FOLLOWING the recent correspondence about illogical train timetabling, I've been trying to book the ScotRail train/bus/ferry ticket combination from London to Orkney.
Firstly, the train timetable is only available two months before you want to travel – why this should be when flight timetables are available almost a year in advance is not clear. Then, as mentioned by a previous correspondent, the sleeper arrives
in Inverness 45 minutes after the train to Thurso has left, meaning that the second leg of the journey, from Inverness to Stromness takes 12 hours.
Unsurprisingly, we decided to fly to Inverness the night before and take the early train the next morning. It was simple to book the flight, but the train/bus/ferry through ticket was a different animal. According to the ScotRail website, this ticket is only available by phoning the ScotRail telesales office. Unfortunately, that office is unaware the ticket exists. After a protracted conversation with one of their staff, who insisted that the only way I could buy this ticket was to use the website, I rang customer services. Someone there tried to help, but was unable to give me details of the through ticket or enable me to buy one as the bus and ferry timetables hadn't been added to the ScotRail computer system. The only way to book the journey was to book each leg individually.
Sadly, this is the impression of our country that all our visitors get when rashly attempting to purchase train tickets.
Aileen Cook, LondonThe full article contains 258 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
