entity unless otherwise shown on the ticket by means of a person's name, photocard number or other identifying mark. In such cases it may only be used by the person so identified.
No purchaser of a ticket may resell or transfer that ticket for value to anyone else unless this has been specifically allowed by the terms and conditions which apply to that ticket, and which will be made clear when you buy your ticket.

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 party not providing goods or services;
(c) any losses that occur while you are travelling in 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, transport authority, 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 (including an Oyster or ITSO card);
(ii) payment card or identity card;
(iii) mobile telephone;
(iv) personal organiser;
(v) other mobile electronic device; or
(vi) database, in conjunction with an authorised Contactless Bank Card.

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 it is no longer required and is surrendered in accordance with the published arrangements for that Smartcard, any deposit paid will be refunded. A Smartcard which does not contain an Electronic Ticket is not a valid authority to travel.
The purchase and use of the Electronic Tickets listed in this Condition are subject to specific conditions of use. These will be made available when you participate in such
a scheme.

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 referred to in (ii) to (vi) of this Condition, in relation to any Electronic Tickets they contain. However, any rights, restrictions or other terms of use (including these Conditions where applicable) will still apply and will be provided when you buy your Electronic Ticket or Electronic Funds.

 

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, 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. For other restrictions on use of tickets, see Condition 11 below.

11. The period during which you can use a ticket
The period during which a ticket is valid is printed on the ticket or will be made clear to you when you buy your ticket. 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 Condition 2 or 4 will apply.
If, as a result of a delay to your train, the validity of the ticket you are using expires during your journey, you will still be allowed to complete that journey. However, in these circumstances, you may not break your journey unless your train is so delayed that a break is reasonably required.

12. Restrictions on when you can travel
Restrictions apply to the use of some tickets (including those bought with a Railcard) in addition to/other than those in Condition 10 above such as the dates, days, and times when you can use them, and the trains in which they can be used. These restrictions will be made clear to you by the seller when you buy your ticket. 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) Condition 2 or 4 will apply.

If you purchase an Advance ticket, you must use that ticket in the train specified when you book your ticket. However, if you miss this service because a previous connecting train service was delayed you will be able to travel on the next service provided by the Train Company with whom you were booked to travel without penalty.
If you have an Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak ticket and board a train on which your ticket is not valid, you will only be charged the difference between the fare you have paid and the cheapest valid Anytime or Off-Peak fare for the service concerned. The same principle will apply if you wish to transfer to first class accommodation. This rule does not apply in designated Penalty Fares areas, where you may be required to pay a Penalty Fare.

13. The route you are entitled to take
(a) You may travel between the stations shown on the ticket you hold in:

(i) a train on which you are able to make your entire journey without changing trains;
(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.

If you ask them to, the Ticket Seller must advise you on whether your intended route is valid with 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 at a ticket office for immediate travel that would have entitled you to travel by that route.

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) 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 Ticket Seller must make this clear when you buy your ticket.
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 at a ticket office 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 to:
(i) join a train at another station, or
(ii) stay in overnight accommodation when you cannot reasonably complete your journey within one day, or
(iii) follow any instructions given by a member of a Train Company's or Rail Service 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. 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 in this way. The Ticket Seller will, if you ask, advise you whether you can use a Zonal Ticket in combination with another ticket.
(b) the train you are in calls at a 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 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 as soon as possible.
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 Condition 2 or 4 will apply. If an Electronic Ticket cannot be displayed, you will be treated as if you were unable to hand a valid ticket over for inspection.
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 it is stolen, it will not be replaced nor will any of the cost be refunded. However, certain Smartcards may be replaced in such circumstances if they have been registered. The seller of the Smartcard will be able to tell you whether and in what circumstances this may apply. In addition, Train Companies will replace certain Season Tickets in the circumstances set out in Condition 34.
25. Getting on and off, or changing trains
When getting on and off, or changing trains during your journey you should make
sure that:

a) you get on the correct trains;
b) if appropriate, you travel in the correct part of a train;
c) you get off 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 5 minutes interchange time, or the appropriate interchange time shown in the National Rail Timetable for the station(s) where you change trains. If you request journey information when buying your ticket this will include information giving the minimum time you will need to allow if any changes of train are required.
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.

 

© Copyright Rail Settlement Plan Limited. Issue May 2012