U.K. and Ireland - Storage facilities @ Coventry Railway Station?

Hi,

Traveling from Manchester to Coventry in the morning and leaving for Bristol in the evening.

Is there a place where I can store my bags at the railway station so that I don't have to lug them with me?

Thanks

Hi,

Traveling from Manchester to Coventry in the morning and leaving for Bristol in the evening.

Is there a place where I can store my bags at the railway station so that I don't have to lug them with me?

Thanks

I have no personal experience, but according to the official data (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/COV.html), sadly no.

Perhaps another FTer will have personal experience or another creative suggestion.

Hi,

Traveling from Manchester to Coventry in the morning and leaving for Bristol in the evening.

Is there a place where I can store my bags at the railway station so that I don't have to lug them with me?

Thanks

Just a thought, but if you're going to go via Birmingham to get from Coventry to Bristol, you could jump off there in the morning too and leave your bags here (http://www.left-baggage.co.uk/locations.php)

Just a thought, but if you're going to go via Birmingham to get from Coventry to Bristol, you could jump off there in the morning too and leave your bags here (http://www.left-baggage.co.uk/locations.php)

Manchester to Coventry would a direct train. ( departs 08:27, arrives 10:24)

Coventry to Bristol would require a change of train at Birmingham

(15:27 - 15:48)

(16:12 - 17:38)

So how can I jump off at Birmingham in the morning since MAN- COV would be a direct train?

Are there creative methods to store my bags?

I read that Cycle Storage are available in COV, are these lockers?

What about hotels? doable?

Thanks!

No, the cycle storage is "Sheffield stands" (steel hoops, with a few shelters).

I don't now any hotels in the immediate vicinity of the station, others may know better.

Manchester to Coventry trains do go direct, but travel via Birmingham New St. Although you can't break your journey if you have an advance ticket, trains from Birmingham to Coventry are plentiful and cheap.

It's really pretty ridiculous that a town the size of Coventry does not provide baggage storage at its train station. I don't think you'd get this in any other European country (and I've been able to store my baggage in places that were much smaller on the Continent).

I know this won't help the OP, but perhaps one should start a campaign? But I guess this wouldn't get us anywhere because of British paranoia.

(A couple of years ago I was looking for a rubbish bin at Colchester Station. I eventually asked a station employee who looked at me as if I'd come from a different planet and then told me that it was against security regulations to have rubbish bins in garrison towns! When I remarked that there were rubbish bins all over the town centre he muttered something unintelligible and walked off)

(A couple of years ago I was looking for a rubbish bin at Colchester Station. I eventually asked a station employee who looked at me as if I'd come from a different planet and then told me that it was against security regulations to have rubbish bins in garrison towns! When I remarked that there were rubbish bins all over the town centre he muttered something unintelligible and walked off)

3 years ago at Coventry station, I was eating an orange and wanted a bin. One of the staff gave me "permission" to leave my rubbish on the floor, and he would pick it up later, but he forgot (I was 30 mins early for the train, because buses to Warwick Uni aren't very frequent). Well, if the CCTV was recording, it would have showed me approaching him with my orange peel, him pointing to the ground and then me placing it very carefully in the spot which he indicated!

It's really pretty ridiculous that a town the size of Coventry does not provide baggage storage at its train station. I don't think you'd get this in any other European country (and I've been able to store my baggage in places that were much smaller on the Continent).

The only stations that I know of that offer left luggage facilities in the UK have x-ray machine and your bags are also likely to be searched. I'm not sure there is the space for all that at Coventry.

The only stations that I know of that offer left luggage facilities in the UK have x-ray machine and your bags are also likely to be searched. I'm not sure there is the space for all that at Coventry.

As I said... British paranoia. Everywhere else has baggage lockers, and we don't hear much about train stations being blown up on the Continent on a regular basis. (There have been a handful of incidents - but only a handful)

Try Pool Meadow Bus Station - they used to have lockers. Unfortunately it's about a mile from the train station

As I said... British paranoia. Everywhere else has baggage lockers, and we don't hear much about train stations being blown up on the Continent on a regular basis. (There have been a handful of incidents - but only a handful)

They are incredibly tolerant. For a country that pretty much every terrorist nutbag grouping (my own country men included) have tried to blow up at some point or other, the English remain tremendously tolerant and very proud of their diversity.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1343744-ot-funny-things-about-english.html

http://www.talesofanirishexile.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/10-odd-things-about-england.html

No, the cycle storage is "Sheffield stands" (steel hoops, with a few shelters).

I don't now any hotels in the immediate vicinity of the station, others may know better.

Manchester to Coventry trains do go direct, but travel via Birmingham New St. Although you can't break your journey if you have an advance ticket, trains from Birmingham to Coventry are plentiful and cheap.

Using station facilities does not count as breaking your journey.

Using station facilities does not count as breaking your journey.

Well, if you are on an advance ticket to Coventry it does, because you are stopping your journey short - not allowed.

Well, if you are on an advance ticket to Coventry it does, because you are stopping your journey short - not allowed.

Not according to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. However, you would either have to leave the station eventually or else buy a new ticket to get to Coventry, because your advance ticket is only valid on the booked train.

Not according to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. However, you would either have to leave the station eventually or else buy a new ticket to get to Coventry, because your advance ticket is only valid on the booked train.

Well, Train Operating Companies can and do add on specific conditions to their own tickets.

Generally, advance fares do not allow you to stop your journey short and some TOCs enforce this.

In practice, at Birmingham New St you are unlikely to be challenged because the barriers are not manned by Arriva Cross Country staff, which would be the TOC for the OP's journey.

Well, Train Operating Companies can and do add on specific conditions to their own tickets.

Generally, advance fares do not allow you to stop your journey short and some TOCs enforce this.

In practice, at Birmingham New St you are unlikely to be challenged because the barriers are not manned by Arriva Cross Country staff, which would be the TOC for the OP's journey.

The definition of stopping short and breaking your journey is in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, and TOCs are not permitted to give worse rights than those in the NRCoC. And the said NRCoC states that you will not be treated as breaking your journey if you use station facilities, leave a train station to join a train at another station, stop overnight to stay in accommodation when your journey can't be completed that day, or comply with instructions from TOC staff.

The London Midland gateline at Birmingham N St would probably not make an issue of it because they don't care much rather than because it's a different TOC :)

The definition of stopping short and breaking your journey is in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, and TOCs are not permitted to give worse rights than those in the NRCoC.

Not quite true.

From the NCoC:
16. Starting, breaking or ending a journey at intermediate stations
You may start, or break and resume, a journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) at any intermediate station, as long as the ticket you hold is valid for the trains you want to use. You may also end your journey (in either direction in the case of a return ticket) before the destination shown on the ticket. However, these rights may not apply to some types of tickets for which a break of journey is prohibited, in which case the relevant Train Companies will make this clear in their notices and other publications.

If you start, break and resume, or end your journey at an intermediate station when you are not entitled to do so, you will be liable to pay an excess fare.

There have been cases where this has been enforced; there has been no (successful) legal challenge to this enforcement yet, I believe.

I don't mind people quoting from source documents/T&Cs/etc. to prove a point. Indeed, I expect them to, and I expect to be asked myself. But I do mind people selectively quoting what suits their point and omitting an adjacent bit that doesn't. Such as the next part of condition 16:

For the purposes of this Condition and Condition 11, you will be treated as breaking your journey if you leave a Train Company’s or Rail Service Company’s stations after you start your journey other than:
(i) to join a train at another station, or
(ii) to stay in overnight accommodation when you cannot reasonably complete your journey within one day, or
(iii) to follow any instructions given by a member of a Train Company’s staff.


My emphasis. If the passenger does not leave Birmingham N St, but goes to use station facilities, such as the left luggage, he has not broken his journey.

As I mentioned previously, however, the passenger will in all likelihood need to purchase a new ticket to continue to Coventry, at a cost of £3.10 on Virgin or £4.10 otherwise, because most advance tickets are only valid on the booked train, which by now has probably left.

So my quote refers to what situation, exactly?

You cannot interrupt your journey on an advance ticket - whether you call it break of journey or not - since it is valid from point A to point B on one or more specific trains. If you get off early, you have terminated your journey.

You seem to ignore the fact that train companies have fined people for this very reason, and that it hasn't been challenged in the courts.

I should qualify the last reply by saying that if you are travelling on connecting trains within an advance ticket, you can leave the station at the connecting point to use the station facilities - but you are still breaking the rules if you don't continue your journey on the booked train.

If you are on a direct train (in the OP's case Manchester to Coventry trains are hourly), then you ending your journey early is not allowed with an advance ticket, since you cannot complete the journey on the booked train.

Of course, if you pre-purchase a return from Coventry to New St before you travel (which will be barely more than the single), there's no way of the people on the barriers knowing that you're breaking your journey.

I should stress, of course, that this doesn't change the T&Cs, you may have a particularly good-memoried train manager, and doing so may result in all sorts of nastiness, etc, etc.

Of course, if you pre-purchase a return from Coventry to New St before you travel (which will be barely more than the single), there's no way of the people on the barriers knowing that you're breaking your journey.

I should stress, of course, that this doesn't change the T&Cs, you may have a particularly good-memoried train manager, and doing so may result in all sorts of nastiness, etc, etc.

Yes, this is a common way to get round it.

I feel sorry for the OP trying to understand all of this - he only wanted to know where he could leave his bags for a few hours. :eek:

You cannot interrupt your journey on an advance ticket - whether you call it break of journey or not - since it is valid from point A to point B on one or more specific trains. If you get off early, you have terminated your journey.
Many advance tickets are valid on one or more primary trains with options to take one of a number of connecting trains. From Manchester Stns to Coventry, both options are available (which you correctly mentioned in your subsequent post), and the ticket will distinguish between them (in this case) by showing under route "VWC & CONNECTNS" or "XC &CONNECTIONS" to allow connections, or one of "XC ONLY", "AP XC ONLY WVH", or "VIRGIN TRNS ONLY" to prohibit them. It has not been specified which ticket is held in this case, and if it were a ticket permitting connections, the holder would be free to use a London Midland train between Birmingham N St and Coventry on their journey.

The definition of "journey" and when it begins and ends is not clear. We are clear that if you have a ticket from Manchester Stns to Coventry and get off at Birmingham New Street to use station facilities, you have not broken your journey according to the definitions in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage. You might then proceed to purchase a ticket from Birmingham Stns to Coventry (if your Advance ticket did not allow connections) and use it to complete your journey from Manchester to Coventry, which you have not broken. You are welcome to use more than one ticket for your journey, in line with section 19 of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage.

You seem to ignore the fact that train companies have fined people for this very reason, and that it hasn't been challenged in the courts.

I have not ignored any such fact, for the simple reason that you are quite mistaken. Train companies cannot issue fines. In the United Kingdom, only a court can issue a fine. Train companies can issue penalty fares and excess fares (neither of which I am aware of having been issued for an invalid break of journey, starting short, or finishing early), and may require a traveller with an invalid ticket to purchase a new one. This can sometimes be expensive in comparison to the original ticket (from Manchester to Coventry, for example, it would be £41.50; the cheapest Advance fare being £6). However, I am aware of at least one case where a customer holding a ticket from London Terminals to Newcastle attempted to break and end their journey at Durham, and the resultant Unpaid Fares Notice for £150.50 was quashed on appeal.

I am not intending to be obstructive here, but the law relating to the railways is quite complex and not everything that train operating companies say is true.

I have not ignored any such fact, for the simple reason that you are quite mistaken. Train companies cannot issue fines. In the United Kingdom, only a court can issue a fine. Train companies can issue penalty fares and excess fares (neither of which I am aware of having been issued for an invalid break of journey, starting short, or finishing early), and may require a traveller with an invalid ticket to purchase a new one. This can sometimes be expensive in comparison to the original ticket (from Manchester to Coventry, for example, it would be £41.50; the cheapest Advance fare being £6). However, I am aware of at least one case where a customer holding a ticket from London Terminals to Newcastle attempted to break and end their journey at Durham, and the resultant Unpaid Fares Notice for £150.50 was quashed on appeal.

Yes, well I was using fine as a generic term for penalty rather than in its strictest sense.

Was the Professor's Unpaid Fares Notice cancelled on appeal? Interesting - could you quote a source?

I'm not sticking up for the train companies here - but they still maintain that stopping short on an advance ticket is not allowed, and they have the right to charge the passenger a penalty (or whatever) for this. I agree this doesn't necessarily mean they are right.

Yes, well I was using fine as a generic term for penalty rather than in its strictest sense.

Was the Professor's Unpaid Fares Notice cancelled on appeal? Interesting - could you quote a source?

I read it on another forum. Let me try to find something more authoritative.

IIRC it was, but on goodwill.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11420790

IIRC it was, but on goodwill.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11420790

Thanks - so it probably doesn't form a precedent, unfortunately.

Not in that case, no. I suspect it was a case of EC wanting to reserve the right to charge excesses for stopping short in the future (in case of specific promotions, etc) rather than saying they wanted to do it as a matter of course.

My personal take on this, assuming a Manchester-Coventry advance single is already held. The ticket conditions state:
"Can I break my journey? No, except for changing trains."
http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/Tickets_and_timetables/Train_fares/advance.aspx
Therefore, railways, I agree that break of journey is not permitted on an advance ticket, and that an excess fare is chargable if a passenger breaks their journey when using such a ticket.

However, you will only be:
"treated as breaking your journey if you leave a Train Company’s or Rail Service Company’s stations after you start your journey"
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/nrcc/NRCOC.pdf

As the left luggage facility is within New St station, there is no need to leave the station in order to use it, thus this is not a problem. However, a problem may arise if the passenger misses their onward train to Coventry, due to this clause:
"What train can I travel on? Date and service shown on ticket"
http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/Tickets_and_timetables/Train_fares/advance.aspx

However, this can be got round by purchasing, as Stifle suggests, an additional Birmingham-Coventry ticket. This is allowed by this:
"19. Using a combination of tickets
You may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover the entire
journey and one of the following applies:
...
(b) the train you are in calls at a station where you change from one
ticket to another"
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/nrcc/NRCOC.pdf

Clearly, both trais stop at New St, where the 'ticket swap' would take place, so this is valid.

I hope this clarifies matters.

Southwest Trains fines couple £114 for getting off too early (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-ireland/1123843-southwest-trains-fines-couple-114-getting-off-too-early.html)

Southwest Trains fines couple £114 for getting off too early (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-ireland/1123843-southwest-trains-fines-couple-114-getting-off-too-early.html)

That was (a) not a fine and (b) a Megatrain ticket, which has its own special conditions :(

That was (a) not a fine and (b) a Megatrain ticket, which has its own special conditions :(

Megatrain tickets have basically the same conditions as Advance tickets - i.e., you must travel on a specific train service to a specific destination, with no break of journey or "stopping short" permitted.

You can argue over terminology, but the fact that they had to pay *double* the prevailing full ticket price, in addition to the ticket they already purchased, makes it a fine in my book.

Megatrain tickets have basically the same conditions as Advance tickets - i.e., you must travel on a specific train service to a specific destination, with no break of journey or "stopping short" permitted.

You can argue over terminology, but the fact that they had to pay *double* the prevailing full ticket price, in addition to the ticket they already purchased, makes it a fine in my book.

This couple broke their journey and were leaving the station. I have already pointed out that using station facilities does not count as breaking your journey. Different circumstances.

A penalty fare is not a fine but is a higher charge levied upon a passenger who makes a mistake. The couple had the option to not pay the penalty fare at which point it would be for SWT to bring court proceedings against them, at which they could be fined.

Southwest Trains fines couple £114 for getting off too early (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-ireland/1123843-southwest-trains-fines-couple-114-getting-off-too-early.html)
They were using Megatrain tickets, which have slightly different conditions. To avoid going off topic, I won't go into the technicalities of a Megatrain ticket.

However, I will say that the one key difference is that they left the station at Eastleigh, hence broke the conditions, hence invoked the extra charge. In the New St case, it would only be a case of using station facilities.

And welcome to Flyertalk, clagmonster. Sure I've seen that handle somewhere else ;)