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'Correct' procedure with tickets / Oyster going from NR to H&C line at Paddington?

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Dan_Lockton

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26 Nov 2011
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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.
 
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NSE

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No that should be fine, that's exactly what I'd do in that situation. All you'd have to do is show them a valid paper ticket should they question you, indicate your intended use of the platforms validator, should be fine.
 

Dan_Lockton

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Thanks! That's good to know.

I know it's only a small detail but it particularly worried someone I was travelling with the other day who was wary of Oyster in general.
 

benk1342

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*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.

I am pretty sure that stand-alone validators are smarter than that---if you're "out" and you touch the platford 13 validator then you are touching in.
 

swt_passenger

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7 Apr 2010
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31,274
Just for interest, this issue will go away when the new H&C station layout is completed, because to make this interchange you'll have to pass through two barrier lines, which will therefore have to be set up as an OSI (out of station interchange).
 
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