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St.Albans to London Zone 2

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CXG

Member
Joined
20 Mar 2021
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5
Location
St Albans
Hello All,

Maybe someone here can give some guidance to an issue of mine. I travel daily from St. Albans City Station to Shepherd's Bush.

My journey is during peak hours and right now the best method I have found is to travel on the Thameslink Rail from St. Albans City Station to West Hampstead Thameslink and then take the Overground to Shepherd's Bush.

The journey is costing me £20/day (without a railcard which I am hoping to soon get) and is soon to be economically infeasible. I was told I could buy a monthly ticket from Zone 6 to Zone 2 for ~£173 which would get me as close as Elstree & Borehamwood (ELS) but I still need to buy a ticket from ELS to St. Albans.

The monthly ticket works out to about £8.60 per day and a ticket between ELS and St. Albans run at ~£5 per direction, so the whole trip would still cost me about £20 a day.

Is there a cheaper way to make this journey?

I've heard discussions on Boundary Tickets but I can't find any information outlining it. Could I use a boundary ticket to make this trip cheaper?

Any help is appreciated!!
 
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Mcr Warrior

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8 Jan 2009
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Through tickets for St Albans City -> Shepherds Bush, travelling peak hours seems to me to be a choice between route Any Permitted (incl London Underground transfer) at £28-70 and route West Hampstead at £22-00 (which would mean alighting at West Hampstead Thameslink, walking over to West Hampstead and then looping round on the London Overground via Willesden Junction). Both fares are Anytime Day Returns.

Anyone suggest anything different?
 

Adoarable

Member
Joined
24 Jul 2020
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58
Location
London
I assume you're currently using contactless. This should be costing you £10.60 each way, or £21.20 a day.

You're right in saying that monthly tickets don't help much. A monthly Zone6-Zone2 travelcard is £177.80, plus two single tickets St Albans City - Elstree & Borehamwood £5.40 each way, for a total of £19.69 per day (assuming 20 journeys a month). In your case, a boundary ticket is actually slightly more expensive than ticket to Elstree & Borehamwood, so that doesn't help.

It's cheaper to get a National Rail season ticket between St Albans City and Shepherd's Bush. This is only valid via West Hampstead, i.e. the route you're currently using. That costs £362.50 a month, so £18.13 per day (again, assuming 20 journeys a month).

If you can get a railcard, it's even cheaper to use day return tickets. An anytime day return ticket between St Albans City and Shepherd's Bush is £14.50 (with railcard discount).

This is all assuming you have to travel at peak times. If you can do one or both of your return legs outside of peak times, tickets are substantially cheaper.
 

Ianno87

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Joined
3 May 2015
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15,215
The Route West Hampstead ticket for £22 seems to be very good value given that St Albans - West Hampstead alone is £21.20.

A weekly St Albans - Zones 2-6 Travelcard is £101.20.
 

CXG

Member
Joined
20 Mar 2021
Messages
5
Location
St Albans
I assume you're currently using contactless. This should be costing you £10.60 each way, or £21.20 a day.

You're right in saying that monthly tickets don't help much. A monthly Zone6-Zone2 travelcard is £177.80, plus two single tickets St Albans City - Elstree & Borehamwood £5.40 each way, for a total of £19.69 per day (assuming 20 journeys a month). In your case, a boundary ticket is actually slightly more expensive than ticket to Elstree & Borehamwood, so that doesn't help.

It's cheaper to get a National Rail season ticket between St Albans City and Shepherd's Bush. This is only valid via West Hampstead, i.e. the route you're currently using. That costs £362.50 a month, so £18.13 per day (again, assuming 20 journeys a month).

If you can get a railcard, it's even cheaper to use day return tickets. An anytime day return ticket between St Albans City and Shepherd's Bush is £14.50 (with railcard discount).

This is all assuming you have to travel at peak times. If you can do one or both of your return legs outside of peak times, tickets are substantially cheaper.
Unfortunately I usually end up getting out of work around peak hours :/

Is the resounding advice a monthly ticket with a RailCard? I'm flexible in how to get to work if another solution arises.
 

LA50041

Established Member
Joined
20 Feb 2017
Messages
2,158
Hello All,
Maybe someone here can give some guidance to an issue of mine. I travel daily from St. Albans City Station to Shepard's Bush. My journey is during peak hours and right now the best method I have found is to travel on the Thameslink Rail from St. Albans City Station to West Hampstead Thameslink and then take the Overground to Shepard's Bush.

The journey is costing me 20£/day (without a railcard which I am hoping to soon get) and is soon to be economically infeasible. I was told I could buy a monthly ticket from Zone 6 to Zone 2 for ~£173 which would get me as close as Elstree & Borehamwood but I still need to buy a ticket from E&B to St. Albans. The monthly ticket works out to about £8.60 per day and a ticket between E&B and St. Albans run at ~£5 per direction so the whole trip would still cost me about £20 a day. Is there a cheaper way to make this journey?

I've heard discussions on Boundary Tickets but I can't find any information outlining it. Could I use a boundary ticket to make this trip cheaper?

Any help is appreciated!!

you could get it down to £16.90 by using St Albans Abbey - Watford Junction anytime day return £8.30 and using contactless on the southern services to Shepherds Bush at £4.30 each way
 

Mcr Warrior

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Unfortunately, railcard discounts aren't applicable when purchasing season tickets, on the basis that the latter are (supposedly) already heavily discounted.
 

30907

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Airedale
I assume you are eligible for a YP railcard? If so, the through fare St Albans-Shepherds Bush is £14.50 via West Hampstead, so £72.50 for 5 days.

Note that there is no Railcard discount on seasons.

A SAC-Boundary Zone 6 ticket is £11.20 per day (no seasons), which plus a Zones 2-6 Travelcard at £46.30 is £102.30, so more expensive than a through Travelcard. (In July/August when there is no minimum Railcard fare it comes down to £83.30)

Adoarable has quoted the rail-only season for SAC-SPB (£94.40 weekly), but in this case it is significantly cheaper to buy two seasons, splitting at Elstree, at £53+32.50 = £85.50.

So individual return tickets with Railcard discount will be your cheapest option, unless you travel more than 5 days a week.

I suppose it depends on whether you want to travel at other times or off-route (a 2-6 Travelcard is valid on buses in Zone 1....)
 

CXG

Member
Joined
20 Mar 2021
Messages
5
Location
St Albans
I assume you are eligible for a YP railcard? If so, the through fare St Albans-Shepherds Bush is £14.50 via West Hampstead, so £72.50 for 5 days.

Note that there is no Railcard discount on seasons.

A SAC-Boundary Zone 6 ticket is £11.20 per day (no seasons), which plus a Zones 2-6 Travelcard at £46.30 is £102.30, so more expensive than a through Travelcard. (In July/August when there is no minimum Railcard fare it comes down to £83.30)

Adoarable has quoted the rail-only season for SAC-SPB (£94.40 weekly), but in this case it is significantly cheaper to buy two seasons, splitting at Elstree, at £53+32.50 = £85.50.

So individual return tickets with Railcard discount will be your cheapest option, unless you travel more than 5 days a week.

I suppose it depends on whether you want to travel at other times or off-route (a 2-6 Travelcard is valid on buses in Zone 1....)
I do qualify for a YP railcard and have planned on getting one soon. I would not travel more than five days a week and I have no plan for going off route until at least COVID restriction lessen (which at this rate seems to be in 2023 lol).

It seems like the cheapest option so far is a rail ticket from St. Albans City to Elstree & Borehamwood and another rail ticket from E&B to Shepard's Bush using a YP RailCard for an £85.50/week ticket.

Would it be cheaper to take the Thameslink to a station in the tub service region and use that?


I also just want to say thank you to everyone for their speedy and well versed responses so far. This has been helpful!
 
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Adoarable

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Joined
24 Jul 2020
Messages
58
Location
London
I do qualify for a YP railcard and have planned on getting one soon. I would not travel more than five days a week and I have no plan for going off route until at least COVID restriction lessen (which at this rate seems to be in 2023 lol).

It seems like the cheapest option so far is a rail ticket from St. Albans City to Elstree & Borehamwood and another rail ticket from E&B to Shepard's Bush using a YP RailCard for an £85.50/week ticket.

Would it be cheaper to take the Thameslink to a station in the tub service region and use that?


I also just want to say thank you to everyone for their speedy and well versed responses so far. This has been helpful!

Sorry if it was unclear above - it’s cheaper to get day return tickets between St Albans and Shepherd’s Bush. You’d have to get one of these each day (or you could buy a week’s worth at a time, to avoid queueing every day). This is £14.50 a day, or £72.50 a week.
 

CXG

Member
Joined
20 Mar 2021
Messages
5
Location
St Albans
Sorry if it was unclear above - it’s cheaper to get day return tickets between St Albans and Shepherd’s Bush. You’d have to get one of these each day (or you could buy a week’s worth at a time, to avoid queueing every day). This is £14.50 a day, or £72.50 a week.
Is this a day return ticket with a YP RailCard? Would this option include taking the Thameslink to West Hampstead and then transferring to the overground? Thanks!
 

Hadders

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We need some more information to be able to advise properly:

How often do you make this journey?
What time of day do you need to travel?
What railcard do you qualify for?

The starting point is a weekly season ticket from St Albans to Shepherds Bush route West Hampstead at £94.40 per week/£362.50 a month/£3,776 annual. A railcard cannot be used to obtain a discount on a season ticket.

There are potentially other options involving railcards or contactless but these depend on how often and what time of day you need to travel.
 

Adoarable

Member
Joined
24 Jul 2020
Messages
58
Location
London
Is this a day return ticket with a YP RailCard? Would this option include taking the Thameslink to West Hampstead and then transferring to the overground? Thanks!
Yes with a railcard. Yes, indeed that’s the only route you’d be allowed to take.
 

CXG

Member
Joined
20 Mar 2021
Messages
5
Location
St Albans
We need some more information to be able to advise properly:

How often do you make this journey?
What time of day do you need to travel?
What railcard do you qualify for?

The starting point is a weekly season ticket from St Albans to Shepherds Bush route West Hampstead at £94.40 per week/£362.50 a month/£3,776 annual. A railcard cannot be used to obtain a discount on a season ticket.

There are potentially other options involving railcards or contactless but these depend on how often and what time of day you need to travel.
I make this journey roughly 4-5 times a week.
I usually travel 9am and sometime between 3-6PM
I qualify for the 16 - 25 railcard which is 1/3 off my ticket.
 

Hadders

Veteran Member
Associate Staff
Senior Fares Advisor
Joined
27 Apr 2011
Messages
12,980
With a railcard you can get a 34% discount on daily tickets which would mean an Anytime Day Return would be £14.50, so £58.00 if you travelled 4 times a week or £72.50 if you travel 5 days.

It is possible to use contactless between St Albans and Shepherds Bush and this could be cheaper if you could be flexible about the times you travel. What counts is the time you touch in at the start of your journey.

Touching in between 06:30 and 09:30 and between 16:00 and 19:00 costs £10.60
At other times it costs £6.20

To be honest I'd use a railcard and purchase daily anytime tickets as the saving with contactless is tine, even if you can travel off peak both ways.

Remember to factor in the minimum fare with a 16-25 Railcard before 1000
Not an issue here as the discounted anytime day return is above £12.
 

Haywain

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I do qualify for a YP railcard and have planned on getting one soon.
Get one now! There is no reason for “planning” while you are paying more money than necessary.
 
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