Missed night ferry on Rail & Sail connection due to delayed trains, what are our rights w.r.t. delay repay and accommodation costs?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 1 Aug, 2023
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I’m afraid you did not construct a “valid itinerary” with the connection between your Euston and Liverpool Street Trains. The minimum connection time between these stations after 1900 is 48 minutes (see here and here: it’s the minimum connection time of each station plus the fixed link time by tube). This means that even if this was the train recommended by Greater Anglia (which is at 1932 as per here), and you’d missed it due to a delay on your Euston train, you’d be ineligible for help from the railway companies as you’d not left enough time to connect in the first place. So, to answer your questions:
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Regarding your delay repay rights, you’re not eligible for anything. This is because the system treats these as two seperate journeys, and you were delayed by 23 minutes on Virgin (whose compensation kicks in at 30) and 27 on Greater Anglia (also 30).
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You’re definitely not eligible for help with your hotel costs, as you didn’t travel on the train recommended by the rail and sail deal, and you didn’t leave enough time to connect in London. You should always use a journey planner such as National Rail Enquiries to check your itinerary is valid unless you’re very familiar with the behind-the-scenes rules. Your train to Euston orginated at Birmingham New Street, and if you check the National Rail Enquiries journey planner, they suggest travelling on the train half an hour earlier to make the connection to the 2000 train. Had you done this, you’d be home and dry (even without travelling on the recommended connection).
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘