Is Watford Junction in Zone 6?

[swt class 450]

Yesterday i was travelling to Watford Junction but i only had a Zones 1 to 6 Travelcard. So i asked the Guard on my London Midland train for a Return ticket from Boundary Zone 6 to Watford Junction. He then said that i didnt need to buy this ticket as my Travelcard is valid because Watford Junction is in Zone 6. When i got to Watford Junction the ticket barriers were open (and they were also open on my rerurn journey) so i didnt have any problems. I always thought Watford Junction was in a special zone outside of Zone 9 (possibly Zone 10) so now i am confused. Can anyone confirm is this Guard correct that Watford Junction is in Zone 6?

 

[PeterC]

Unless there has been an unadvertised change to the zones in the last few months the guard was definitely wrong.

 

[swt class 450]

Unless there has been an unadvertised change to the zones in the last few months the guard was definitely wrong.

Ok. Thanks. Thats definitely what i thought as well.

 

[matt_world2004]

When travelling on a contractor card it would come up as zone 10 I think it is officially zone W.

 

[RJ]

Hang on - so the OP was on a train serving the intended destination of Watford Junction, only holding a 1-6 Travelcard but knowing an extension was required.

Is the purpose of this thread simply to say that a LM guard thinks Watford Junction is in Zone 6? Something doesn't quite add up...?

 

[swt class 450]

Hang on - so the OP was on a train serving the intended destination of Watford Junction, only holding a 1-6 Travelcard but knowing an extension was required.

Is the purpose of this thread simply to say that a LM guard thinks Watford Junction is in Zone 6? Something doesn't quite add up...?

I had a Z1 to Z6 Travelcard which i was pretty sure was not valid to Watford Junction. That is why i found the Guard to buy a Boundary Zone 6 to Watford Junction extension. It was then when i showed him my Z1 to Z6 Travelcard ticket and asked him to buy an extension he told me i didnt need to because Watford Junction is in Zone 6. So this confused me and i was wondering if maybe i was incorrect which is why i made this thread and asked just to double check who was correct and incorrect.

 

[Andrew1395]

Easier to ask at Euston LM ticket office?

 

[pitdiver]

Do LM have Guards on their services out of Euston, thought they were DOO?

 

[Mojo]

Do LM have Guards on their services out of Euston, thought they were DOO?

All services carrying customers operated by London Midland have a guard.

 

[pitdiver]

All services carrying customers operated by London Midland have a guard.

Thank you I must have been getting mixed up with somewhere else. Been living on the Bedpan line for last few years.

 

[Mag_seven]

The OP was lucky not to be issued a penalty fare as he should have gone to the ticket office before boarding the train to obtain the extension to Watford.

 

[trivran]

The OP was lucky not to be issued a penalty fare as he should have gone to the ticket office before boarding the train to obtain the extension to Watford.

Maybe the train stopped at Harrow & Wealdstone too, where the OP could have been told to go and buy a ticket.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Maybe both OP joined at Harrow and both the ticket offices were closed, or neither of them knew how to sell such a ticket and told the OP to buy on board? Neither is an unheard of event.

 

[swt class 450]

I had boarded the train at Harrow & Wealdstone where the ticket office was shut and none of the TVMs have been upgraded yet to accept the new plastic £5 banknotes (which is all i had on me at the time).

 

[Andrew1395]

Risky travelling to Watford with only £5 notes. Can you buy an extension at a TVM. I suppose impulse decision to travel beyond Hatch End, should be catered for at a busy place like Harrow and Wealdstone

 

[swt class 450]

Risky travelling to Watford with only £5 notes. Can you buy an extension at a TVM. I suppose impulse decision to travel beyond Hatch End, should be catered for at a busy place like Harrow and Wealdstone

Yes all London Overground TVMs (Harrow & Wealdstone has LO TVMs despite being managed by LU) have a "tickets from another station" feature so you can buy the full range of tickets from them (including Boundary Zone extensions). They even sell All Line Rover tickets.

 

[bkhtele]

About 3 years ago I asked the same question at Paddington help desk & they told me zone 1-6 travel card was valid to Watford junction! Clearly wrong....

 

[causton]

I am disappointed, but not surprised.

Unless you are really trying it on I doubt you would get a penalty fare in practice... we must sell 100+ Boundary Zone extensions to people who come to Watford Junction thinking it is in zone 6 (or sometimes think it is covered by their zone 1-2 travelcard!) mainly to people headed to Harry Potter :P

 

[PeakABoo]

May as well ask this here as I'm visiting Harry Potter at some point this year..

I see that Watford Junction lies just outside Boundary Zone 9 according to the latest tube map. If I have an Amersham Und - Zones 1-6 (AAA LDN Zones 7-9) Daily Travelcard, am I correct to assume this would not be valid all the way to Watford Junction and that a Boundary 6 - Watford Junction extension would also be required (they don't seem to have Boundary Zone 9 extensions)? If so, I will just buy a standard 1-6 Travelcard and Boundary 6 extension instead.

 

[PermitToTravel]

You are correct

 

[mattdickinson]

May as well ask this here as I'm visiting Harry Potter at some point this year..

I see that Watford Junction lies just outside Boundary Zone 9 according to the latest tube map. If I have an Amersham Und - Zones 1-6 (AAA LDN Zones 7-9) Daily Travelcard, am I correct to assume this would not be valid all the way to Watford Junction and that a Boundary 6 - Watford Junction extension would also be required (they don't seem to have Boundary Zone 9 extensions)? If so, I will just buy a standard 1-6 Travelcard and Boundary 6 extension instead.

It's valid as far as Watford High Street which is in Zone 8. A High Street to Junction single would work as an extension.

 

[swt class 450]

May as well ask this here as I'm visiting Harry Potter at some point this year..

I see that Watford Junction lies just outside Boundary Zone 9 according to the latest tube map. If I have an Amersham Und - Zones 1-6 (AAA LDN Zones 7-9) Daily Travelcard, am I correct to assume this would not be valid all the way to Watford Junction and that a Boundary 6 - Watford Junction extension would also be required (they don't seem to have Boundary Zone 9 extensions)? If so, I will just buy a standard 1-6 Travelcard and Boundary 6 extension instead.

There is a special Z1-Z9+WFJ Day Travelcard ticket that you can buy from all London Underground / Docklands Light Railway / Croydon Tram TVMs as well as National Rail TVMs with a "tickets from another station" feature (by selecting from Watford Junction to London Z1 - Z6). You should also be able to get it from all competent National Rail ticket offices.

These are the Day Travelcards that are available.

Z1-Z6 = £12.30
Z1-Z9 = £13.10
Z1-Z9+WFJ = £17.50

These are the boundary zone extensions available.

BZ6-WFJ = £4.80 (Return)
BZ6-WFN = £4.50 (Return)
BZ6-GSN = £4.50 (Return)

So a Z1-Z9 Day Travelcard plus a BZ6 to Watford North or a BZ6 to Garston (both of which are strangely cheaper than a BZ6 to Watford Junction ticket) would bring the total to £17.60. So your best and cheapest option would be to buy the Z1-Z9+WFJ Day Travelcard ticket for £17.50.

However if you are not travelling to anywhere else in Z7 / Z8 / Z9 on the day (for example Amersham or Chesham etc) than your cheapest option would indeed be to buy a Z1-Z6 Day Travelcard for £12.30 and then a BZ6 to Watford North or BZ6 to Garston (again as they are cheaper than BZ6 to Watford Junction tickets) which would bring your total to £16.80.

 

[miami]

It's valid as far as Watford High Street which is in Zone 8. A High Street to Junction single would work as an extension.

Wouldn't your train need to stop at high street (ie the all shacks LO service), as you wouldn't hold a season

 

[greatkingrat]

It's valid as far as Watford High Street which is in Zone 8. A High Street to Junction single would work as an extension.

That would only be valid on the slower London Overground trains, not on the faster London Midland services.

 

[Andrew1395]

That would only be valid on the slower London Overground trains, not on the faster London Midland services.

LM services that stop at Bushey would be ok, as I am sure it is in zone 8 too

 

[Shimbleshanks]

I think people travelling to Watford Junction on zone 6 tickers must be quite a common mistake. For years I'd imagined it was in the normal travelcard zones and only after living in London for 30 years was I disabused of that notion.

I think it's because there is no open countryside between it and London, plus the fact that the local stopper services terminate there, give it the impression of being part of Greater London, even though it's actually in Hertfordshire.

At least when you go to Redhill, there are a few green fields and a longish tunnel after Coulsdon South.

 

[yorkie]

A paper single ticket from Bushey is £3.10, only 10p more than from Watford High Street, which in combination with a Zones 1-9 Travelcard is valid on all LM trains between Euston & Watford Jn.

If making a return off peak, don't bother with Bushey! Instead get a Boundary Zone 6 to Watford Jn for £4.80.

(Having overlapping validity between Hatch End and Bushey isn't a cause for concern!)

 

[swt class 450]

A paper single ticket from Bushey is £3.10, only 10p more than from Watford High Street.

Only technically valid on trains which call at Bushey, but in the unlikely event of a ticket check on an LM train between Euston & Watford Jn, a Bushey ticket plus Zones 1-9 Travelcard may well be accepted even on a train that doesn't call there.

If making a return off peak, don't bother with Bushey! Instead get a Boundary Zone 6 to Watford Jn for £4.80. Having overlapping validity between Hatch End and Bushey isn't a cause for concern!

Or even better a Boundary Zone 6 to Watford North or Boundary Zone 6 to Garston are both only £4.50 so will save 30p (and they are both definitely still valid to and from Watford Junction station).

 

[gnolife]

A paper single ticket from Bushey is £3.10, only 10p more than from Watford High Street.

Only technically valid on trains which call at Bushey, but in the unlikely event of a ticket check on an LM train between Euston & Watford Jn, a Bushey ticket plus Zones 1-9 Travelcard may well be accepted even on a train that doesn't call there.

If making a return off peak, don't bother with Bushey! Instead get a Boundary Zone 6 to Watford Jn for £4.80. Having overlapping validity between Hatch End and Bushey isn't a cause for concern!

Since the change in October to the NRCOT, a Zone 1-9 travelcard plus a single from Bushey to Watford is valid beyond doubt on services that do not call at Bushey

NRCOT 14.2
If you are using a Season Ticket, daily Zonal Ticket, or another area based
Ticket such as a concessionary pass, ranger or rover in conjunction with
another Ticket and the last station at which one Ticket is valid and the first
station that the other Ticket is valid are the same, then the train does not
need to call at that station for your combination to be valid.

 

[PeakABoo]

There is a special Z1-Z9+WFJ Day Travelcard ticket that you can buy from all London Underground / Docklands Light Railway / Croydon Tram TVMs as well as National Rail TVMs with a "tickets from another station" feature (by selecting from Watford Junction to London Z1 - Z6). You should also be able to get it from all competent National Rail ticket offices.

These are the Day Travelcards that are available.

Z1-Z6 = £12.30
Z1-Z9 = £13.10
Z1-Z9+WFJ = £17.50

These are the boundary zone extensions available.

BZ6-WFJ = £4.80 (Return)
BZ6-WFN = £4.50 (Return)
BZ6-GSN = £4.50 (Return)

So a Z1-Z9 Day Travelcard plus a BZ6 to Watford North or a BZ6 to Garston (both of which are strangely cheaper than a BZ6 to Watford Junction ticket) would bring the total to £17.60. So your best and cheapest option would be to buy the Z1-Z9+WFJ Day Travelcard ticket for £17.50.

However if you are not travelling to anywhere else in Z7 / Z8 / Z9 on the day (for example Amersham or Chesham etc) than your cheapest option would indeed be to buy a Z1-Z6 Day Travelcard for £12.30 and then a BZ6 to Watford North or BZ6 to Garston (again as they are cheaper than BZ6 to Watford Junction tickets) which would bring your total to £16.80.

Thanks for the information. Looking at a daily Watford Junction - London Zones 1-6 Travelcard (AAA LDN ZONES 7-9), I was concerned it would get swallowed by the barriers at Watford Junction as I would be using this Travelcard "in reverse", ie going into Watford Junction as opposed to starting from there. Does this not happen with this particular daily Travelcard? Can you go in and out of Watford Junction throughout the day if required?