What happens if I my train is delayed and I have to miss the last connection to my destination?

Question

On Friday evening, I'm travelling by train from Manchester Piccadilly to Swindon.

I'm due to arrive at Cheltenham Spa at 21:51 and then my connection to Swindon leaves 9 minutes later. That train to Swindon is the last train of the night.

What would happen if the train into Cheltenham was delayed (not the unlikeliest of scenarios) and I missed the connection to Swindon? Would it be the train company's responsibility to get me to my destination that night?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Agreed with celtic if you miss you connection due to your train being late or cancelled (no other valid excuse) the rail operator will usually put you on the next available service, if there is no more available services you will be provided road transport, however if you missed your connection for any other reason e.g "I was buying a coffee and the train pulled out" you will need to buy a new ticket. (Only from cheltenham to swindon though obviously)

If you have an Open ticket you might consider this journey instead with longer Changes (you must check you paid for an Open ticket though I.E £52 Single or £64,£104 Return)

1924 dep Manchester to Oxford arrv 2214

2234 dep Oxford to Didcot Parkway arrv 2246

2300 dep Didcot to Swindon arrv 2319

Answer 2

the rail companies responsibility is the same as point to point airlines and basically that means they are not responsible for missed connections especially when there is only nine minutes to make your connection.

on top of that it is two different rail companies the second rail company the one you catch from cheltenham to swindon cannot be held if your train is late.

in the old days of british rail they would have been obliged to get to your destination. because it was all one company

Answer 3

If you have purchased a ticket to get you to a destination at a certain time and you are late because the train was late what you do is go to the station masters office with your ticket and tell him you have missed your connection and it is their responsibility to get you to your destination IE-Swindon within a reasonable time  either by an other connection or by taxi whatever the station uses some have their own transport for just this possibility others use Taxi firms or mini buses.

Answer 4

Maybe best not to advertise exactly where you'll be to the entire world?!!

Answer 5

none.

Answer 6

No, the railways companies are not responsible for missed connections - and weren't in British Rail days as one answer suggests. In this case, you are taking the journey, knowing the tight timing for your connection. Could you not leave Manchester at little earlier? Actually, I'm not sure how likely it is that you would miss the connection. Cheltenham Spa is only a 2 platform station - there are no bays for local trains on the 'Golden Valley' route (the line to Swindon). I think it more likely that the local train would be held to prevent it blocking the cross country train you are on.

Answer 7

The minimum connection time for Cheltenham Spa is 5 minutes so if you miss the connection solely due to an earlier train being late, then they should arrange onward transport for you.

If you can, get the ticket collector on the cross country service to endorse your ticket if it looks like you're definitely going to miss your connection. The station staff ought to know anyway, but it's worth getting it done for the best proof that you were indeed on that train. Normally the ticket collector's stamp has the train's identity so it is clear which service you were on (it will probably be 1Vnn or 9Vnn where nn are two digits).

The ticket office closes before you get there, but apparently the station is staffed until 1am. You might need to go looking for staff as they have a tendency to hide late at night (who can blame them with drunks around). Look for a door saying "station supervisor" or similar. Be firm, factual, and honest but always polite.

Some corrections to earlier answers: Virgin no longer run this route. It is indeed the train company's obligation to get you to your destination one way or another, in a reasonable time, as long as your plans meet minimum connection times etc - the fact that two companys are involved just makes it more tricky, not impossible.

Answer 8

If it is no fault of yours that the you was late (i.e. oversleep, over carried destination, turned up late for service, etc) then goto the Platform staff and ask for the Supervisor / Team Leader and explain to them what has happened, ensure you have your ticket ready to hand. Now they should check (if they don't know already) about the delayed service and would then make contact with their own control point managers who would give authorization to arrange a taxi to run you from the station to Swindon station.  However, if you are travelling by a different company ticket, for example Virgin Trains to Cheltenham Spa and then First Great Western to Swindon, they may say you need to get in contact with Virgin Trains and organise transport via them, or pay for a taxi yourself and claim back from Virgin. If that is the case obtain a Customer Comment form from the staff there and ensure you take names and details of the train that was late (this should be in the form of a 4 digit code for example 1A00 alled a Train ID or Headcode and time it passed through the station) the staff are obliged to give you their first name only, but a decent staff member should be helping you as much as they can within the constraints laid upon them by the company.

Of course FGW have there own procedures and could differ a little from the norm and of course if its a bad day and the staff member is not in a good mood because of this then you may feel hard done by, but be calm and patient with them, get annoyed with them and we all know that Humans will quickly react to that.

Is there no way you can travel earlier to ensure connection?

Good luck with your journey.

Answer 9

Nope, if the train is late you'll be late.  You still have to pay for a ticket, even if you don't get a seat or don't even get there!

Trains are rubbish, I had to get one every day for seven years to get to school and I was late most of the time.

You could get an earlier train and bring a good book for the wait, or just hope for the best.  But with trains all you can do is pray because it really is 50/50 as to whether it'll be on time.

Answer 10

The train companies involved are all members of the Association Of Train Operating Companies and are thus bound by ATOC's rules, one of which is to provide onward transport to your destination should you miss the last train due to a late connection.