Advance Purchase Tickets – Change of Travel Plans Admin Fee 03 November 2020

Following the government’s announcement on Saturday 31 October that the whole of England will enter a four-week lockdown starting Thursday 05 November and lasting until Wednesday 02 December 2020, the previously announced easements to Change of Journey policies for Advance tickets will be extended.

Changes to Advance Tickets
Advance tickets purchased to or from any National Rail station in England before Sunday 01 November, for travel between 01 November 2020 and 02 December 2020, can be changed free of charge.

Advance tickets purchased to or from any National Rail station in Wales or Level 3 or 4 stations in Scotland before Sunday 01 November, for travel between 01 November 2020 and 02 December 2020, can also be changed free of charge.

Details of the various levels in Scotland can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-protection-levels/

Pre-Existing Local Restrictions
The above is in addition to previously announced current local lockdowns. Advance tickets to these areas can still be backdated where local restrictions are already in place (e.g. journeys to or from Liverpool, Greater Manchester, or London), provided the Advance ticket was purchased prior to the official announcement of that areas change in tier, and to areas subject to local restrictions before the tier system was introduced on 12 October (such as North East England).

Verified Stations already in ‘High’ or ‘Very High’ Local COVID Alert Areas
A list of every National Rail station is available on the internal National Rail website (Knowledgebase), with information on whether that station or local authority has travel guidance advice in place.

To access this page, please log into the Travel Agents Online website at www.atoctravelagents.org and go to the Extranet section and then the Knowledgebase section.

On the Knowledgebase homepage, go to the Quick Link Panel on the right hand side and at the top of that list you will see the link titled 'Advance tickets - COVID changes to policy'. Please click on that link to access the up to date list.

From Monday 02 November, National Rail stations in Scotland have a unique Covid Protection Level, as defined by Scottish Parliament. Any station Levels 3 or 4 will be treated the same as Tier 2 or Tier 3 for English stations/areas. The list will be updated to reflect these changes.

Advance Tickets Purchased After an Announcement
Any Advance tickets, to anywhere in England, Wales or level 3 or 4 stations in Scotland, can now be changed without fee, if purchased before 01 November for travel between 01 November 2020 and 02 December 2020.

This includes tickets that may have been excluded under the previous allowance.

Any Advance tickets purchased on or after 1st November for travel between 1st November and 2nd December will not be eligible for fee-free changes.
 

RDG Travel Agents Team