Dan_Lockton
Member
At Paddington (map) I quite often arrive on a train from Slough at Platform 13, and then cross the footbridge to the Hammersmith & City line platforms to travel east.
There are no barriers between platforms 13/14 and the H&C platforms, but there are barriers between the footbridge and the rest of the station. There are TfL signs at the top of the stairs down to the H&C platforms saying that this is a penalty zone, and warning of a fine (£80?) for not having a ticket or validated Oyster. But (unless I've missed something*) the first standalone Oyster validators you reach are on the H&C platforms. So if you've arrived at Platform 13 with a London Terminals ticket, and intend to use an Oyster card to travel on the H&C line, you have to walk into the penalty zone to get to the validator.
It seems like a minor thing, but whenever I see TfL staff there at the top of the stairs, I can't help being worried that I'm doing something wrong.
Have I missed something, or is this just what you have to do?
*There may be Oyster validators on platforms 13/14 - I can't remember. But I wouldn't want to use them if I already have a paper National Rail ticket, since my assumption (maybe wrong) is that Oyster would deduct the full Zone-6-1-without-having-touched-in fare since it would assume I got on the train somewhere previously without touching in.
There are no barriers between platforms 13/14 and the H&C platforms, but there are barriers between the footbridge and the rest of the station. There are TfL signs at the top of the stairs down to the H&C platforms saying that this is a penalty zone, and warning of a fine (£80?) for not having a ticket or validated Oyster. But (unless I've missed something*) the first standalone Oyster validators you reach are on the H&C platforms. So if you've arrived at Platform 13 with a London Terminals ticket, and intend to use an Oyster card to travel on the H&C line, you have to walk into the penalty zone to get to the validator.
It seems like a minor thing, but whenever I see TfL staff there at the top of the stairs, I can't help being worried that I'm doing something wrong.
Have I missed something, or is this just what you have to do?
*There may be Oyster validators on platforms 13/14 - I can't remember. But I wouldn't want to use them if I already have a paper National Rail ticket, since my assumption (maybe wrong) is that Oyster would deduct the full Zone-6-1-without-having-touched-in fare since it would assume I got on the train somewhere previously without touching in.
