Clapham Junction to Hemel Hempstead with Boundary zone ticket

[splashsquelch]

Hello,

I think what I'm planning is simple and legal, but wondered if the experts would check for me? I am planning on Sunday 9 March to go Clapham Junction to Hemel Hempstead day return, via Euston, with network gold card discount (from an unrelated route). Let's assume the Clapham Junction ticket office refuse to sell me a BZ6-Hemel rtn + Z1-6 travel card pair of tickets. This is £4.35+£5.90 = £10.25. The fare appears to be equal to instead online purchase the travelcard and a day return Hatch End to Hemel Hempstead, Hatch End being the last station in Z6. This seems to be ok if all London Midland services pass through Hatch End. (The West London Line isn't going far enough on Sunday due to engineering).

Are both those ticketing options definitely completely valid? Many thanks!

 

[Searle]

The Boundary Zone ticket is valid, however the Hatch End one isn't valid on London Midland services. The ticket office should sell it to you, and it's relatively rare that they won't!

 

[bb21]

I've not heard of any incident of ticket offices refusing to sell tickets from Boundary Zone X, so the chance of a refusal is low.

A combination of a Day Travelcard and a point-to-point single/return ticket is not valid on trains that don't stop where you change from one ticket to the other.

 

[alex17595]

If you go via Victoria some Southern TVMs can sell boundary zone tickets.

 

[splashsquelch]

Ok, thanks for the quick replies. I mistakenly thought that if either ticket was zonal the train did not need to stop, but actually they must both be zonal to use condition 19a (correct?).

I will try for the BZ ticket. But in the past, CLJ ticket clerks have refused to sell me on demand a Watford Junction to Hemel return, and allow me to use Oyster from CLJ to WFJ on the WLL, because they asserted it was impossible to touch out at Watford and I was therefore trying to fare jump somehow; obviously wrong, but clearly a standing policy as of a few months back.

 

[bb21]

Ok, thanks for the quick replies. I mistakenly thought that if either ticket was zonal the train did not need to stop, but actually they must both be zonal to use condition 19a (correct?).

Yes, both will need to be zonal, and a point-to-point ticket is not zonal.

I would echo the advice to purchase from a Southern ticket machine if you are worried about being refused at ticket offices as they can issue tickets from Boundary Zones.

 

[maniacmartin]

I have purchased Boundary Zone tickets from Clapham Junction before to go with travelcards I'd already collected. They can be quite picky about seeing the travelcards and railcards for all passengers (if buying multiple extensions), but other than that, this is a relatively easy transaction.

Additionally, there is a culture among many London ticket office staff and guards at some TOCs to allow a ticket from the last station in the zones along with a travelcard without having to call, if the ticket is the same price as a boundary zone one. This is however technically not allowed and sometimes reduces your choice of permitted routes so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[splashsquelch]

In the event, I managed to get the boundary zone plus travelcard tickets from the ticket office at CLJ no problem, so thanks for the advice here.

 

[Be3G]

I have purchased Boundary Zone tickets from Clapham Junction before to go with travelcards I'd already collected. They can be quite picky about seeing the travelcards and railcards for all passengers (if buying multiple extensions), but other than that, this is a relatively easy transaction.

In my experience of buying boundary zone tickets regularly when I used to commute, this is a general policy with SWT from any station: they'd always ask to see my travelcard first. Then one day when I tried to buy my usual tickets from a (what was then) NXEA station instead, the ticket office clerk told me off for confusing him by showing him my day travelcard. Sometimes you can't win!

Then there was the Southeastern policy that they wouldn't sell travelcards in advance (maybe off-peak only, I wasn't sure) except for one clerk who bent the rule for me… buying daily tickets could be a right hassle.