East Coast: Ticket machine or post more reliable?

[coaster]

Hello,

I will shortly be doing Kings X to Newcastle off-peak return, similar to my last journey (no cards or discounts):

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=68640

I will be using East Coast again (probably separate tickets for outward and return, depending on cost), as advised to me last year. I won't know my journey dates until Monday or Tuesday (8th/9th April 2013).

If my outward journey date will be at least 3 days after I have booked it, I will have my tickets sent by post - if less, I will use my debit card to pick up the tickets from the Kings X ticket machine. I have never used the machine at Kings X before - does anybody know if the queues are long (10am to 3:30pm-ish)? In any case, I always turn up at least 40 minutes before my train is due to leave and have never missed one.

Actually, I had my tickets posted to me last year, and they arrived the very next day after booking, but generally I suspect it's unwise to depend on less than 3 days.

 

[calc7]

At those times of day I would be surprised if you have to queue more than a minute for any of the many ticket machines at London Kings Cross. (Most people are arriving in London at that point). I have never had a technical issue collecting tickets from its TVMs.

 

[coaster]

At those times of day I would be surprised if you have to queue more than a minute for any of the many ticket machines at London Kings Cross. (Most people are arriving in London at that point). I have never had a technical issue collecting tickets from its TVMs.

Great, thanks for the advice. So I will go for the ticket machine option without any worries if I'm travelling within 2 days of my booking.

 

[yorkie]

If you require a Super Off Peak Return (SSR) or Off Peak Return (SVR) from London Terminals, you may as well buy it at the station. I doubt there will be queues at those times, and also a Super Off Peak Return will suffice.

The only flexible ticket type that would be cheaper online is a Super Off Peak Single, prior to 2359 on the day before travel on the EC website.

I am guessing you are either arriving at Kings Cross by non-rail mode of transport, or you already have a ticket/pass to Kings Cross?

 

[coaster]

I am guessing you are either arriving at Kings Cross by non-rail mode of transport, or you already have a ticket/pass to Kings Cross?

Thanks for the info, yorkie. I will travel from South Croydon to St Pancras using my Oyster card. I will buy two separate singles for outward and return (Kings X-Newcastle) on the East Coast site. Having looked at the site, and given my time frames, I think I should be able to get a ticket for 49.50 max each way, so at 99 quid, plus my Oyster fares (don't know yet whether I'll be travelling off-peak from Croydon), it should come in at a little bit under the 122 quid all told on your link.

I like to get booked up online and with a seat reservation, to save standing in queues, so I'd never buy a ticket at Kings X - I'd only collect a pre-booked one from the machine there. My preference is to have my tickets posted to me, but if I'm travelling within 2 days of the booking, I'll opt to pick up the tickets from the machine at Kings X.

 

[yorkie]

Thanks for the info, yorkie. I will travel from South Croydon to St Pancras using my Oyster card. I will buy two separate singles for outward and return (Kings X-Newcastle) on the East Coast site. Having looked at the site, and given my time frames, I think I should be able to get a ticket for 49.50 max each way, so at 99 quid, plus my Oyster fares (don't know yet whether I'll be travelling off-peak from Croydon), it should come in at a little bit under the 122 quid all told on your link.

Ok, in that case you are purchasing Advance tickets, rather than Off Peak tickets. These are valid on the booked train only and non refundable (and, in the event of a 2+ hour delay, give you less compensation rights).

I would recommend purchasing a through ticket, if the price is similar (the price is £2 more from South Croydon instead of Kings Cross, which is less than the £2.90 off peak PAYG National Rail only fare), for various reasons.

One of the reasons I would buy a through ticket, is that if your FCC train is delayed, the through ticket would be automatically valid on the next available service, but the combination of smart card ticket and paper ticket, requires you to further delay your journey by obtaining "verification" at the booking office.

Furthermore, if there are delays on FCC, you could go via Victoria at no additional cost with the through ticket, but the PAYG fare would increase due to the Z1 mixed mode premium.

 

[ScottMathew]

I always buy tickets online and then collect them from the ticket machine, either before or on the day of departure. Never have had any problems (as of yet). Although I think getting them through the post would be more exciting, but there's always the risk they get lost, so I think I wouldn't go for this option. The absolute safest and more traditional way of course, is to just buy them from the station in person (prior to travel so as to avoid a long queue on the day of travel).

 

[ModernRailways]

I always go for collecting at the station.
Once there was an electrical fault which meant I couldn't collect them from the normal TVM, but a quick walk to the ticket office and I could collect them!
Much safer in my opinion than gettting them by post!

 

[coaster]

I would recommend purchasing a through ticket, if the price is similar (the price is £2 more from South Croydon instead of Kings Cross, which is less than the £2.90 off peak PAYG National Rail only fare), for various reasons.

One of the reasons I would buy a through ticket, is that if your FCC train is delayed, the through ticket would be automatically valid on the next available service, but the combination of smart card ticket and paper ticket, requires you to further delay your journey by obtaining "verification" at the booking office.

Furthermore, if there are delays on FCC, you could go via Victoria at no additional cost with the through ticket, but the PAYG fare would increase due to the Z1 mixed mode premium.

Using my Oystercard will allow me to decide how I get from East Croydon to Kings X. I always prefer the Thameslink to St Pancras but am not sure whether an East Coast ticket would allow me to take that route. Anyway, if the Thameslink is late in coming, with my Oyster card I can hop on a Victoria train and then get the Tube (though I'll avoid that hassle if possible).

I generally find advance tickets are cheaper than off-peak, and I have no trouble sticking to a schedule, always turning up well in advance. Looks like the event I'm aiming for will take place on 15th or 16th April. I need to turn up a day in advance (but could go earlier), but I will find out tonight and so should be able to buy a 99 quid (or less) Kings X-Newcastle return.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Deerfold]

Hello,

If my outward journey date will be at least 3 days after I have booked it, I will have my tickets sent by post - if less, I will use my debit card to pick up the tickets from the Kings X ticket machine.

East Coast won't post out tickets less than a week before travel unless you pay extra for next day delivery.

 

[coaster]

East Coast won't post out tickets less than a week before travel unless you pay extra for next day delivery.

Thanks, Deerfold. Just booked my tickets and saw the fee, so I opted to pick them up at Kings X instead:

London Kings Cross to Newcastle 12th April 2013, departs 10:30, arrives 13:42.

Return journey: 18 Apr 2013, departs Newcastle 11:59, arrives 14:51.

ADVANCE £59.30 (1 @ £59.30)
ADVANCE £37.25 (1 @ £37.25)

---

So I'm quite happy with the result, and will use my Oyster card between South Croydon and Kings X.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Another question: when I collect my tickets from the machine at Kings X on Friday 12th April, will my return ticket for Newcastle (18th April) also be printed out? Or will I need to collect that from Newcastle? They are two separate advance tickets.

Also, if I went to East Croydon tomorrow and entered my card the reference in the machine, would it print them out in advance for me, or is it only possible at your departure station?

 

[Deerfold]

Another question: when I collect my tickets from the machine at Kings X on Friday 12th April, will my return ticket for Newcastle (18th April) also be printed out? Or will I need to collect that from Newcastle? They are two separate advance tickets.

Also, if I went to East Croydon tomorrow and entered my card the reference in the machine, would it print them out in advance for me, or is it only possible at your departure station?

I'd expect both to come out - certainly if you've only been given one code. You can collect any tickets at any enabled and connected machine - the only reason the sites give you a list is to make sure you don't try and collect from one of the stations without the facility.

 

[coaster]

I'd expect both to come out - certainly if you've only been given one code. You can collect any tickets at any enabled and connected machine - the only reason the sites give you a list is to make sure you don't try and collect from one of the stations without the facility.

Great, thanks, Deerfold. I expect East Croydon will have one, so I'll nip in tomorrow.

 

[John @ home]

I expect East Croydon will have one

East Croydon has rather more than a dozen such machines, in addition to one of the very few (4?) remaining 24-hour booking offices to assist you in the unlikely event that you encounter machine failure.

 

[34D]

Using my Oystercard will allow me to decide how I get from East Croydon to Kings X. I always prefer the Thameslink to St Pancras but am not sure whether an East Coast ticket would allow me to take that route. Anyway, if the Thameslink is late in coming, with my Oyster card I can hop on a Victoria train and then get the Tube (though I'll avoid that hassle if possible).

Too late now, but for the avoidance of doubt, an East Croydon-Newcastle ticket would allow:

Travel from east croydon to st pancras on thameslink
Travel to Backfriars and then circle line
Travel to Victoria then victoria line

As others habve advised, you can collect your tickets from East Croydon, or any other TOD station.

 

[coaster]

East Croydon has rather more than a dozen such machines, in addition to one of the very few (4?) remaining 24-hour booking offices to assist you in the unlikely event that you encounter machine failure.

Excellent, I should have no problem tomorrow then.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Too late now, but for the avoidance of doubt, an East Croydon-Newcastle ticket would allow:

Travel from east croydon to st pancras on thameslink
Travel to Backfriars and then circle line
Travel to Victoria then victoria line

As others have advised, you can collect your tickets from East Croydon, or any other TOD station.

So I would have had all the options. Anyway, I see St Pancras is closed this Saturday 13th April, so I'm glad I'm travelling the day before.

 

[yorkie]

Excellent, I should have no problem tomorrow then..

For future reference, it would have cost £61.25 + £38.70 for the through tickets, totalling £99.95 for the journey from South Croydon to Newcastle, which gives you additional rights compared to the combination, aka "split" tickets, and also costs less overall, as so far you have spent around £3.40 less than this, but need to pay £4.70 or £6.20 to get to St Pancras, and £2.90 or £4.30 to get back*.

Anyway, you know for next time.

Be sure to check that you arrive at your origin station (whether that be South or East Croydon) in time to catch a train no later than the last valid connection, so that you are covered in the event of delays.

If delays occur, as you have a combination of smart card & paper ticket, you will need to queue at King's Cross to get your ticket endorsed for a later departure (there is no such requirement when using paper tickets).

(* Though I did manage to get from King's Cross to West Croydon for only £1.50 last week - by walking 20 mins to Caledonian Road & Barnsbury and changing at Stratford & Canada Water, but that's not a viable route for many people - I had time to spare!)

 

[coaster]

For future reference, it would have cost £61.25 + £38.70 for the through tickets, totalling £99.95 for the journey from South Croydon to Newcastle, which gives you additional rights compared to the combination, aka "split" tickets, and also costs less overall, as so far you have spent around £3.40 less than this, but need to pay £4.70 or £6.20 to get to St Pancras, and £2.90 or £4.30 to get back*.

Thanks, yorkie. So I'm about 5.70 down - it won't break the bank. I'm travelling on Friday 12th to stay with family, but my must-not-miss event is not till Monday 15th, so I'm in good time. If my 10:30am train to Newcastle is delayed, it'll still be the 10:30 train, just late, so I won't need any bureaucracy. I usually turn up at least 45 mins before departure, so barring hurricanes or off-target North Korean missiles, I'm not envisaging any problems.