ScotRail announce more capacity

[Paulatic]

More bike spaces are coming.
https://www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotra ... -customers

[Paulatic]

They’ve arrived
https://www.scotrail.co.uk/about-scotra ... cle-travel

[Sweep]

apologies if already posted somewhere.
But apparently from late last year you have been able to make bike bookings on the Scotrial app.
Just been wandering round their web page - making bike bookings on that seems simpler than I remember as well.

[Sweep]

More tinkering shows that Scotrail are as barmy as the rest of the Brit rail industry.
Checking fares from Glasgow it seems that with a senior railcard I can get to Wick for £10 less than Inverness, even though the journey is twice as long and involves a change of trains at Inverness.
If your second train is cancelled just wave them goodbye and walk out at Inverness?
Or maybe you can just walk out at Inverness anyway - have no idea if there are barriers.

[Will]

More tinkering shows that Scotrail are as barmy as the rest of the Brit rail industry.
Checking fares from Glasgow it seems that with a senior railcard I can get to Wick for £10 less than Inverness, even though the journey is twice as long and involves a change of trains at Inverness.
If your second train is cancelled just wave them goodbye and walk out at Inverness?
Or maybe you can just walk out at Inverness anyway - have no idea if there are barriers.

There are barriers at Inverness.

Generally, it is not permitted to start or end short if you have an Advanced ticket, and it is possible that the barriers at Inverness would not open with an Advanced ticket. I believe the rules are that you should pay the difference for the walk up fare for the journey you have just taken, though gate staff may just wave you through.

Will

[Sweep]

More tinkering shows that Scotrail are as barmy as the rest of the Brit rail industry.
Checking fares from Glasgow it seems that with a senior railcard I can get to Wick for £10 less than Inverness, even though the journey is twice as long and involves a change of trains at Inverness.
If your second train is cancelled just wave them goodbye and walk out at Inverness?
Or maybe you can just walk out at Inverness anyway - have no idea if there are barriers.

There are barriers at Inverness.

Generally, it is not permitted to start or end short if you have an Advanced ticket, and it is possible that the barriers at Inverness would not open with an Advanced ticket. I believe the rules are that you should pay the difference for the walk up fare for the journey you have just taken, though gate staff may just wave you through.

Will

Thanks for info about Inverness station.
I asked as I know Carlisle station is open access and exit, which is maybe odd as it is on the West Coast mainline.
(Preston also)
I know that "travelling short" or whatever it is called isn't allowed.
It should be in my view as a first step to force Brit train fares to be more sensible.
If you booked so that your second train was the last of the day and they cancelled this, or the train/s after your booked train with bike was cancelled and there were then no more trains with a bike I assume that they don't imprison you within the changing station?

[Jdsk]

More tinkering shows that Scotrail are as barmy as the rest of the Brit rail industry.
Checking fares from Glasgow it seems that with a senior railcard I can get to Wick for £10 less than Inverness, even though the journey is twice as long and involves a change of trains at Inverness.
If your second train is cancelled just wave them goodbye and walk out at Inverness?
Or maybe you can just walk out at Inverness anyway - have no idea if there are barriers.

There are barriers at Inverness.

Generally, it is not permitted to start or end short if you have an Advanced ticket, and it is possible that the barriers at Inverness would not open with an Advanced ticket. I believe the rules are that you should pay the difference for the walk up fare for the journey you have just taken, though gate staff may just wave you through.

My emboldening.

I'd try that on.

Jonathan

[Fasgadh]

How long is the connection time at Inverness? It would be most unreasonable to prevent a passenger from getting a meal etc during a wait.

It was great in the 1980s watching all the wretched barriers being taken out. When I commuted it was rather stressful on a tight connection having to queue to get off one platform and queue to get on the departing platform at Waverley.

[Sweep]

How long is the connection time at Inverness? It would be most unreasonable to prevent a passenger from getting a meal etc during a wait.

It was great in the 1980s watching all the wretched barriers being taken out. When I commuted it was rather stressful on a tight connection having to queue to get off one platform and queue to get on the departing platform at Waverley.

From memory no more than about 20 minutes.

[philsknees]

Again from memory, I'd say 20 minutes is generous - I've known it to be much less. Take along a timetable showing station/stop timings en route for Inverness and take particular care to prepare for a quick exit if your connection at Inverness is the last train northwards of the day and you appear to be running late. The staff on your connection are understandably reluctant to be delayed on their last trip of their shift!
Last time my train pulled into Inverness slightly late and the guard of the last Wick train blew her whistle just as I appeared behind her on the platform with my loaded bike, despite my speedy disembarkation and having run round to the departure platform. I shouted and fortunately she held the train so I could board it - followed by 15 to 20 other connecting passengers who'd been sauntering along behind me who would otherwise have been stuck in snowy April Inverness overnight!
Of course, things may have changed but I'll always be wary of that connection......

[Sweep]

Again from memory, I'd say 20 minutes is generous - I've known it to be much less. Take along a timetable showing station/stop timings en route for Inverness and take particular care to prepare for a quick exit if your connection at Inverness is the last train northwards of the day and you appear to be running late. The staff on your connection are understandably reluctant to be delayed on their last trip of their shift!
Last time my train pulled into Inverness slightly late and the guard of the last Wick train blew her whistle just as I appeared behind her on the platform with my loaded bike, despite my speedy disembarkation and having run round to the departure platform. I shouted and fortunately she held the train so I could board it - followed by 15 to 20 other connecting passengers who'd been sauntering along behind me who would otherwise have been stuck in snowy April Inverness overnight!
Of course, things may have changed but I'll always be wary of that connection......

it may be less, can't look it up - still it was a through ticket not separate legs booked separately so if I missed the connection due to a late first train I assume I would be allowed to walk out at Inverness station?
The rules/pricing are of course bonkers.

[LollyKat]

About 15 years ago I was on an Inverness train which was delayed and missed the Thurso train. I had a Brompton and there were two other normal bikes. The staff were very helpful and laid on a bus, though we had to wait a bit for them to find a trailer for the bikes. Eventually we set off, and caught up with the train at Brora. It wasn’t the last train of the day, though. I do remember once being on a very delayed London-Glasgow train, when the staff laid on taxis - I remember one of them was to Oban.