National Rail Conditions of Carriage

[Grotesque]

NATIONAL RAIL CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE

CONTENTS

 

Introduction

 

SECTION I

 

CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE FOR PASSENGERS

 

 

A Tickets 2

 

B Validity of tickets 5

 

C Use of tickets 7

 

D Your responsibilities 9

 

E Your refund rights 10

 

F Additional Conditions applying only to Season Tickets 11

G Train accommodation and reservations 14

H Train service disruption 15

 

 

 

 

SECTION II

 

CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE FOR LUGGAGE, ARTICLES, 17

 

ANIMALS AND CYCLES

 

SECTION III

 

CONDITIONS RELATING TO LOST PROPERTY 18

 

SECTION IV

 

MISCELLANEOUS CONDITIONS 19

 

APPENDIX A

 

DEFINITIONS 20

 

APPENDIX B

 

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR LUGGAGE, ARTICLES, 21

 

ANIMALS AND CYCLES

 

APPENDIX C

 

LIST OF TRAIN COMPANIES 27

 

 

These National Rail Conditions of Carriage apply from 5 October 2011

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

When you buy a ticket to travel on the National Rail Network you enter into an agreement with the Train Companies whose trains you have the right to use. That agreement gives you the right to make the journey or journeys between the stations or within the zones shown on the ticket you have bought. These Conditions are also part of that agreement and they apply to all domestic (noninternational) journeys by scheduled passenger trains of the Train Companies on the National Rail Network. It is a condition of the Passenger Licence granted to each Train Company by the Office of Rail Regulation that these Conditions apply to tickets sold for journeys involving its services and those of other Train Companies. There is a list of the Train Companies in Appendix C.

 

These Conditions set out your rights and any restrictions to those rights. The Train Companies may give you more extensive rights than those set out in these Conditions and, if they do so, these may be found in each Train Company’s Passenger’s Charter or other publications. Details of where you can find this information will be available when you buy your ticket. The Train Companies may not give you less extensive rights, except in the case of some types of reduced and discounted fare tickets where the relevant condition(s) specifically allow them to do so. These Conditions set out the minimum level of rights you are entitled to expect. A Train Company’s ticket sales staff will give advice about tickets, and any restrictions concerning their use, on an impartial basis unless the point of sale is dedicated to the sale of one Train Company’s tickets.

 

CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE FOR PASSENGERS

 

A. TICKETS

 

1. Your contract

 

A ticket that has been issued to you is evidence of a contract between you and each Train Company whose trains you have the right to use. Where the company selling you the ticket is not one of the Train Companies on whose services you are travelling, the seller is acting as agent for the Train Company or Companies in whose trains you are entitled to travel.

 

If a ticket entitles you to any goods or services from another person (including the right to travel in another person’s transport services), it is also evidence of a contract between you and that person. Tickets remain the property of the relevant Train Company. Each ticket is issued subject to:

 

(a) these Conditions;

 

(b) the applicable byelaws;

 

© the conditions which apply to Electronic Tickets, Smartcards, other

 

devices used for storing Electronic Tickets and certain types of reduced

 

and discounted fare tickets as set out in the notices and other publications

 

issued by the Train Companies whose trains you are entitled to use; and

 

(d) the conditions set out in the notices and other publications issued by another person if the ticket enables you to use any of their goods or services.

 

Details of how to get copies of the relevant Train Company’s notices and other publications relevant to your journey will be available when you buy a ticket. If the ticket entitles you to obtain goods or services from another person, then you can get copies of relevant notices and publications from that person.

 

If a Train Company’s special conditions apply to the use of a ticket, the seller will make these clear to you. In the case of electronic tickets and tickets issued on Oyster cards, see Condition 9.

 

2. Requirement to hold a ticket

 

Before you travel you must have a ticket or other authority to travel which is valid for the train(s) you intend to use and for the journey you intend to make.

 

If you travel in a train:

 

(a) without a ticket; or

 

(b) the circumstances described in any of Conditions 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 22,

 

30, 35 and 39 apply;

 

you will be liable to pay the full single fare or full return fare or, if appropriate, a Penalty Fare (see Condition 4) for your journey. You will not be entitled to any discounts or special terms unless either:

 

(i) at the station where you started your journey:

 

or

 

(ii) the notices and other publications issued by the Train Company in whose train you are travelling indicate that you can buy tickets in that train. In circumstances where (i) or (ii) apply, you only need to pay the fare that you would have paid if you had bought a ticket immediately before your journey.

 

Special arrangements may apply if you are disabled. You will find details of these arrangements in each Train Company’s ‘Disabled People’s Protection Policy’. For the purposes of this Condition, and Conditions 4, 39 and 41, “full single fare or full return fare” means the highest priced single or (if requested by the passenger) return fare appropriate to the class of travel for the journey you are making.

 

3. Where the full range of tickets is not available

 

If you cannot buy an appropriate ticket for the journey you want to make because the range of tickets that is available at the station from which you intend to start your journey is restricted, you must buy a ticket or Permit to Travel before you travel that entitles you to make at least part of the journey. Then you must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, buy an appropriate ticket to complete your journey. In these circumstances, you only need to pay the fare that you would have paid if you had bought a ticket immediately before your journey. The price you will have to pay will be reduced by the amount paid for the ticket or Permit to Travel.

 

4. Penalty Fares

 

Penalty Fares are charged by Train Companies at some stations and in some trains. You may be liable to pay a Penalty Fare if:

 

(a) you travel in a train without a ticket or Permit to Travel; or

 

(b) you travel in a class of accommodation for which the ticket is not valid; or

 

© you travel in a train and the circumstances set out in any of Conditions 10,

 

11, 12, 18, 19, 22, 30, 35 and 39 apply; or

 

(d) you are present in a Compulsory Ticket Area without a ticket or Permit to Travel Warning notices are displayed at stations where Penalty Fares are charged. You will not have to pay the full single fare or full return fare under Condition 2 if a Penalty Fare is charged. A Train Company which operates a Penalty Fares scheme will send you a copy of the rules about Penalty Fares and a summary of their scheme if you ask.

 

5. Children

 

Up to two children under five years of age may accompany each fare-paying passenger free of charge. However, children under five years of age who are travelling free may only occupy a seat which is not required by a fare-paying passenger. Children under 16 years of age are entitled to discounts on most tickets. You will be advised in the notices and publications of the Train Companies whose trains you wish to use if a discount is not available.

 

6. You may not transfer a ticket to another person

 

A ticket may only be used by the person for whom it has been bought. It may not be resold or passed on to anyone else unless this is specifically allowed by the terms and conditions which apply to that ticket and which are set out in the notices and publications of the relevant Train Company.

 

7. Train Company’s responsibilities

 

The Train Company whose trains you have the right to use, or who has agreed to provide you with any other goods or services, is responsible for providing the goods or services it has agreed to provide. However, the Train Company or its agent(s) are not responsible for:

 

(a) another Train Company not running any trains;

 

(b) another person not providing goods or services;

 

© any losses that occur while you are travelling on any other Train Company’s trains;

 

(d) any losses that occur while you are using those other goods or services.

 

However, each Train Company or its agent(s) will help you if you have a claim (see Condition 63) or a complaint about your journey, either by dealing with the matter itself or by passing it on to the Train Company(s) or other person(s) providing the goods or services in question.

 

8. International journeys

 

These Conditions do not apply if a ticket is issued for an international rail journey within Europe (including any journey wholly within one country to connect with an international rail journey). In such cases, carriage is subject to:

 

(a) the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of

 

Passengers and Luggage by Rail (CIV), these being appendix A to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980 in the version of the Protocol of Modification of 3 June 1999. Both documents are available from the website of the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) which is: www.otif.org;

 

(b) to the extent provided in the CIV, the conditions of carriage of the carrier in question.

 

9. Electronic Tickets

 

In some cases a Train Company, a travel agent or other authorised person may issue you with a ticket where the details of the trains you are entitled to use, together with any rights to goods or services supplied by another person, are stored only in electronic form. Such a ticket is referred to in these Conditions as an Electronic Ticket. Any reference in these Conditions to the term “ticket” includes an Electronic Ticket unless specifically stated otherwise. An Electronic Ticket may be stored on a:

 

(i) Smartcard (including an Oyster or ITSO card);

 

(ii) payment card or identity card;

 

(iii) mobile telephone;

 

(iv) personal organiser; or

 

(v) other mobile electronic device.

 

If a Smartcard is issued by a Train Company, it remains the property of that Train Company and you may be charged a deposit. If a Smartcard is no longer required and is returned to the office of issue in good condition any deposit paid will be refunded. A Smartcard that does not contain an Electronic Ticket is not a valid authority to travel.

 

Some Smartcards may be used to buy stored credit which you can use later to buy Electronic Tickets. In these Conditions, credit stored in this way is termed Electronic Funds. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have enough Electronic Funds on your Smartcard to pay for the Electronic Ticket required for the journey you intend to make.

 

Wherever reference is made in these Conditions to information about restrictions, stations, routes and period of validity being shown on tickets, this information will not be shown on Smartcards and may not be displayed on the cards or devices in (ii) to (v) of this Condition, for any Electronic Tickets they contain. However, any restrictions or other terms of use (including these Conditions where applicable) will still apply. You can get details of restrictions and terms of use from the seller of the Electronic Ticket or Electronic Funds.

 

B. VALIDITY OF TICKETS

 

10. Tickets valid only in trains of particular Train Companies

 

The validity of a ticket may:

 

a) be restricted to; or

 

b) prohibit travel in the trains of a particular Train Company or Train Companies. Any such restriction or prohibition will be shown on the ticket. If you travel in a train with a ticket that is not valid, the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply. If you are unable to use a ticket or any part of it, you may be able to claim a refund under Condition 26 or Condition 36.

 

11. The period during which you can use a ticket

 

The period during which a ticket is valid is printed on the ticket or set out in the notices and other publications of the relevant Train Companies. If you use a ticket after the expiry of the ticket’s validity, you may be treated as having joined a train without a ticket and the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply. If, as a result of a delay to your train, the validity of the ticket you are using expires during your journey you will still be allowed to complete that journey. However, in these circumstances, you may not break your journey unless the delay is an extensive one.

 

12. Restrictions on when you can travel

 

Restrictions apply to the use of some tickets (including those bought with a Railcard) such as the dates, days, and times when you can use them, and the trains in which they can be used. These restrictions are set out in the notices and other publications of the Train Companies whose trains you are entitled to use. If a restriction applies and the ticket you are using is not valid for the train you are travelling in, then:

 

(a) you will be liable to pay an excess fare (the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to travel in that train for the journey shown on the ticket); or

 

(b) in the case of some types of discounted tickets (as indicated in the notices and publications) the relevant parts of Condition 2 or 4 will apply.

 

13. The route you are entitled to take

 

(a) You may travel between the stations shown on the ticket you hold in:

 

(i) a through train;

 

(ii) trains which take the shortest route which can be used by scheduled

 

 

passenger services; or

 

 

(iii) trains which take the routes shown in the National Routeing Guide

 

 

(details as to how you can obtain this information will be available when you buy your ticket).

 

 

(b) If you are using a Zonal Ticket you may travel in trains which take any route within the zone or zones shown on the ticket.

 

c) Together, the routes referred to in (a) (ii), (a) (iii) and (b) above are the “permitted routes”.

 

(d) The use of some tickets may be restricted to trains which take:

 

(i) routes passing through, or avoiding, particular locations; or

 

(ii) the most direct route. These restrictions will be shown on the ticket.

 

(e) If you make your journey by a route other than those referred to in (a) and (b) above, you will be liable to pay an excess fare. This excess fare will be the difference between the price paid for the ticket you hold and the price of the lowest priced ticket(s) available for immediate travel that would have entitled you to travel by that route.

 

(f) For the purposes of this Condition, a “through train” is one which may be

used by a passenger to make their entire journey without changing trains.

 

14. Railcards

 

If you buy a ticket using a Railcard, you must have with you when you travel, the ticket, that Railcard and any photocard that may be required. Additional conditions apply to the use of Railcards. Details of those conditions are available from the Railcard seller.

 

15. Photocards

 

Some types of tickets (including many Season Tickets, tickets bought with a Railcard and Electronic Tickets) are only valid with either:

 

(a) a photocard showing a photograph which is a true likeness of the person for whom the ticket was issued; or

 

(b) another form of personal identification.

 

Details of this requirement, and the tickets to which it applies, are available where the relevant tickets are sold. If the use of a Season Ticket or Railcard requires you to carry a photocard, the Season Ticket (unless it is an Electronic Ticket) or Railcard must show the photocard serial number.

 

If you lose your photocard, or the photocard is no longer a true likeness of you, then a new photocard will be required. In these circumstances, whoever sold you the Season Ticket or, in the case of a Railcard, any Train Company will issue a replacement showing your new photocard serial number if applicable. You may have to pay a reasonable administration charge (not exceeding £10) for the replacement.

 

For more information go here:

 

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/nrcc/NRCOC.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2012 by ukaviator
Updated

[Old-CodJA]

It is very important to remember that The NRCoC as reproduced here applies to all National Rail Operators

 

PENALTY FARES LEGISLATION DOES NOT

 

However, the National Railway Byelaws 2005 apply to all national rail operators too.

[honeybee13]

That has to be the longest post I've ever seen on CAG.

 

I may be thick, but I'm wondering what it's here for.

 

My best, HB

[Grotesque]

Can you IMAGINE how long it took me to type?!

 

Just for info & reference really. Maybe get it stuck up top so people can ignore it if they wish

[honeybee13]

Hello again. I can see it might be a useful sticky to refer to.

 

My best, HB

[MARTIN3030]

Grotesq-can you please confirm the source ?

Whist it may be in the PD -we need to establish any copyright or permissions for reproduction or copying in its full form.

 

Thanks

[SRPO]

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/misc/NRCOC.pdf Copyright Rail Settlement Plan Ltd 2009

Issued December 2009

[MARTIN3030]

Ok I see;

 

© Copyright Rail Settlement Plan Limited.

Issue December 2009

 

 

I will insert this at the beginning and end of the post

[Grotesque]

Thanks mate, yes RSP are the copyright holders, but it is in the public domain. Cheers.

[firstclassx]

The National Rail Conditions of Carriage were updated with some minor changes in May 2012:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/nrcc/NRCOC.pdf

 

Reference is made in Section 50 of the Conditions to the maximum liability for any loss or damage to luggage, articles, animals or cycles caused by the fault of a Train Company or a Rail Service Company staff or agents. As at 17 July 2012 this limit is £1348.76

 

The Oyster Conditions of Use on National Rail were introduced:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/Oystercou.pdf

[caro]

As an ignoramus on this, can we have confirmation of whether firstclassx's links replace the original post, or just updates it please?