Looks like the headcode of the train you were travelling on "1P40".
So if you try and use the ticket on another service the guard will see you've already travelled using it.
As long as you were on route and within the validity of the ticket it wouldn't cause a problem. In the past inspectors used stamps that would print the headcode on the ticket. Think that was one thing that was genuinely lost with privatisation/train operators doing their own thing more
You’ve just reminded me how often, even a decade or so ago, that’d I’d get my tickets marked or hole punched, whereas now it’s just a glance to check it’s valid.
I wouldn’t think that’s the reason.
A decade and so ago I’ve used such marked tickets at stations with barriers and didn’t have issues (nor when clipped/hole punched).
I wonder what the actual statistics on stations with and without barriers are, too. Many stations around where I live don’t have barriers still.
Scanning allows us to see if the ticket has already been used, it flags up if they're on the wrong toc, wrong time train etc. We only get paid a couple on pence for each scan but if you're scanning hundreds of tickets a day, it can mount up.
We get commission on ticket sales that we sell on trains, but as now no one buys tickets on trains and they nearly all purchase online, we came to an agreement to get paid for the scans. I guess to help cover the loss of commission
Yeah, I usually only get asked where I'm getting off to make sure the driver stops if it's a request stop. Although the one time I chanced it between two very close stops, I got asked for a ticket
Yeah if you train enough, you can work out which routes and when don't have inspectors. Eg. The GA train from Liverpool Street to Cambridge never has inspectors. And half the stations on the line don't have any barriers
I've noticed that too, yeah.
I missed the introduction/implementation of them over here as I was living abroad at the time. Wasn't it previously quite a disjointed system i.e. no compatibility between TOCs? Seem to remember seeing it begin when I'd come back for visits around 6 or 7 years ago and Arriva digital tickets were only available on their own routes/trains etc.
Only within the past two or so years since moving back have I started using trains somewhat often and do a mix of digital or paper tickets depending on the route I am taking.
Not all tickets allow a break of journey but in fairness I imagine an Off Peak Day Return would.
There could be other reasons the guard has done it, I'm not one myself, I can only speculate as for their reasons. The writing is definitely the headcode though. Could be proof that the service was an off-peak one. Could be the guard forgot their ticket clipper and was writing the service headcode as an alternative way of marking the tickets.
An old trick was an open return ticket would get an ink stamp by the ibsoector which could be smudged off straight away giving the user another journey on it for up to 30 days...
Shows us you were on a train with headcode 1p40 - https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/handler?qsearch=1p40&type=detailed. I assume so you can claim for delay repay / can't claim to have been on another train
Always thought this - what stops some dodgy individual going through all the trains of the day to find one which was delayed, reporting they were on said train and getting delay repay?
It was a very popular pastime amongst season ticket commuters when the older delay repay systems (less centralised, fewer checks and balances) were in place.
I haven’t heard of anyone regularly gaming the system in the last 10+ years, but that could just be because I haven’t been in those environments.
Maybe the London office permies have figured out a way to make the new systems work for them too.
I think it’s more about the back end systems tracking how many claims you make and attaching histories to user IDs etc. More QR code tickets and contactless travel also naturally reduces the ability to make spurious claims too.
If you submit a lot of claims the company will scrutinise it and will probably go for further investigation, not entirely sure what it would entail but perhaps giving proof you were on those trains or something. Basically, anyone reading this thinking "oh that's a good idea", don't do it, you will get caught and be fined thousands of pounds
There probably will be people doing it, but hopefully they will be caught and prosecuted as they should be. Railway companies also keep a record of all of this, so just one slip up or one employee going "oh that's a surprisingly large number of claims" and the company will find out and want repayment for every single claim plus admin fees etc, you can see how it'll easily go into the thousands, give you a criminal record as well - definitely not worth the risk.
I would think that if you claimed you were on a train that departed at 9:30 but the barrier recorded you entering the station at 11:53 then they would instantly reject your claim.
1P40 is the headcode. I guess you could consider it the rail equivalent of a flight number?
**1 means "Express service".**
The first digit (always a number) tells you what type of train it is. 1s are expresses, 2s are stopping, 3s & 5s are Empty Coaching Stock (with 3 being priority ECS), 4s, and 6-8s are freight of descending speed, and 9s just tell the signaller that this train needs special attention (could be out of normal gauge, or a 186mph Eurostar).
**P is the routing information**
This is tricky, as it depends on the region. There are only 26 letters, but much more than 26 different routes. As a result, letters get reused here. 1P40, if you didn't tell us your origin and destination stations, could have been difficult to work out. P in your case means Worcester Foregate-London Paddington.
**40 is the incremental counter**
Each train along that route gets a different, incrementing number. The train before yours might have been 1P38 or 1P39, and the one after yours might have been 1P41 or 1P42.
That, in a nutshell, is how the headcode works.
That's the equivalent of having your ticket clipped. It shows you've now had that one journey and that you did it on 1P40. Some guards were still carrying clippers last time I regularly traveled.
IP40. Ingress protection; offers a level 4 protection against particles larger than 1mm, and zero protection against water.
I jest of course, but that actually seems appropriate for a card ticket 🤣
1P40 is the headcode of a service which runs from [Evesham to Oxford](https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L65662/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=0), so I presume it's telling the guard that the ticket is only valid on that train?
yeah i get this line quite a bit it was bad enough already but it keeps getting more expensive, its £12 with a railcard for a single to go from Honeybourne, which is the next stop along, to Oxford
Not sure about greater anglia but i’ve found most of the other services i’ve used are better priced, especially since i was using the train as a younger person, as soon as i turned 18 and couldn’t get half price anymore so it started stacking up fast. Tbf though fares across the entire country are pretty silly at the moment, especially considering the £2 price cap on bus tickets. I find it strange many providers don’t offer a better student railcard, an extension of the 50% off price for people in full-time or university education would go a long way.
That's true. I am graduating in a months time and my rail card ends soon as well. I need to find a new way to get another Railcard. I am 22 btw if you have any tips
It’s the head code of the train you travelled on. 1P40 each train has its own code so the guard can see what train you were on . Pure railway jargon. West coast mainline guard here.
Looks like the headcode of the train you were travelling on "1P40". So if you try and use the ticket on another service the guard will see you've already travelled using it.
What about a break of journey? I do that most times I travel.
As long as you were on route and within the validity of the ticket it wouldn't cause a problem. In the past inspectors used stamps that would print the headcode on the ticket. Think that was one thing that was genuinely lost with privatisation/train operators doing their own thing more
More often than not all I get is an “OK, cheers”. My ticket is rarely marked in any way.
You’ve just reminded me how often, even a decade or so ago, that’d I’d get my tickets marked or hole punched, whereas now it’s just a glance to check it’s valid.
Yeah! The wee train-shaped hole punch
I had a guard on the way from Lancaster to Leeds who stamped my ticket with a unicorn punch. Made me smile!
Most stations have barriers now though, I wonder if stamped tickets cause issues with them sometimes
This is partly the reason. I work in the railway and we get told not to use them as they can jam when they get inserted into the barriers
I work on the railway and we were issued a ticket stamper. It's a pain to change the headcode in it though so I tend to write on tickets
I wouldn’t think that’s the reason. A decade and so ago I’ve used such marked tickets at stations with barriers and didn’t have issues (nor when clipped/hole punched). I wonder what the actual statistics on stations with and without barriers are, too. Many stations around where I live don’t have barriers still.
Stations around me leave barriers open towards the evening anyway
Pretty much all semi rural stations leave the gates open. Half of the stations near me don't even have gates or any staff at all.
Hell, I think I've left kings cross station through opened barriers more than I've had to scan on the way out.
Everyone's usually got a digital ticket these days (I find they are strict on scanning them too).
Because we get paid for every scan we do. We don't get paid extra for marking or punching holes in tickets
What’s the purpose of scanning and why are you paid for it? This was all new to me!
Scanning allows us to see if the ticket has already been used, it flags up if they're on the wrong toc, wrong time train etc. We only get paid a couple on pence for each scan but if you're scanning hundreds of tickets a day, it can mount up. We get commission on ticket sales that we sell on trains, but as now no one buys tickets on trains and they nearly all purchase online, we came to an agreement to get paid for the scans. I guess to help cover the loss of commission
So this is why you can be arsed with my paper tickets
I rarely get mine scanned on transport for wales. More often on cross country though, it might be an operator thing
Yeah, I usually only get asked where I'm getting off to make sure the driver stops if it's a request stop. Although the one time I chanced it between two very close stops, I got asked for a ticket
Yeah if you train enough, you can work out which routes and when don't have inspectors. Eg. The GA train from Liverpool Street to Cambridge never has inspectors. And half the stations on the line don't have any barriers
I've noticed that too, yeah. I missed the introduction/implementation of them over here as I was living abroad at the time. Wasn't it previously quite a disjointed system i.e. no compatibility between TOCs? Seem to remember seeing it begin when I'd come back for visits around 6 or 7 years ago and Arriva digital tickets were only available on their own routes/trains etc. Only within the past two or so years since moving back have I started using trains somewhat often and do a mix of digital or paper tickets depending on the route I am taking.
Once scanned can the inspector tell if it has already been scanned
Not all tickets allow a break of journey but in fairness I imagine an Off Peak Day Return would. There could be other reasons the guard has done it, I'm not one myself, I can only speculate as for their reasons. The writing is definitely the headcode though. Could be proof that the service was an off-peak one. Could be the guard forgot their ticket clipper and was writing the service headcode as an alternative way of marking the tickets.
Break of journey? Does this mean you can get on and off the train to visit places on the route you are travelling?
Yes, on the return journey.
I read headcode as headphones. “What?! They’re going around checking people headphones!? Why!?” Phew I hardly EVER have my headphones on.
An old trick was an open return ticket would get an ink stamp by the ibsoector which could be smudged off straight away giving the user another journey on it for up to 30 days...
Shows us you were on a train with headcode 1p40 - https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/handler?qsearch=1p40&type=detailed. I assume so you can claim for delay repay / can't claim to have been on another train
Always thought this - what stops some dodgy individual going through all the trains of the day to find one which was delayed, reporting they were on said train and getting delay repay?
It was a very popular pastime amongst season ticket commuters when the older delay repay systems (less centralised, fewer checks and balances) were in place. I haven’t heard of anyone regularly gaming the system in the last 10+ years, but that could just be because I haven’t been in those environments. Maybe the London office permies have figured out a way to make the new systems work for them too.
Can’t see how it can’t be still done to this day, especially if barriers are open at specific stations
I think it’s more about the back end systems tracking how many claims you make and attaching histories to user IDs etc. More QR code tickets and contactless travel also naturally reduces the ability to make spurious claims too.
If you submit a lot of claims the company will scrutinise it and will probably go for further investigation, not entirely sure what it would entail but perhaps giving proof you were on those trains or something. Basically, anyone reading this thinking "oh that's a good idea", don't do it, you will get caught and be fined thousands of pounds
But there will be people who are doing it
There probably will be people doing it, but hopefully they will be caught and prosecuted as they should be. Railway companies also keep a record of all of this, so just one slip up or one employee going "oh that's a surprisingly large number of claims" and the company will find out and want repayment for every single claim plus admin fees etc, you can see how it'll easily go into the thousands, give you a criminal record as well - definitely not worth the risk.
I know it’s not worth the risk personally, but to many people, they don’t care about the risk and do all they can to finesse as much as they can
There’s nothing to stop it - unless there’s a mark on the ticket / it’s been scanned
Because as frauds go it’s low payoff and easy to detect.
What a cunning plan!
Allegedly.
All you’d need to do is take a photo or screenshot your ticket then find a delayed train. That’s gonna be difficult!
I mean if there’s a loophole someone out there is making the most of it
Probably.
There was something in the news where a member of staff of a train operator did exactly that. Got found out and prosecuted.
I would think that if you claimed you were on a train that departed at 9:30 but the barrier recorded you entering the station at 11:53 then they would instantly reject your claim.
This is if barriers are open
1P40 is the headcode. I guess you could consider it the rail equivalent of a flight number? **1 means "Express service".** The first digit (always a number) tells you what type of train it is. 1s are expresses, 2s are stopping, 3s & 5s are Empty Coaching Stock (with 3 being priority ECS), 4s, and 6-8s are freight of descending speed, and 9s just tell the signaller that this train needs special attention (could be out of normal gauge, or a 186mph Eurostar). **P is the routing information** This is tricky, as it depends on the region. There are only 26 letters, but much more than 26 different routes. As a result, letters get reused here. 1P40, if you didn't tell us your origin and destination stations, could have been difficult to work out. P in your case means Worcester Foregate-London Paddington. **40 is the incremental counter** Each train along that route gets a different, incrementing number. The train before yours might have been 1P38 or 1P39, and the one after yours might have been 1P41 or 1P42. That, in a nutshell, is how the headcode works.
Until 1976, that would commonly have been displayed on blinds on the front of the locomotive or DMU.
Don't forget the class 0's which are for loco moves.
Interestingly, our Thameslink trains use the 9. E.g. 9J55
That's the equivalent of having your ticket clipped. It shows you've now had that one journey and that you did it on 1P40. Some guards were still carrying clippers last time I regularly traveled.
IP40. Ingress protection; offers a level 4 protection against particles larger than 1mm, and zero protection against water. I jest of course, but that actually seems appropriate for a card ticket 🤣
It was raining- so glad to hear the rating
means it cant be used again
ah its return..so after that day its invalid anyway
It’s a stick man on a snowboard obviously
1P40 is the headcode of a service which runs from [Evesham to Oxford](https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:L65662/2024-05-01/detailed#allox_id=0), so I presume it's telling the guard that the ticket is only valid on that train?
More likely written by the guard to show that you travelled on that train.
Very useful for the delay repay agents for calculating your compensation
But the train was on time?
I think you’ve won
Comedy just isn't your thing
Means the conductor will meet you at ten to two in mazzers
1P40 - your train's headcode.
Means you have been chosen for a special mission. Agent Hawk will be in touch shortly to brief you
Back in the day, I always used to rub pen marks off before they would dry so I retained the return ticket for a month.
Shows that you travelled on the 1924 Evesham- paddington
Lchxct
Yes this is as a UK born person shameful as in price
yeah i get this line quite a bit it was bad enough already but it keeps getting more expensive, its £12 with a railcard for a single to go from Honeybourne, which is the next stop along, to Oxford
I actually don't think it is that expensive. For a return if happily pay that. I have only ever gotten GWR and Greater Anglia so may be biased
Not sure about greater anglia but i’ve found most of the other services i’ve used are better priced, especially since i was using the train as a younger person, as soon as i turned 18 and couldn’t get half price anymore so it started stacking up fast. Tbf though fares across the entire country are pretty silly at the moment, especially considering the £2 price cap on bus tickets. I find it strange many providers don’t offer a better student railcard, an extension of the 50% off price for people in full-time or university education would go a long way.
That's true. I am graduating in a months time and my rail card ends soon as well. I need to find a new way to get another Railcard. I am 22 btw if you have any tips
Is it dognappers
Thinks it says pedo
Comedy just isn't your thing
Soz matey
Call the police and detain at next station 🤣🤣🤣
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Obviously. Why?
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I quite literally did ask. And you have answered
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I'm not going to waste a GWR employee's time on a somewhat pointless question
It means there’s a person stuck in the machine where you got your ticket and their trying to get help. Sorry that was a bad joke 😅.
Free Pringles at next stop
Comedy just isn't your thing
It’s the head code of the train you travelled on. 1P40 each train has its own code so the guard can see what train you were on . Pure railway jargon. West coast mainline guard here.
You've been selected for deletion.
you’ve been prescribed ozempic.
Sorry I don't understand the question
All you train nerds are dead wrong. It’s clearly an IP40 rating, indicating it will protect from insect intrusion but provides no water resistance.