Hi Amy,

Thanks for getting in touch. I’ve had a look and can see that there’s an amended timetable on the Saturday (25 Nov), but it shouldn’t affect you too much. In a nutshell, the line between York and Doncaster is closed, so everything from Scotland and the North East will be taking the route via Leeds, too (though the diverted trains can’t be used for Leeds to London journey).

Tickets are usually released on Friday afternoons, so I’d recommend checking again then. Rest assured though, Leeds to London trains will be largely unaffected.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Hello Naomi,

Thanks for getting in touch and apologies for not reaching you before your journey. For future reference – the current ASLEF strike timetable on GWR has the last train leaving Oxford at 19:01 back to Reading.

If you have any other queries, don’t hesitate to drop us an email at hello@SmartSplit.co.uk.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Hi Nena,

Thanks for getting in touch. There’ll be a Southern service running between 0500 and 2300 from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport – it’ll be every 30 mins up until 0700, then every 15 mins from 0700 to 1800, then every 30 minutes again up to 2300.

It’ll be a non-stop service, so you’d need to catch it from London Victoria. There will be no other services running to the Airport on this day.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

I need to get into Oxford from Reading (and back) on 30th September. Apparently there may still be some trains running. Is it worth risking it, I really don’t want to be stranded in Oxford. I need to be there from 2:30-6pm.

Thank you.

Hi Judith,
Thank you for contacting us.
The reason why you cannot purchase a ticket from London Euston to Stoke on Trent on Sunday 26th November is because, these tickets have not been released yet. As a result, it is not possible to plan journeys that are further ahead than Friday 15th December (Monday to Friday service), Saturday 11th November (Saturday service) and Sunday 12th November (Sunday service). The new timetables should be uploaded to industry data systems in the next few days. Please kindly check back closer to your date of travel for the latest updates on travel information and timetables for these dates.
If you have any further questions, please kindly email us at hello@SmartSplit.co.uk
All the best,
SmartSplit Customer Service team

Hi Mark,
Thank you for contacting us.
Unfortunately, as a result of ASLEF industrial action, Northern train services will not operate on Saturday 30 September. I’m afraid there will be no trains from Barrow in Furness to Manchester Airport on 30th September. One option is to leave this evening if you want to travel by train. There is a train from Barrow in Furness to Preston that should leave at h 21.45 and arrive at h 23.10. The following train from Preston to Manchester Airport should leave at h 23.49 and arrive at Manchester Airport at h 01.02am. Sorry for any inconvenience.
All the best,
SmartSplit Customer Service Team

Hi Jay,

Thanks for getting in touch. Due to the ASLEF strike, there will be no Avanti West Coast service at all, which is the usual option. To be honest, there isn’t really a time-sensitive option for getting from London to Manchester.

The only route that exists by rail is London Paddington – Bristol Temple Meads – Newport – Manchester, which isn’t viable for an out-and-back day trip. From what I can see, the earliest possible arrival would be circa 3pm, and you wouldn’t be able to get back on the same day. I’ve also looked at trains from London to Leeds (for a coach onwards) but the connections don’t line up.

The only rail services in/out of Manchester on Saturday are operated by Transport for Wales (Holyhead – Chester – Manchester and Cardiff – Hereford – Shrewsbury – Crewe – Manchester).

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Hello Pauline,

Thanks for getting in touch. It’s indeed possible to upgrade at any time of day, and any time of the week. Just take an unreserved seat in Coach H (also in J on weekends) and the Train Manager will come around to charge the upgrade fee.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit

Hello Rebecca,

Thanks for getting in touch. I’ve had a look into this for you and can confirm that there is an issue with East Midlands Railway ‘Regional’ services on this day. They have somehow set these trains as ‘compulsory reservation’, even though these trains don’t offer reservations, and cannot sell out. When this happens though, it forces online ticket sites to only sell the ticket if they can also offer a seat reservation. As seat reservations on these trains simply don’t exist, it’s not possible to book them. Rest assured, this is a fault, and it will have been an accident on the part of East Midlands Railway.

The trains will be running and there won’t be a problem with using them. My only suggestion is to use a ticket office, a ticket machine or to get in touch with East Midlands Railway, as only they have the power to cause (and fix) faults like this on their own services. Their contact information is here – https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/help-manage/manage/contact-us. I hope this explains what has happened – unfortunately it will be East Midlands Railway themselves that would need to remove the erroneous ‘compulsory reservation’ requirement from these trains.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Thank you so much!

Hello Shirleen,

Thanks for getting in touch. On the last strike day which involved the ASLEF Union (train drivers), there was no South Western Railway service to Salisbury (this is the company that runs on the Waterloo to Salisbury route). Your ticket for Wednesday 4 October will be valid on the 3rd, 5th or 6th instead. There’s no need to amend your ticket or buy a new one if you choose to do this – you can just use your existing ticket.

Alternatively, you can get a refund from your point of purchase. If that was with us, please send us an email to refunds@SmartSplit.co.uk. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Thank you for the quick response Richard,
I am sorry I got confused with the “Hammersmith & City and Circle Line platform” as it showed me a different location, i will be located in “Park Avenue Baker Street” hotel and planning to go the the station for the 12:30pm time, and booking a confirmed nonrefundable ticket with the LNER .
But anyhow, i will look in to the TFL for better details.

Thank you

Hello Omar,

Baker Street to Kings Cross St Pancras will usually take around five minutes, and trains run reasonably frequently (every few minutes), but they do leave from different parts of the station. I’d recommend heading for the Hammersmith & City and Circle Line platform at Baker Street, as you’ll have more choice of trains there. You can also check the TfL Journey Planner: https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

Trains tend to be advertised at Kings Cross 20 minutes before departure. So, I’d recommend leaving 30 to 45 minutes to give yourself a chance to get to Kings Cross and pick up any food/drink for the journey (there’s a Waitrose Supermarket in the station, and various hot food outlets).

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit

Since I am planning to Visit the UK in couple of weeks, im planning to go from London to Edinburgh on 19th Sep and vice versa on 22nd.
how long would the process take moving from hotel (Located in Baker Street) to the station to avoid missing the appointment.

Thank you !

Hello Joseph,

We’d recommend keeping an eye on our dedicated strike page: https://SmartSplit.co.uk/uk-rail-strikes-what-do-i-need-to-know/.

Strikes are announced no less than two weeks in advance. If a strike or other industrial action isn’t announced after the end of service on 15 Sept, then 29 Sept will not be affected.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit

Hello Gareth, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a difficult (and more expensive) journey. I’m aware that Lumo have faced a number of challenges today, as one of their trains is out of action after being damaged in an incident recently. There was another incident at Newark last night which compounded this problem – and resulted in LNER cancellations, too. There was previously some ticket acceptance arranged with LNER, but LNER withdrew this following the incident.

Nonetheless I agree that you’ve had a poor experience. You can refund your original Lumo ticket from where you purchased it (drop us an email at refunds@SmartSplit.co.uk if that was us). We’ve also written more about what to do in disruption on this page: https://SmartSplit.co.uk/what-to-do-in-rail-disruption/.

All the best, Richard from SmartSplit

Lumo don’t run many trains so there is a long wait between trains. Its not like a normal train company. It doesn’t matter how cheap the tickets are. If you don’t get to your destination its not worth it.

I had to book LNER tickets last minute. An expensive option! All caused by Lumo.

You are simply stuck at Kings Cross with no train and no Lumo representative to talk to. I recommend that you don’t find this out the hard way. Lumo is not worth it.

Hello Cynthia, thanks for getting in touch. This can very much depend on the exact journey that you’re making.

I’ve had a look and typically, a York to Bangor journey involves changing at Manchester Victoria and Chester. The change at Manchester Victoria is usually a same-platform one (so just stay in the same place!) and from Chester, it’s Platform 6 to Platform 4, which doesn’t involve any steps/crossing bridges. Rest assured that both stations are step-free and have lifts, and both changes usually give you at least 20 minutes.

Like I say though, this can depend on which kind of ticket you have, and which itinerary you choose. If you have any questions about booking your journey, feel free to email us at hello@SmartSplit.co.uk. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit

Hello Francis, thanks for getting in touch.

1. All services from Scotland to Peterborough are operated by LNER. However, there are no direct services from Haymarket to Peterborough – you’ll need to change at Edinburgh Waverley or York. They have a Quiet Coach, which is in Coach H.
2. Lumo does not have a Quiet Coach.
3. When you book with us, you’ll be asked what kind of seat you’d like, and there is the option to choose forward facing, as well as the preference to sit in a Quiet Coach. These are subject to availability, so we’ll match it as closely as possible to what you’ve specified. It’s not possible to know seat occupancy just yet, but rest assured this is something that we’re working on as we speak. As you’re travelling mid-week, just after the school holidays, I wouldn’t expect your train to be extremely busy.

If you have any further questions, drop us an email at hello@SmartSplit.co.uk. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

2. Does Lumo have a quiet coach?

3..how do I reserve 2 forward facing seats In quiet coach? And know in advance the sear occupancy on trains on 6 September, before making a booking on a particular train?

Hello Kris, thank you for getting in touch. These tickets have not been released as there are planned engineering works north of Newcastle on this date, which means that journey times will be extended by approx. two hours. Direct trains are anticipated to run at 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 13:30, 14:30 and 16:30, and they will take a longer route (via Carlisle) once they’re past Newcastle. I would expect that these tickets will be released fairly soon (it’s usually on a Friday afternoon that this happens), so we’d recommend checking again then. If you have any further questions, drop us an email at hello@SmartSplit.co.uk. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Dear John, I’d like to confirm that tickets from Doncaster to London Kings Cross for September 10th and return on 19th September are now available. Please let us know if you need anything else. Kind regards, SmartSplit Customer Service team

Hello Malcolm, it is indeed possible to purchase tickets for First Class with a Disabled Person’s Railcard. In certain circumstances, particularly if only the First Class carriage is accessible to you, then you may receive a free upgrade at the discretion of the operator at the time that the assistance is booked. I hope this helps. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Hi Andy, thank you for your comment. We’ll look to add this to the next addition to the map when work begins on it. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit.

Hi Neil, thanks for your feedback! You are indeed correct that we have a couple of gaps in this version of the map – so our apologies to The Phoenix. Rest assured, we’re looking to create another version in the future, and we’re looking forward to working with even more pubs to make it possible. Thanks for taking the time to get in touch. All the best, Richard from SmartSplit