How to find out the peak times and when an off peak ticket is valid
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 1 Aug, 2023
- |
TLDR No
Stations do not have peak and off peak times, rather time restrictions depend on the ticket held. Each restriction is given a two letter code which can be looked up on National Rail Enquires.
To do this find the restriction code that relates to your journey. If you already have the tickets you can find them in the following places (highlighted in red):
In this case the new format ticket has a restriction code of WZ while the old format ticket has a code of 1C. To look these up on National Rail Enquires you would go to nre.co.uk/WZ and nre.co.uk/1C.
In this example a restriction code of 1C means for outward travel
Not valid on trains timed to arrive in London Liverpool Street or London Kings Cross after 04:29 and before 10:00.
Your question is based on a false premise, that there are constant off-peak times at each station. One source of (unofficial) information is http://www.brfares.com where you can search for all rail tickets between any two stations. Clicking on the appropriate tickets, you can see that each off peak ticket has a restriction code associated with it limiting (among other things) the time it can be used. To take a couple of examples (both would typically head into Kings Cross station):
Off peak return Stevenage – London terminals
takes code 5J currently defined as (among other restrictions):
OUTWARD TRAVEL
Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:29 and before 09:30,
except:…
Off peak return Edinburgh – London terminals
takes code 1E currently defined as (among other restrictions):
OUTWARD TRAVEL
Not valid on trains timed to
arrive:
London Terminals (except as
shown below) after 04:29 and
before 10:08;…
I think it is too complicated for a simple list. As a example, the London Midland conditions can be found here, and for just one company it is already confusing.
It depends not only on origin station, but also operator and final destination.
- I can travel off-peak Euston to Coventry at any time in the evening on a slow (London Midland) train.
- But not on the faster (Virgin) trains between 1501 and 1844.
- And I couldn’t get on the same London Midland train if I was only going as far as Milton Keynes (between 1649 and 1901)
- And I could get on any of the Virgin trains if I were going as far as Glasgow.
Morning times are usually fairly simple, but the evening ones are anything but. (Worth noting that the evening peak is only relevant if travelling from major cities.)
- Does my wife, who is accompanying me to a conference in Australia, need a separate visa application?
- How punctual are Swiss trains?
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘