Questions on getting a travelcard with a train ticket

[euanovsky]

I need to go to St Albans City from London next week. I am wondering if I could get a St Albans City to London zones 1 – 6 day travelcard with my first journey starting from London?

I plan to go from Canning Town to West Hampstead Thameslink

Then train from West Hamsptead Thameslink to St Albans City

Reverse journey in the evening.

Will the ticket machine eat my ticet at St Albans City in the morning (as it’ll be counting as “return”) – I’ll need to keep the ticket as receipt to claim expenses.

Are there any restrictions which route I can travel, e.g. do I need to go via St Pancras International say?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Bletchleyite]

No, you can't do that. What you can do though is buy a paper Travelcard and a return from BZ6 (boundary zone 6) to wherever you're going, which is roughly equivalent if potentially slightly differently priced. Buy the latter from a staffed station ticket office.

 

[euanovsky]

No, you can't do that. What you can do though is buy a paper Travelcard and a return from BZ6 (boundary zone 6) to wherever you're going, which is roughly equivalent if potentially slightly differently priced. Buy the latter from a staffed station ticket office.

Thanks - do you mean I can't do it because the route is invalid or I can't do it (use a travelcard that way)?

Will I be able to use London terminals ticket at West hampstead thameslink Station?

Thanks.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There is no Travelcard which will allow you to do London - St Albans - London. You can only buy one in the other direction. You could buy one online and use it for the Travelcard area plus London - St Albans, but you'd need a single back, as the outward portion of any ticket cannot be used after the return has been used (this is a blanket rule applied to all ticket types).

A 1-6 Travelcard and a BZ6-St Albans return is functionally identical, however.

You do not want a London Terminals ticket, you want a Boundary Zone 6 one. Though you could use a London Terminals ticket from West Hampstead station to start short provided break of journey is not disallowed, which it appears not to be.

You could as an alternative use contactless as far as West Hampstead and buy a West Hampstead-St Albans return provided you will be leaving the train at West Hampstead (to touch in/out) in both directions.

 

[Olympian]

The OP appears to just be making a day return journey from Canning Town to St Albans City so won't a ZONE U12* LONDN to ST ALBANS CITY Anytime or Off-Peak Day Return ticket at £19.50 or £17.10 respectively suffice depending on what time they're travelling?

http://www.brfares.com/#expert?orig=0790&dest=SAC

 

[island]

Depending on travel time, Oyster plus a return from W Hampstead Stns to St Albans City may be cheaper.

 

[A Challenge]

Oyster (two singles) Canning Town to West Hampstead Jubilee £5.80/(£5.30)/£4.80 and then as its counter-peak £11.10 (CDR) West Hampstead Stations to St Albans (City) (SAC), totalling £16.90/(£16.40)/£15.90 in the form of:

Peak times both ways/Peak times one way/Off peak both ways for the oyster section, with peak as starting journey 06:30 to 09:30 at Canning Town in the morning and starting journey 16:00 to 19:00 at West Hampstead (not SAC) on the way back in the evening.