Train - not enough time for the connection

[IOnlyWantSexMoneyPowerAndRevenge]

I've been getting trains for decades (especially this route) but oddly have never had this before so just wondered what happened.

I bought tickets on TheTrainLine so they did the connection. I didn't look properly and have 7mins to get across a busy station, over a bridge etc. It will be tight. If both trains are on time but I miss the connection because I couldn't get to the platform, will I be forced to pay for a new ticket for the second train?

My current train is running 4mins late and there is no chance I'll get to the second train at the moment but that's fine, I can argue over a late train. It's just if I have the full 7mins but don't make it that I'm concerned.

Thanks

Are both trains with the same company? It might be they can get you on the second train by 'parking' near.

In the old days of BR they would hold the second train for you. I don't think they do that anymore.

It is worth speaking to a member of staff on the train they can make arrangements for you.

When I missed the connection, I went into the ticket office and they got me onto the next train going that way because they agreed there wasn't enough time to make the connection (the train had actually left the station before my late train arrived). It does depend on you being able to speak to a human at the station though, as well as there being regular onward trains to your destination.

Hahahaha, not a chance these days!!! BR hasn't existed since 1997....

Hope you made the connection OP

On a long distance train, the guard will sometimes be able to get the connection held for a few minutes if it’s one a lot of people are trying to make. I’ve had it happen to me, the guard used the intercom to say it would be tight, come to X carriage to be nearest the stairs, this is the platform you need to get to for the connection, and that he was on the radio to see if they could hold it for a few minutes as so many people were making that connection.

Seven minutes doesn’t sound a lot but it should be fine if both trains are on time. I was able to get myself from platform 13/14 at Manchester Piccadilly to the main platforms in four minutes in my third trimester last year. I assume your tickets are advance tickets?

It's important not to buy tickets for a specific train. Companies make a lot of money fining people.

I've had this happen to me - it's frustrating that there doesn't appear to be an option when booking tickets to say that you need a minimum connection time (I'm not very mobile and need to use a lift or escalator rather than stairs).

Having missed the connection because the first train was delayed, I checked with the station staff that I was ok to use my ticket on the next train - luckily my ticket was the type that allowed me to travel on trains other than the one suggested (off-peak rather than advance) and there were frequent trains following.

Don't forget to claim the 'delay repay' compensation from the train company that casued the dealy.

This has happened to me several times

don’t buy another ticket if you miss it just explain that the previous train was late. They can look this up easily to check you aren’t lying (but won’t).

I thought they might if it was the same company.

If they hold a train for one passenger, then everyone else on that train will be late, what if they too want to make a connection?

If you've booked it as one journey to your end destination then you're fine to get on the next train if you miss your connection.

That’s my understanding. It’s why sometimes if you get a cheaper option to book it as 2 separate journeys it can be false economy because then it’s not ‘one journey’.

Delay repay only starts at 15 minutes late though.

If your incoming train is actually late, you should be able to just hop on the next train, even if it's a different company.

If you have the full 7 minutes, I hope you've already found out what platform you're coming in on/what platform the next train is departing on and have familiarised yourself with the layout of the station. Is there a connecting subway halfway along the platforms, for example? 7 minutes is a surprisingly long time!

Which station OP?

It’s fine to get the next train, it happens often to me on my commute as I have a 4 minute connection.

Branch line trains (and buses) frequently get held. A late- running mainline train to Penzance is usually punctuated by announcements like "Passengers for Looe, we've just received notification that your train is being held for you. Anyone taking the bus from St Austell to Fowey, I'm afraid that service has departed and the next one is in an hour. Passengers for Falmouth...." etc etc.

(Not only branch lines, come to think of it. Connecting mainline trains at Plymouth regularly get held. I suspect it depends whether it's a service caught by a large percentage of passengers from the incoming train. Not entirely relevant, but I was fretting about a 20 minute connection between Eurostar and the train to Cologne at Brussels Midi, to discover that it's a recognised connecting train, it's designed to be caught by those Eurostar passengers, and that there are contingency plans in place in case the Eurostar is late).

People aren’t answering the ops question. She knows she’ll be ok if her first train is late. She wants to know what happens if she’s just too slow to make the connection in 7 minutes.

Thanks everyone.

It was more about what would happen if both trains were on time but I didn't make the connection because I was too slow. I know the station well and there tends to be a bottle neck (very badly designed for a newer station). I normally have more than 7mins. Apologies of I wasn't clear.

As it was, my first train got in on time and the second was late. Not enough to claim compensation but enough to get there.

My third train has a fault on the line so I need to go on a magical mystery tour. Good job I allowed for a few hours before I need to be there!

Trains do sometimes wait for people. In Inverness, they waited for me and one other family. We had to run across. I was running with a huge rucksack and ended up having to also pull one of their gigantic suitcases because they had too many.

@toastofthetown I hate the big Manchester station. Its an absolute pain having to swipe out and then back in again when your next train is only one platform away. Plus, we always seem to be late coming in there.

@denimrules an open return was £70+. My ticket cost £40 and I can book a seat. As I say, its a journey I do frequently and this isnt something I've had before.

Glad you made it, OP.

My story, and crackofdoom’s I think, were meant to reassure you that the train companies know that you have to have a certain amount of time to make the change, and don’t expect you to somehow fly across the station!

We get a 9 minute connection at Sheffield for the London train so I book each leg of the journey separately and get the earlier local train.

Interesting, you can usually book seats as a totally sep process from tickets and no charge