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I'm travelling from A to B with an off peak train ticket. I know that peak times are set by station. How do I know the peak times for each station? Is this possible without having to mock a ticket purchase, there must be an easier way!
Is there a simple list of stations and the peak times (i.e. London Paddington: 6-9:30, 17-19:30)
Your question is based on a false premise, that there are constant off-peak times at each station. One source of (unofficial) information is http://www.brfares.com where you can search for all rail tickets between any two stations. Clicking on the appropriate tickets, you can see that each off peak ticket has a restriction code associated with it limiting (among other things) the time it can be used. To take a couple of examples (both would typically head into Kings Cross station):
Off peak return Stevenage - London terminals takes code 5J currently defined as (among other restrictions):
OUTWARD TRAVEL
Not valid on trains timed to depart after 04:29 and before 09:30, except:...
Off peak return Edinburgh - London terminals takes code 1E currently defined as (among other restrictions):
OUTWARD TRAVEL
Not valid on trains timed to arrive: London Terminals (except as shown below) after 04:29 and before 10:08;...
Stations do not have peak and off peak times, rather time restrictions depend on the ticket held. Each restriction is given a two letter code which can be looked up on National Rail Enquires.
To do this find the restriction code that relates to your journey. If you already have the tickets you can find them in the following places (highlighted in red):
In this case the new format ticket has a restriction code of WZ while the old format ticket has a code of 1C. To look these up on National Rail Enquires you would go to nre.co.uk/WZ and nre.co.uk/1C.
In this example a restriction code of 1C means for outward travel
Not valid on trains timed to arrive in London Liverpool Street or London Kings Cross after 04:29 and before 10:00.
I think it is too complicated for a simple list. As a example, the London Midland conditions can be found here, and for just one company it is already confusing.
It depends not only on origin station, but also operator and final destination.
Morning times are usually fairly simple, but the evening ones are anything but. (Worth noting that the evening peak is only relevant if travelling from major cities.)
