Contactless on C2C (and TfL)

[MetroPleb]

Hi,

Does anyone know what the current state of using contactless on C2C is, either exclusively on their trains or in combination with the Oyster area?

I've just been planning trips in the area, and the National Rail Journey Planner is offering "Contactless Pay as you go (Off-Peak) Single (Standard)" as the best option. National Rail

BRFares also has them as "CPAY OFFPK INFO", eg:
BRFares
This is £6.70 for Pitsea to Fenchurch Street. Also Romford to Pitsea at £6.10, which is Overground + C2C:
BRFares

However, the C2C website only mentions contactless within the (extended) Oyster area (like it has always been, not like GWR at Windsor etc), and it's own journey planner will only offer Anytime Day Singles at almost twice the price.

Mostly concerned about tapping in at Romford, arriving at Pitsea and finding no reader.... ??? Also confused about what tickets now to buy, as there are no rangers/rovers/zonals out there but the contactless fares looked the best.

Thanks

 

[JonathanH]

Contactless doesn't yet extend to Pitsea. BRFares is just a database of fares that have been set, not a statement of fact that they are available.

Contactless on c2c is available at Stations in London, plus Ockendon, Chafford Hundred, Grays and Purfleet, until such time as an extension is advertised.

For now, it is necessary to continue to use the existing 'paper' fare structure.

It looks like the Contactless fares have been set by c2c in advance of the area being extended, but that is all it is.

 

[MetroPleb]

Contactless doesn't yet extend to Pitsea. BRFares is just a database of fares that have been set, not a statement of fact that they are available.

Contactless on c2c is available at Stations in London, plus Ockendon, Chafford Hundred, Grays and Purfleet, until such time as an extension is advertised.

For now, it is necessary to continue to use the existing 'paper' fare structure.

Ok thanks, but as I said the *National Rail* Journey Planner is offering them, which is meant to be definitive:

 

[Alex365Dash]

Ok thanks, but as I said the *National Rail* Journey Planner is offering them, which is meant to be definitive:

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but the definitive National Rail Journey Planner is, in this case, both not definitive and also incorrect. It works off the same fares database that BRFares shows you, but that fare shouldn’t be shown just yet.

You’ll need to use the current fares as always in the meantime until Contactless is extended.

 

[Watershed]

I suspect these fares reflect the intention to roll out contactless PAYG to the entire C2C network as part of Project Oval. At the moment you can't use PAYG to Pitsea just yet.

 

[miklcct]

Ok thanks, but as I said the *National Rail* Journey Planner is offering them, which is meant to be definitive:
View attachment 137634

Have you tried to tap "buy now" in order to "buy" that "ticket"?

 

[MetroPleb]

Have you tried to tap "buy now" in order to "buy" that "ticket"?

No - because it is a PAYG contactless fare which can never be "bought" as a regular ticket. The National Rail site is telling the passenger that they don't need to buy a ticket for this journey, just to touch the readers at the stations. Which you could do, at eg Grays, a C2C-only station - which would work -and then travel eastbound. Only to find no reader at the other end, an incomplete journey penalty on your TfL account, and possible further penalities or even prosecution from C2C.

OK, this actually gets worse - I just tried Hayes&H to Slough as an equivalent comparison, and NR is saying I need to buy a paper ticket from GWR - even though that IS enabled for contactless and you can't use GWR trains, just TfL, at the time of this search.


It doesn't have the little box telling you about Contactless that a journey planned within the Zones does have.


So NR seems to have lost the plot on where the TOCs are up to with contactless travel.

UPDATE: I just tried the C2C routes again, and it looks like that has been fixed now.

Good job I checked though... I ended up getting a Barking to Chalkwell return as it covers the main C2C area that I'll be in.

 

[Horizon22]

No - because it is a PAYG contactless fare which can never be "bought" as a regular ticket. The National Rail site is telling the passenger that they don't need to buy a ticket for this journey, just to touch the readers at the stations. Which you could do, at eg Grays, a C2C-only station - which would work -and then travel eastbound. Only to find no reader at the other end, an incomplete journey penalty on your TfL account, and possible further penalities or even prosecution from C2C.

OK, this actually gets worse - I just tried Hayes&H to Slough as an equivalent comparison, and NR is saying I need to buy a paper ticket from GWR - even though that IS enabled for contactless and you can't use GWR trains, just TfL, at the time of this search.
View attachment 137748

It doesn't have the little box telling you about Contactless that a journey planned within the Zones does have.
View attachment 137747

So NR seems to have lost the plot on where the TOCs are up to with contactless travel.

UPDATE: I just tried the C2C routes again, and it looks like that has been fixed now.

Good job I checked though... I ended up getting a Barking to Chalkwell return as it covers the main C2C area that I'll be in.

For Slough maybe it’s because the NRE wording defaults to “Oyster and Contactless” and that’s the icon on the website whilst Slough is ONLY contactless, so they’ve left it off perhaps.