Exchanging GW train tickets

To quote the Great Western website:-

Changes to time or date of travel must be arranged before departure of
the first reserved train printed on the ticket, after which the ticket
has no value and a new one must be purchased. Customers will need to
present the ticket(s) and reservation(s) when they request a change.

Changes to tickets cannot be made on-board the train. If customers
board a train without a ticket and reservation for that service, a new
ticket must be purchased.

The origin, destination and Train Company or route shown on the
ticket(s) must remain the same.

The difference between the price paid and cost of the next suitable
fare for the journey is payable, plus a £10 administration fee per
person, per single ticket for each change to a journey. If customers
change to a train on which a cheaper fare is available, the difference
will not be refunded.

Translated from the pretty clear above, the answer to your question is, yes, if the journey has not begun, you apply in the station (can't do it on the train), you pay the difference between what you paid for your Advance Ticket and the cost of next suitable walk-up fare, plus a £10 fee.

If you are going to miss it don't buy an Advance.

The question:

If you are holding a pre-paid ticket on a Great Western train and miss the scheduled time on the ticket, can you exchange the ticket for the next scheduled train?

The answer:

NO

If you miss the train then you will be trying to exchange the ticket AFTER the original ticketed journey has begun.

"Changes to time or date of travel must be arranged before departure of
the first reserved train printed on the ticket, after which the ticket
has no value and a new one must be purchased.

Not all 'pre-paid' tickets are actually tied to one train even if you have a reserved seat. The specific name for tickets tied solely to a service is an 'Advance' as Nigel mentions, which should be written on it. I wish this had a different name, since it gets confused with any ticket bought in advance (no capital 'A') but maybe no one can think of a snappy name.

Worth mentioning maybe that if you miss the train you have an Advance ticket for because a connecting train was late you can just use the Advance on the next service. If you are late because of your own fault then you would have to buy a new ticket.

Thank you everyone for your replies. My family and I are arriving at Heathrow on April 8th at 10:20. I was trying to allow time for getting baggage and getting through customs, but forgot to take into account the travel time between Heathrow and Paddington station. I went ahead and booked tickets for a train to Exeter that leaves at 1:00. Do you think that will be enough time? I originally wasn't going to buy advance tickets, but then changed my mind. Now I'm worried!!

Well if you take the Heathrow Express its only a 15 minute ride to Paddington.

If you are trying to save money and take the Underground its an hour ride into London. AND from which station is your train leaving?

And in all honesty I'd trust Nigel's advice. He works for a train company. PM him if you are concerned and confused.

Well, I got held up at a business lunch in London & was on the ‘wrong’ GWR train with an Advance ticket for the one an hour earlier. The ticket inspector on the train said nothing. I think they will be more strict if you boarded a train that was at peak time with too many people on board.

I had some friends who wanted to catch an earlier GWR train to the one pre-booked. They went to the station & I told them to stand where the rear of the train would come to a stop - for here they would find the train manager. They asked if they could board with no penalty and he said it was OK. (It is the staff on the train that matter on this issue).

A series is currently running on British tv about Virgin Trains East Coast. A man's wife had boarded a train and for some off reason, the husband did not get on board and the doors were locked & train left. Virgin station train despatcher told the man to phone his wife and tell her to get off at the first stop and wait for the next service - which she would get him on.

So, it could depend upon the time of day and the staff you deal with. The pity of all this is that First, who run the GWR also run Trans Pennine Express in northern England. Here, they allow some leeway for people catching trains out of Manchester Airport to make a more user friendly system. Quite frankly the British public are fed up with the odd way in which rail fares are set via some secret system called ORCATS. The fact that you will be travelling mid morning means that you will be off-peak and you should simply have been allowed to purchase an off peak one way journey for whichever train you end up on outside the peak. Hopefully the government will take action to get a more user friendly system.

TPE have a special condition in the Advance tickets they sell from Manchester Airport for marketing purposes. GWR has special family tickets from Gatwick and little-known package combinations to and from Heathrow with some carriers. Airports are something special.

Although by and large the people working for GWR are helpful, they are also battling against a section of the public that considers paying for their railway journey to be a voluntary activity. I would never rely on the discretion available to the staff always being advanced to an individual since they are also weary of all the tales from professional shysters attempting to travel for free or reduced fares of their 'honest mistakes'. These have been around for a long time as the law they are breaking extends back to the heyday of the railways in the 19th century.

The fare system across the railways is a vast historic web of decisions, some of them locally done 30+ years ago under BR that are perpetuated simply because to undo them would cost many people more as much as it may cost some people less, and the friction between the mandated and other fares. What tends to happen is yet another set of fares are created. It is also amongst the most aggressively market-driven systems as in many areas the capacity is limited because of decades of under investment.

Clear as mud!

Marco's summary is quite excellent.

I regularly deal with the traveling rail public, and I and my colleagues have heard every excuse man (and woman) could invent. Some quite convoluted.

If you wish to crave a favour from the Guard (Conductor/Train Manager/Train Host) find her or him before the train sets off, don't wait to be found. Be prepared for the answer to be "no". When you are found with a wrong ticket expect to be charged - quite a lot - for the privilege.

You may be let off, but your story won't be new and may well not be believed. Unfortunately the honest pay for the sins of the thieves and criminals. Fare dodgers don't all look alike, and many wear suits.

Then again, some train crew don't want the hassle and accept anything that vaguely looks like a ticket regardless what is written on it.