Virgin Trains on-line booking service

Booking Information
Booking Confirmation
Group Travel
Journey Details
Journey Options
Quick Timetable Search
Booking for Others - Third Party Transactions
Ticket Terms and Conditions
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Booking Confirmation
1. How do I save my booking confirmation page?
2. How can I tell if I have booked?
3. Why haven't I received a confirmation e-mail?
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1. How do I save my booking confirmation page?
To save the booking confirmation page: 1. Go to "File" in the main menu and select "Save as". 2. Save the file as an htm file type. NOTE: In Internet Explorer the default file type is htm. In Netscape manually change the extension name of the file from asp to htm.
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2. How can I tell if I have booked?
If you see a sales confirmation page, your booking has been successful. You can also check your booking by going to the "order status" area of Virgin on-line booking service
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3. Why haven't I received an email confirmation?
If you have not received an email confirmation for your booking you should check that the e-mail address we have for you is correct.
You can check this by viewing your "Personal Details". If we have the correct e-mail address you can report instances of failure to receive the confirmation e-mail by reporting it to: salessupport@virgintrains.co.uk. You can still check that we have confirmed your journey by going to the "Booked journeys" page on Virgin on-line booking service
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Group Travel
1. How many people can I book to travel as a group?
2. Why can't I buy Virgin Groupie tickets on the site?
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1. How many people can I book to travel as a group?
You can book up to eight people (adults and children) through the site as a group. Up to two children aged less than 5 years, can travel free if accompanied by an adult. There are discounts available for larger groups of 10 people or more. These discounts may vary from 10% to 25% depending on the size of the group, the train operating company, and special offers on at the time and the time of day that you are travelling. We recommend that you contact our Group Travel number on 0870 010 4490 for more information on prices.
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2. Why can't I buy Virgin Groupie tickets on the site?
Virgin Groupie tickets offer the opportunity for three or four people travelling together to buy a ticket for a special price. These are available on selected routes operated by Virgin Trains and are subject to availability. It is not possible to buy Virgin Groupie tickets on Virgin on-line booking service however you can call 08457 222 333 to make a booking.
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Journey Details
1. What should I know about the journey details?
2. How can I find out about catering facilities either onboard or at the station?
3. How do I save a favourite journey?
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1. What should I know about the journey details?
Detailed information about your journey is shown in the table on the journey details page. You should check these details to ensure you have selected the journey you require and that the time for any changes is adequate. On a lot of journeys it is possible to book seats in advance. If this is applicable on any portion of your journey then you will bas asked here for your requirements. Unfortunately it cannot be guaranteed that you will get the seats you require but wherever possible we will try to meet your requirements. If this is a journey you take regularly you may want to save the journey details so they can be used again in the future. To do this click on the save box and type in a journey name. When you return to the site you will be able to select this journey on the Journey Details page.
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2. How can I find out about catering facilities either onboard or at the station?
To find out more about the catering facilities available on your journey please contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50.
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3. How do I save a favourite journey?
You can save a favourite journey from the journey details page. Simply click the box on the journey details page, enter a name by which you will be able to identify the journey and the system will save it for future use. You will be able to retrieve this journey from the journey details page.
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Journey Options
1. What should I know about journey options?
2. Why can't I book more than 12 weeks ahead?
3. What about ticket availability?
4. Why do I sometimes see two or more tickets with the same name but different prices?
5. How can I see the details of where to change trains?
6. How do I choose a journey option?
7. Why are there no go buttons?
8. Why are there no "spots" to click on?
9. What about journeys that have no return ticket types?
10. If there is more than one person travelling, how can I see how much the journey costs?
11. What if I can't find a valid ticket type?
12. What are these Half Returns?
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1. What should I know about journey options?
The journey options are presented as a matrix showing the ticket types and cost down the side and the train times along the top. Select an outward train, and if necessary a return train from the same ticket type (on the same row) and hit the "Go" button. If your journey has changes then you can see details of these by clicking on the departure time. Each ticket type has different restrictions. As a general rule the cheaper tickets are available at off peak times and the train booked must be the train travelled on, otherwise a supplement will be payable. The more expensive tickets generally allow more flexibility of travel. Clicking on the ticket description will take you to an information page showing details of the applicable ticket restrictions. If you would like to search for earlier or later times for either your outward or return journey, click on the appropriate link just below the matrix of fares. The price shown is the total price for all passengers. Clicking on the price will show how this price is broken down.
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2. Why can't I book more than 12 weeks ahead?
Many of the cheaper tickets require you to make and use a reservation for all or part of the journey. We are unable to take bookings more than 12 weeks in advance of travel because the Central Reservation System (CRS) generally only holds the details of trains departing up to 12 weeks ahead. We can only make bookings on trains whose details have been entered into the Central Reservation System by the owning train operating company - each train operator sets up the ticket availability individually, but this is usually 12 weeks ahead.
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3. What about ticket availability?
Virgin on-line booking service offers tickets that are available by looking at the central reservation system at the time of your enquiry. Once you have found tickets and trains you are happy with you should book immediately as availability cannot be guaranteed and may be limited.
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4. Why do I sometimes see two or more tickets with the same name but different prices?
On some journeys, two or more possible routes exist (e.g. one via London, one avoiding London) In these cases you often see two or more tickets with the same name and different prices. The difference in price reflects different journey lengths or times. By clicking on the ticket name you can see details of the ticket restrictions and details of the route (e.g. not valid for travel via London).
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5. How can I see the details of where to change trains?
If your journey has changes then you can see details of these by clicking on the departure time of your preferred train. The site will then display an itinerary explaining where and when you should change, and who the train operator is.
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6. How do I choose a journey option?
The system will find a series of journeys for you and a series of tickets which are valid on those trains. This is presented as a matrix showing the ticket types and costs down the side and the train times along the top. Where a particular ticket type is available for any given train a "spot" or radio button appears on the matrix. Select an outward train, and if applicable, a return train from the same ticket type (on the same row) by clicking on the "spots". Click the "Go" button.
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7. Why are there no go buttons?
Go buttons appear where there are tickets valid for the trains displayed on the matrix. If no "Go" buttons are shown it means that no valid ticket types have been found for the journey you specified. You can try to search again by returning to the search screens and searching for "any" ticket type.
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8. Why are there no "spots" to click on?
When there is no availability of a particular ticket type on a train no "spots" (or radio buttons) are displayed on the matrix.
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9. What about journeys that have no return ticket types?
On some local journeys it is sometimes the case that no return ticket exists if the outward and return journeys are on different dates. An example would be travelling from Northampton to Rugby one day and travelling back the next. For this journey there are no return tickets and the journey must be made using two single tickets. You are advised to book a single each way.
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10. If there is more than one person travelling, how can I see how much the journey costs?
If you have specified more than one person travelling in your party, the prices displayed on the journey options matrix will be the total price for the party. i.e. if you specified two adults travelling together, the price quoted will be for two adults. You can click on the price to see how it breaks down.
11. What if I can't find a valid ticket type?
It is possible that the site may find no ticket types to meet your specified journey. An example of this might be asking for a ticket, which is restricted to a particular train operating company on a route which is not serviced by that train operating company. In these cases no train times will be returned. We suggest that to resolve this you should remove any necessary restrictions placed on the search such as "preferred ticket type" and try the search again.
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12. What are these Half Returns?
Virgin Value tickets can be offered in a special format: Half returns. This allows you to combine two types of Virgin Value tickets to meet your needs by using different half returns for the outward and return journeys. When this option is available a message appears that the top of the pricing column. Clicking on this message will take you through to a second matrix page. Here the half return options will be displayed. The prices shown are for each half of the journey (outward and return), so you will need to combine two to create a return journey. When you have selected the two options you prefer the system will calculate the cost of your journey.
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Quick Timetable Search
1. How do I use the quick timetable search?
2. How do I find the stations I want to travel to or from?
3. How do I enter dates of travel?
4. How should I fill in the train times?
5. What should I know about the timetable results
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1. How do I use the quick timetable search?
The quick timetable search allows you to look up times for your journey quickly and easily. The "look up" buttons allow you to look up possible station choices to enter in those fields. For example if you entered "Lon" the search would bring up all the London stations. You need to remember that the "date of travel" field has to be filled in. The date should be in the present or future as the search will not find information about trains which have already arrived at their destination. You also need to fill in the time of travel field, this needs to be done in both hours and minutes (24 hour clock). Clicking on the buttons to the right of the entry area will produce a drop down list to choose times from.
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2. How do I find the stations I want to travel to or from?
If you are unsure which station you want to travel from or to, you can enter a few letters from the station name on the home page and click on "Station Search".
The site will search for all the station names containing that string of letters. For instance, if you typed in "Lon" and clicked on "Station Search" the search will bring up a list of all London stations and all other stations whose name has "lon" in it somewhere. Alternatively, you can make an alphabetic search. If you don't enter a station name and click on "Station Search" the system will bring up an alphabetic list.
If you then select a letter, for instance "A" then a list of all the station names beginning with A will appear. You can narrow the search down to by entering the first two or three letters of the station you are looking for. For instance, if you entered "Man" a list of all the stations beginning with those letters would appear.
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3. How do I enter dates of travel?
The dates for travel must be either todays date or some time in the future. The site cannot find information about trains which have already arrived at their destination.
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4. How should I fill in the train times?
You can ask for a train leaving after a certain time or arriving before a certain time. Please use the 24-hour clock to complete the information. e.g. 2pm would be 14:00. A drop down menu of times is available by clicking on the arrow icon at the end of the data entry box. Most of the cheapest tickets require both the outward and return journeys to be booked. If you do not want to specify a time and date for your return journey, leave the journey details blank. If the return details are left blank only open return tickets will be displayed.
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5. What should I know about the timetable results
This page displays the various train times available following the details you have entered about the date, times and route of your train. If you click on the "Changes" option in the row of the train you are interested in, the site will bring up an itinerary explaining where and when you would have to change, and who the train service provider is. The "Earlier" and "Later" options will search for trains slightly earlier or later relevant to your journey. The "Return After" option can be used to choose a return time. For instance, if you wanted to return after a day, 3 days, a week etc. The "Fares and Availability" option allows you to proceed to the next stage.
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Booking for Others - Third Party Transactions
1. How can I make a booking for someone else?
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1. How can I make a booking for someone else?
We appreciate that there are times when you may need to make a booking on behalf of someone else. In this situation we need to capture some additional information when you are purchasing a ticket. If you are having the ticket posted to an address other than the address used for your card billing address, we will ask you to supply the details of both. If you want the ticket to be collected from a station you MUST advise the traveller to take along an identification such as a passport or drivers licence. Otherwise the train company staff will be unable to release the booking. Third party bookings cannot be collected from Fast Ticket machines.
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Ticket Terms and Conditions
1. How can I see the terms and conditions for a ticket type?
2. Can I break my journey?
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1. How can I see the terms and conditions for a ticket type?
On the matrix page click on the ticket name displayed on the left of the matix. The system will take you through to the relevant terms and conditions for that particular ticket type. Included in this information will be details of the conditions for change of journey or cancellation, routing and any restriction to a particular train operating company. You can also review the terms and conditions for tickets you have purchased by going to the "Check booked journeys" area of the site and clicking on the ticket type.
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2. Can I break my journey?
Whether you are permitted to break your journey or not depends on the ticket type you buy for your journey. In general the more flexible tickets such as "Open" ticket types will allow a break of journey, whereas the less flexible tickets such as "Apex" will not. You can view the conditions related to breaking your journey by clicking on the ticket names displayed on the matrix of journey options for your specified journey.
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