Bad request

Using the rail system to organise my walks has created a whole labyrinth of ticketing possibilities. I could just walk up to the station on the day and buy a ticket and get on a train. That’s what I did in the early stages of this journey. Buying a return ticket to the station I was walking to was more economical than buying two singles, and there was no problem with just getting off the train a stop or two early to start my walk.

The real challenge began when I needed to change trains and rail companies to complete my journeys. Then I faced a new level of complexity in deciding whether it was better to buy two singles, or a return, and when to travel and where to buy my ticket.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the National Rail journey planner but I find the website will only allow me to try one journey to find times and prices before it crashes off the rails and decides all my subsequent attempts are “Bad Requests” and won’t stop at my station any more. This is very frustrating when I need to test different options of single and return journeys so I had to find another track.

The Train Line website offers a better and more stable piece of potential passenger interface and allows me to test a range of journeys on different days and with different times. The unique selling point is the Split Save ticket options that mean I can find cheaper tickets on this site than anywhere else. Although it does charge a fee if I decide to buy tickets through the site.

So, my third option is to choose one of the rail company’s websites and see what they can offer. Of course, they won’t sell me a ticket without mining my data, asking for a password and generally side tracking me. However, their interface is generally stable.

Once I’ve discovered the most efficient way to travel to and from my destination, worked out if its better to buy a ticket in advance and commit to using a train at a specific time, or to wait until I reach the station and get my ticket then, I still face the final signal.

Arriving at the station with a few minutes to go, ready to purchase my ticket, I discover the platform ticket machine is out of order and there are big signs warning me of a £100 fine if I travel without a ticket. I try to use the internet to reach a ticket supplier but the wi-fi is useless. The announcement says, “the next train arriving at platform two…” I begin to panic, then the ticket machine is reanimated and I manage to buy a ticket just as the train appears.

I’m exhausted by the process and I haven’t even started walking.