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Enlightenment sought.
I live at a location served by both South Western and Southern, where their networks overlap.
My commute can be in on one, home on the other and other local journeys may use both networks. I buy tickets as I go because the car is sometimes needed at work.
Can I buy e-tickets that are valid for an overlapping route on both services on one operators app and them still be read by another operator ... Is it essentially just a QR code or is there more to it?
Do I need a national app instead like Trainline (the reviews for which have been poor lately)?
Unsurprisingly the individual operators aren't super clear on this - push their own app I guess.
Can I buy e-tickets that are valid for an overlapping route on both services on one operators app and them still be read by another operator … Is it essentially just a QR code or is there more to it?
Yes, I believe you can, however you have to be careful when you buy them, some are specified trains/routes only, others are by any appropriate route.
I use the trainline app, it's pretty good, but it does add a booking fee which would add up if you were using it regularly. However recently I think that there are a few quirks with APIs and the timetables which means that it won't show you options which aren't official connections.
Unsurprisingly the individual operators aren’t super clear on this – push their own app I guess.
Don't be fooled by that, you can buy almost any ticket for any service from any of the apps. There are a couple of exceptions but as a general rule, you can use TransPennine Express (for example) to buy a ticket on an Avanti West Coast service.
If you buy an Open Return, it should be valid on any of the services between those stations. They are more expensive than the ones which restrict you to a certain train but they're far more flexible. The back-office stuff sorts out where the money goes later, it's not your problem.
Personally I use National Rail to check times and prices then book with the train operator app. Trainline adds a booking fee and the reviews for it are very poor.
Check it carefully before booking - it should say "any route" or "any operator" or maybe just "open return". The last one can mean "you can return at any time but it must be on our trains, not theirs" so again, worth keeping an eye out for that.
Thanks both. I'll add the main/most frequent local operator and then work the rest from there and thanks for the heads up on booking fees. 👍