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What routes across London are actually permitted on the '+' tickets?

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Kilopylae

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This question relates to N.R. tickets marked with an '+', such as Exeter St Davids to Darsham (which allows you to travel on the Tube from Paddington to Liverpool Street), or Leighton Buzzard to St Albans (which allows you to do Euston to St Pancras).

While looking into the rules around these tickets, I noticed that there doesn't seem to be a specific definition of what routes across London are actually permitted. According to National Rail: "Tickets displaying this indicator are valid for travel between any two stations shown in the ‘Station List' (below) appropriate to the route of the through journey being made." Our own guide simply says "via any reasonable route".

This rule would govern which at stations you'd be allowed to break the journey (the example on the website is Oxford Circus between Victoria and Euston), and might also come up if you were accosted by a TfL ticket inspector while on the Tube. I've spent a good couple of hours trying to find a definition, and I'm close to tearing my hair out - is anyone here more in the know on this?
 
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maniacmartin

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The definition is "via any reasonable route" which has no further details. If you specify what you had in mind, I'm sure people will be able to say if it is reasonable or not
 

30907

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The definition is "via any reasonable route" which has no further details. If you specify what you had in mind, I'm sure people will be able to say if it is reasonable or not
Also worth noting that you can't break your journey. You can exit (anywhere? Zone 1?) but not re-enter.
 

paul1609

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In addition to what others have said the practicality of it is that within the London terminals and Zone 1 you are unlikely to be challenged on this. this has particularly been so since St pancras effectively became a Southern Region station with the opening of HS1.
 

wimbledonpete

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I have a similar question - if I get a Folkestone to Motspur Park off-peak return with Network Card going up on Sunday night, if I then go to work at Piccadilly Circus from MOT on the following Thursday morning I know I'll need an extra ticket from MOT to Piccadilly Circus because the Network Card isn't valid then. But going home that evening back to Folkestone, I know I wouldn't be able to get on at Piccadilly Circus to get back to St Pancras with the return half of my off-peak ticket, but if I walked to Charing Cross Bakerloo line I think I would, as it's a London Terminal? So I'd just be sacrificing the MOT-LDN return portion. Basically I'm reducing my commuting days so will no longer need an annual, just thinking of ways to keep costs down. Thanks!
 

paul1609

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I have a similar question - if I get a Folkestone to Motspur Park off-peak return with Network Card going up on Sunday night, if I then go to work at Piccadilly Circus from MOT on the following Thursday morning I know I'll need an extra ticket from MOT to Piccadilly Circus because the Network Card isn't valid then. But going home that evening back to Folkestone, I know I wouldn't be able to get on at Piccadilly Circus to get back to St Pancras with the return half of my off-peak ticket, but if I walked to Charing Cross Bakerloo line I think I would, as it's a London Terminal? So I'd just be sacrificing the MOT-LDN return portion. Basically I'm reducing my commuting days so will no longer need an annual, just thinking of ways to keep costs down. Thanks!
My experience is that an unused + ticket will open the barriers at any Z1 underground station. Depending on your arrival time at Charing Cross it might be quicker to get a main line train directly to Folkestone rather than tube to St Pancras and then HS1. In practical terms HS1 has very marginal (if any benefit) from that part of London because of the connections requirement at St Pancras.
 

wimbledonpete

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My experience is that an unused + ticket will open the barriers at any Z1 underground station. Depending on your arrival time at Charing Cross it might be quicker to get a main line train directly to Folkestone rather than tube to St Pancras and then HS1. In practical terms HS1 has very marginal (if any benefit) from that part of London because of the connections requirement at St Pancras.
Thanks Paul, that's interesting about the barriers. My office is at Piccadilly Circus and at going home time I can get to STP for the 17.37 whereas from CHX the first direct one is at 18.01 so it's really worth going high speed at that particular time.
 

Hadders

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I have a similar question - if I get a Folkestone to Motspur Park off-peak return with Network Card going up on Sunday night, if I then go to work at Piccadilly Circus from MOT on the following Thursday morning I know I'll need an extra ticket from MOT to Piccadilly Circus because the Network Card isn't valid then. But going home that evening back to Folkestone, I know I wouldn't be able to get on at Piccadilly Circus to get back to St Pancras with the return half of my off-peak ticket, but if I walked to Charing Cross Bakerloo line I think I would, as it's a London Terminal? So I'd just be sacrificing the MOT-LDN return portion. Basically I'm reducing my commuting days so will no longer need an annual, just thinking of ways to keep costs down. Thanks!

That is fine.
 
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