Season ticket - Marden (Kent) - London terminals (+zones 1-6 perhaps)

[garnon]

Firstly an apology. I have spent some time trying to understand the fares advice but fall at the first hurdle as i do not understand the routing identifiers. (ie the two letter codes - how do these get deciphered?)

I'm moving to Marden in Kent. I will need an annual season ticket but having commuted from Sevenoaks for many years i'm keen to vary my route.

I'm also keen to identify any splits that make financial sense, but checking the NRE website all the pricing seems quite sequential (there is a cheaper via Redhill only option but that is too restrictive for my needs.)

So my questions are :-

1. I'm assuming a Marden - London Z1-6 will be valid via Redhill based on the shortest route (to say Purley). Is a Marden - London Terminals ticket valid on the same route?

2. Are there any season tickets splits I should consider that improves pricing or route availability? As I say, I have looked but found no obvious advantage.

3. I might consider an origin from further afield to improve route availability. (eg HS1 via Ashford). I'm not sure i've missed anything on this point but I mention it in case anything comes to mind.

Thank you in anticipation

 

[kieron]

Firstly an apology. I have spent some time trying to understand the fares advice but fall at the first hurdle as i do not understand the routing identifiers. (ie the two letter codes - how do these get deciphered?)

Do you mean the codes in the Permitted routes list? They're references to maps in the Routeing Guide. For instance, Tonbridge-London is valid on FO+FV, so a Marden-London ticket (for which Tonbridge and London are valid routeing points has valid routes such as Tonbridge-Sevenoaks-Otford (on FO) -Swanley-Grove Park-Hither Green-New Cross-London (on FV).

I'm moving to Marden in Kent. I will need an annual season ticket but having commuted from Sevenoaks for many years i'm keen to vary my route.

I'm also keen to identify any splits that make financial sense, but checking the NRE website all the pricing seems quite sequential (there is a cheaper via Redhill only option but that is too restrictive for my needs.)

So my questions are :-

1. I'm assuming a Marden - London Z1-6 will be valid via Redhill based on the shortest route (to say Purley). Is a Marden - London Terminals ticket valid on the same route?

Yes. That's shown on map TN. You would have a few choices of route north of Croydon.

2. Are there any season tickets splits I should consider that improves pricing or route availability? As I say, I have looked but found no obvious advantage.

I don't know about any cheaper options, but buying Marden-Paddock Wood and Paddock Wood-London tickets would let you go via Chatham or Dartford, and a Marden-London St. Pancras season ticket would let you go a bit further through central London.

For HS1, you're looking at a "Plus High Speed" season, which is dearer again. A Paddock Wood-London "Plus High Speed" season ticket would be valid via Marden by itself, though.