Railrover Tickets Explanatory Notes

Previous | Next | Main Index

The following notes apply throughout:

  1. Within Britain, Ranger is generally used for tickets with a 1-day validity and Rover for longer periods. Rovers can be issued on demand from any staffed station but most Rangers can only be purchased within their respective areas.
  2. Price codes:
  3. Unless stated Photocards are not required, but where they are one appropriate to the railway/PTE concerned is needed.
  4. All tickets are available all year unless specified. Any time-restriction (and there is none unless indicated) applies Monday-Friday only, but not Bank Holidays. Note that Scottish and Irish Bank Holidays sometimes differ from those in England & Wales. On a Rover valid in both England AND Scotland, restrictions are lifted ONLY in the country for which the Bank Holiday applies that day. Tickets with a morning time-restriction cease being valid at midnight (or some other specific time stated) the previous day, but outside PTEs this restriction is often taken 'in spirit' with validity being extended to include journeys commenced before midnight or local trains that can be considered part of the previous day's service. In many cases restrictions are on trains arriving at certain stations before a certain time and it is important to appreciate that such restrictions apply between ANY two points on those trains, however early.
  5. Apart from the All-Line issues and (London) Travelcards all tickets are Standard class only, though, unless stated, they are valid as part-payment towards first class, provided the excess of the difference in single fares is paid before joining the train (or the usual supplements are paid on-train for Weekend First accommodation). On Iarnród Éireann first class is a flat-rate supplement usually payable on-train (full details are in the Irish section).
  6. Except where specified, tickets are valid on any train, regardless of operator, EXCEPT for excursion, charter, private trains, steam services, Heathrow Express or EuroStar trains. Travel on Boat Trains like those to Harwich, which appear in the domestic pages of the BR Great Britain timetable, is permitted.
  7. Flexi-tickets with validities such as 'any 3 days in 7' are self-validated, and the chosen days do NOT have to be consecutive. This applies to both Britain and Ireland.
  8. Those travelling from outside a Rover or Ranger area to within it need only book to the boundary, regardless of whether the train stops there, but only providing the Rover/Ranger ticket is already held.
  9. Holders of adjoining Rover or Ranger tickets may, unless stated, use any train from one area to the other, even if it does not stop at the boundary station. (This does NOT apply to London Travelcards, which take the more restricted conditions of season-tickets).
  10. Sleepers may be used with the All-Line Rover, or utilising any other Rover for part of a journey (unless specified). The usual supplements apply.
  11. Some tickets offer discounts at tourist attractions and these are not necessarily mentioned here.
  12. If telephoning from outside the UK, replace the initial 0 on British and Northern Ireland phone numbers by your international access code plus the digits 44, and on Irish Republic numbers replace the initial 00 only by your international access code. From the USA and Canada the direct dial international access code is 011 (so for "01234 567890" dial 011 44 1234 567890, and for 00 353 1 234 5678 dial 011 353 1 234 5678), otherwise check with your telephone company. The British Isles operate on GMT in winter and GMT+1 in summer, i.e. five hours earlier than New York.

Previous | Next | Main Index


Last updated 12th July 1998.