What is my cheapest season ticket option, overground combined with London oyster?

plasmaxx · 9 Mar 2015

Hi all,

I'm starting a new job near Epsom station, Surrey and I shall be commuting (by public transport of course) from London zone 4. I would like a 1 month season ticket and would to know my cheapest option?

According to National Rail a 1 month season ticket from all London Terminal stations is £200.90. A 1 month season ticket, Epsom to London Zones 1-6 is £255.40.

Is there a way I can lower this price, maybe by getting a Oyster card zones 3-4 and Epsom to London zones 1-2? I don't need the zones 5 and 6. thanks

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causton · 9 Mar 2015

Can you say which station in Zone 4 you will be commuting from to get to Epsom? Or at least a general area? For example, if you say Wimbledon it will be a lot cheaper than if you say Kenton and are going through central London to get there!

Whichever way you go though, I am guessing Zones 5 and 6 are the ones you definitely need as you need to pass through them to get from Zone 4 to Epsom!

Deerfold · 9 Mar 2015

plasmaxx said:
Hi all,

I'm starting a new job near Epsom station, Surrey and I shall be commuting (by public transport of course) from London zone 4. I would like a 1 month season ticket and would to know my cheapest option?

According to National Rail a 1 month season ticket from all London Terminal stations is £200.90. A 1 month season ticket, Epsom to London Zones 1-6 is £255.40.

Is there a way I can lower this price, maybe by getting a Oyster card zones 3-4 and Epsom to London zones 1-2? I don't need the zones 5 and 6. thanks

Where in London Zone 4? Most importantly are you the same side of Zone 1 as Epsom and are you on or near a National Rail route?

As Epsom is outside the Zones you'll need to cover all the points between where you are and Epsom or in Zones Epsom through Zones 6-5-4 - and if you're passing through Central London Zones 1-2-3 as well.

plasmaxx · 9 Mar 2015

It's from zone 4 Kenton/Queensbury/Northwick park station area. So I'll travel to Waterloo station and take the overground to Epsom station
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Alternatively I can travel from Harrow and Wealdstone station too if that makes things cheaper
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Hello any advice would be great thanks

bb21 · 9 Mar 2015

The Overground doesn't go to Epsom.

Your only realistic options are Epsom - London Zones 1-6 Travelcard, which is £255.40 per month, or £238.50 if you restrict yourself to Southern services between Epsom and Ewell East (ie. not allowed between Epsom and Ewell West on SWT).

Alternatively buy the Epsom - London Zones 2-6 Travelcard, which is £185.90 per month, or £177.50 if you restrict yourself to Southern services between Epsom and Ewell East. You will also have to avoid Zone 1 so will need to use London Overground services between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction. Coming from Kenton, I don't think it will necessarily be slower avoiding Zone 1 so you may want to give both a go for a week and see which one you prefer.

You can also buy odd-period season tickets starting on a Monday and finishing on a Friday (but must be at least one-month long) to avoid paying for a few weekends in the year.

Even cheaper is to just buy an inboundary Zones 4 2-6 Travelcard, at £154 per month. There are a number of bus routes between Epsom and some of the stations in Zone 6 in that region. You can use these buses for no extra charge (map here). Beware however if you use an inboundary Travelcard at Epsom on rail you will be liable for a Penalty Fare, and enforcement seems regular at that place.

John @ home · 9 Mar 2015

I think there's a typo in bb21's suggestion. The £154 monthly ticket is the in-boundary Zones 2-6 Travelcard. All these Zones would be needed if travelling by rail from Kenton via Olympia to Ewell, then a TfL bus to Epsom.

bb21 · 9 Mar 2015

Yes, indeed. Oh dear, kept making mistakes today.

LexyBoy · 9 Mar 2015

Unless your workplace is convienently placed for one of the bus routes from a station within Zone 6 (see here) then I think the Epsom-Z2-6 ticket will be the best option. As bb21 says it is likely not to be much longer and avoids the worst of the Tube. This Travelcard would be valid on buses thoughout London, e.g. if you wished to travel into central. One of those journeys where it's hard to save without considerably increasing your journey time.

bb21 said:
The Overground doesn't go to Epsom.

Many Londoners have referred to any non-Underground rail as "overground" since well before London Overground assumed the name. Usually with a tinge of "here be dragons".

bb21 · 9 Mar 2015

LexyBoy said:
Many Londoners have referred to any non-Underground rail as "overground" since well before London Overground assumed the name. Usually with a tinge of "here be dragons".

It does still make me smile when people refer to overground (little "o") as overland services and opposed to underground (little "u") services, and a picture of Whitechapel station pops into my head.

plasmaxx · 9 Mar 2015

Thanks for all the info bb21!

Wow, there are certainly a lot more options available than what I had originally anticipated!

Could you please elaborate on what you mean when you say, restricting myself to Southern services between Epsom and Ewell East? Would I ever need to go between those 2 stations? If I go from Waterloo, I'll taking the South West Trains to Epsom. Alternatively, if I take the London Overground to Clapham junction, I will still have to take the South West Train to Epsom and as far as I'm aware only Southern Rail stops at Eastwell East?

I think going from Kenton to Clapham Junction via Willensden Junction and then to Epsom seems quite reasonable in terms of commuting time and cost but wil try both and see what works best.

Please could you explain what you mean when you say 'inboundary zones 4-6 travel card'? I would still need to go to zone 6 in that region (Surrey) and take a bus from there? I thought zones 4-6 travel card is £102 not £154?
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John @ home said:
I think there's a typo in bb21's suggestion. The £154 monthly ticket is the in-boundary Zones 2-6 Travelcard. All these Zones would be needed if travelling by rail from Kenton via Olympia to Ewell, then a TfL bus to Epsom.

Oh thanks for that! Where can I check the total journey time for this option?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Because my place of work is a 5 minute walk from Epsom Rail station, I was thinking whether there is a bus I can take from Zone 5/6?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

LexyBoy said:
Unless your workplace is convienently placed for one of the bus routes from a station within Zone 6 (see here) then I think the Epsom-Z2-6 ticket will be the best option. As bb21 says it is likely not to be much longer and avoids the worst of the Tube. This Travelcard would be valid on buses thoughout London, e.g. if you wished to travel into central. One of those journeys where it's hard to save without considerably increasing your journey time.

Many Londoners have referred to any non-Underground rail as "overground" since well before London Overground assumed the name. Usually with a tinge of "here be dragons".

I think this maybe a good idea, but how will I know where the best place in zone 6 I can catch the bus from to Epsom? Wouldn't I still need to take the tube/overground to zone 6 in the South Eastern region from Kenton?

By the way my place of work is only a 5 minute walk from Epsom rail station

hassaanhc · 9 Mar 2015

The 406 and 418 from Tolworth in Zone 6, taking no more than 25 mins, are probably the best. There is the 293 from Morden (Northern Line Zone 4) which is much longer, or the 467 from Chessington South (no point as two stops further on the train than Tolworth) which only runs once an hour and no evening service, likewise the 166 from West Croydon (Zone 5).
Check the maps here by entering the address or route number http://www.tfl.gov.uk/maps

bb21 · 9 Mar 2015

plasmaxx said:
Thanks for all the info bb21!

Wow, there are certainly a lot more options available than what I had originally anticipated!

Could you please elaborate on what you mean when you say, restricting myself to Southern services between Epsom and Ewell East? Would I ever need to go between those 2 stations? If I go from Waterloo, I'll taking the South West Trains to Epsom. Alternatively, if I take the London Overground to Clapham junction, I will still have to take the South West Train to Epsom and as far as I'm aware only Southern Rail stops at Eastwell East?

What I meant is that you cannot travel between Epsom and Ewell West as that section is only served by SWT. The cheaper Travelcard will be routed Southern Only so can only be used on Southern services outside the zonal area. This means you can only use the route between Ewell East and Epsom, but inside the zones you can use any operator so travel between Ewell West and Clapham Junction on SWT is perfectly fine, just not between Ewell West and Epsom.

I did indeed mean inboundary Zones 2-6 Travelcard. "Zones 4-6" is a typo. "Inboundary" means "entirely within the zonal area", ie. no validity on rail outside Zone 6 (or Zone 9 where applicable).

I think hassaanhc covered the other points.

plasmaxx · 9 Mar 2015

Thanks for the clarification bb21. I don't think I'll bother restricting myself to Southern rail anyway for the sake of only saving £6 a month.
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hassaanhc said:
The 406 and 418 from Tolworth in Zone 6, taking no more than 25 mins, are probably the best. There is the 293 from Morden (Northern Line Zone 4) which is much longer, or the 467 from Chessington South (no point as two stops further on the train than Tolworth) which only runs once an hour and no evening service, likewise the 166 from West Croydon (Zone 5).
Check the maps here by entering the address or route number http://www.tfl.gov.uk/maps

Thanks for the info.
As for the season ticket EPS-Zones 2-6 that is £154 monthly, I can catch either the 406/418 from Tolworth to Epsom high street however getting to Tolworth is a bit of a problem as it takes so long and I would have to change over 1/2 times from Kenton station. From Kenton to Tolworth it would take me around 1 hour 20 minutes by Overground changing over at Clapham junction.

Is there an faster route I could take with this ticket?

MikeWh · 9 Mar 2015

The problem is that you are restricting yourself to slower services by starting at Kenton. Harrow and Wealstone instantly gives you access to faster trains, some which go direct to Clapham Junction. If you don't mind spending 10 minutes more on the bus then go to Surbiton rather than Tolworth. You can do Harrow and Wealdstone to Surbiton in one hour at 0730. You can also start at Kenton and go the wrong way on the travelcard if that makes it easier to get to the station.

plasmaxx · 10 Mar 2015

MikeWh said:
The problem is that you are restricting yourself to slower services by starting at Kenton. Harrow and Wealstone instantly gives you access to faster trains, some which go direct to Clapham Junction. If you don't mind spending 10 minutes more on the bus then go to Surbiton rather than Tolworth. You can do Harrow and Wealdstone to Surbiton in one hour at 0730. You can also start at Kenton and go the wrong way on the travelcard if that makes it easier to get to the station.

Thanks for that. Yeh Harrow & Wealdstone and Kenton are the same distance from my home so easier to go Harroqw & Wealdstone and go to Clapham Junction and take SWT or Southern Rail to Epsom.

For the sake of saving around £30 quid a month would you say its worthwhile to go for the inboundary zones 2-6 for £154 and catch the 406/418 bus from either Surbiton Station or Tolworth? I'm trying to figure out total journey time and the least waiting when changing between trains

James Wake · 10 Mar 2015

The 406/418 do not stop directly outside Surbiton Station, the nearest stop is at Surbiton Telephone Exchange, a 5-10 min walk away. The Harrow and Wealdstone to Clapham Junction Southern services may be extremely useful for you. There is another option if you are prepared to limit yourself to just Southern services between Epsom and Clapham Junction, then to Harrow and Wealdstone, and that is a weekly DaySave at £93 (is a £60 saving worth it for the times that you need to travel): http://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/daysave-weekly/

plasmaxx · 10 Mar 2015

James Wake said:
The 406/418 do not stop directly outside Surbiton Station, the nearest stop is at Surbiton Telephone Exchange, a 5-10 min walk away. The Harrow and Wealdstone to Clapham Junction Southern services may be extremely useful for you. There is another option if you are prepared to limit yourself to just Southern services between Epsom and Clapham Junction, then to Harrow and Wealdstone, and that is a weekly DaySave at £93 (is a £60 saving worth it for the times that you need to travel): http://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/daysave-weekly/

Hello, thanks for the input. I guess I'll rule out the option for taking the bus from Surbiton Station!

I had a look at the link you provided and correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that weekly DaySave ticket £93 a week? That actually works out very expensive as I'll have to pay around £390 a month plus the TFL zones.

I know if I limit myself to only Southern Rail from Clapham junction it will be around £177 a month and this includes london zones 2-6. If I opt to take any rail service (SWT and southern) it's around £186 so IMO the saving isn't really worth it

MikeWh · 10 Mar 2015

plasmaxx said:
I had a look at the link you provided and correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that weekly DaySave ticket £93 a week? That actually works out very expensive as I'll have to pay around £390 a month plus the TFL zones.

The direct trains from Harrow to Clapham are operated by Southern, so if you can restrict yourself to those then the daysave is all you'd need.

Deerfold · 10 Mar 2015

MikeWh said:
The direct trains from Harrow to Clapham are operated by Southern, so if you can restrict yourself to those then the daysave is all you'd need.

It's still more expensive than an Epsom - Zones 1-6 ticket.

plasmaxx · 10 Mar 2015

Deerfold said:
It's still more expensive than an Epsom - Zones 1-6 ticket.

Yes, a lot more expensive!

bb21 · 10 Mar 2015

If you are not sure what each option may feel like, we recommend trying them out for a week each. You will then be in a much better position to decide whether you want to commit to any particular option for the long term.

What is my cheapest season ticket option, overground combined with London oyster?

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