Help! Switching to an electronic train ticket

[Whatwouldnanado]

I am Overseas. I have booked my daughter a train ticket from Heathrow to her UK destination with the Trainline app. We have realise now there is no ticket machine for her to collect the ticket. She has screen shots of the ticket, ref numbers etc. Has had trouble with her card on the app. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Are you sure there is no ticket machine?

There should be a downloadable qr code on the trainline app? That’s then her ticket for barriers/guards etc.

Are you sure there's no ticket machine at Heathrow? That seems very unlikely!

There are lots of FAQs on the Trainline app and they also have a contact us button.

There is a ticket machine for rail tickets on the Heathrow Express station, but not the underground. Where is she travelling into?

For example, Terminal 4 www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/heathrow-terminal-4-rail-station-only/

Is it a national rail ticket? If so it can be collected from any station.

Thank you so much for the responses. Coming into Terminal 5 and going to Victoria.

Trainline by default provide etickets and all you do is have it available on your phone for the train manager and others to check. If you need to go through a barrier you point your phone towards the QR reader. The staff will help if necessary, in my experience.

www.southwesternrailway.com/travelling-with-us/at-the-station/heathrow-terminal-5-rail-station-only# shows a ticket machine available. It is not national rail to Victoria though.

I'm not sure what this part means: "Has had trouble with her card on the app."

Anyway, as well as seeing the tickets in the app, you should get an email which will have the tickets in with a QR code, which can be used at the ticket barriers and to show to the inspectors. If you have the email you could forward it to your daughter.

Her card was rejected when she tried to book it herself. There is no code unfortunately. Could she pay by card for the Heathrow-victoria bit then collect the ticket for the next leg at Victoria? Need to get back in touch with London ways. Thanks again

She could tap in tap out. However she would need the card you booked with to collect at a ticket machine.

From memory I think there are both ticket machines and desks with actual people to speak to at the entrance to the Terminal 5 station? But whenever I've used the Trainline app I've been able to download tickets straight onto my phone anyway.

https://support.thetrainline.com/en/support/solutions/articles/78000000477-how-do-i-buy-a-ticket-for-someone-else-

You should have received an email with the ticket attached that can be uploaded onto your phone.

I have an email but it includes only the collection code number. Hoping there will be a helpful human at the station on the day.

Does it give you no link to review the booking? No attachment?

Does she have the Trainline app on her phone? The tickets should be on there.

It sounds as if you selected the self-service ticket option when booking. If you have a bit of time, I'd try using X and asking https://twitter.com/TheTrainline for advice on how to switch the collection method to an e-ticket.

We've had problems in the past ordering train tickets for my son then discovering they have to be collected. One issue is that if your journey includes a portion on the underground then you don't get the option of electronic tickets for any part of the journey. However, I think that, although it states you have to have the card used for the booking in order to collect tickets from a machine, in fact they are now set up that if you have the booking numbers you can use any card. That would be something to check.

As for where you can pick the tickets up in Heathrow I can't help, but it would seem surprising if they have eliminated the machines there.

She can download the app and use the details you used to log in - the ticket should be available for her.

Actually they don't - there are tickets you have to have a paper ticket for. I think it's if you are crossing London by tube, which the OP's dd will be.

My ds uses Trainline and has to collect a paper ticket for his tickets to and from university for this reason; others are online with the QR code.

Edited: just saw this point has already been made! I should read the whole thread, especially when it is as short as this one!

I stand corrected! I never need to buy a cross-London ticket as I live here and use my Oyster card. Too London-centric, I'm afraid.