Sheffield to London

[fixsheff]

Could anyone help? Want to go to London for the day (3 adults), probably on a Saturday, and wondered about the best way to do it. I understand that you can buy passes which cover the journey into London and act as a travelcard to all zones within but don't know how far north they are available. Our plan would be to drive part way and stop at the first station these tickets were available. I've heard Rugby station do them? Alternatively, where would be the furthest north station to Sheffield that offers the cheap day return ticket to London? Any help appreciated.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Grantham do them

 

[Max]

You can also buy a cheap day return from Newark, which isn't too far from Sheffield. Trains take about 1 hour 15 minutes from there to London.

 

[yorkie]

Newark, Grantham or Peterborough are best.

Depending on the timetable, and football fixtures and other events on London, there's often no chance of get a seat though if joining at those stations.

The Midland Mainline route is slow and ridiculously expensive, but more chance of getting a seat generally. But there is a risk of getting a rattling DMU only 5 cars long and packed.

The West Coast trains are fairly empty on weekends so Rugby may be worth considering - in the unlikely event that the line is actually open! Although the fare is only a few quid less than the Grantham fare so it's not so good value per mile.

 

[Ben]

You can also buy a cheap day return from Newark, which isn't too far from Sheffield. Trains take about 1 hour 15 minutes from there to London.

CDR? Where have you been recently Max?

 

[OwlMan]

If I was driving down the M1 from Sheffield to Rugby I wouls travel on to London.
Find a tube station near the M1 (e.g. Stanmore) and park at the tube station.


Peter

 

[mjon3105]

Could anyone help? Want to go to London for the day (3 adults), probably on a Saturday, and wondered about the best way to do it. I understand that you can buy passes which cover the journey into London and act as a travelcard to all zones within but don't know how far north they are available. Our plan would be to drive part way and stop at the first station these tickets were available. I've heard Rugby station do them? Alternatively, where would be the furthest north station to Sheffield that offers the cheap day return ticket to London? Any help appreciated.

Are these tickets not available in Sheffield then. This is what the East Midlands Trains website says:-
"if you are travelling into and around London, then a Travelcard extension can save you money.

A Travelcard allows unlimited travel on almost all public transport within London's "zones" – including rail, tube, DLR, tram and bus services. See Transport for London's zone map (link opens a new browser window) in PDF for information on zones. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (link opens a new browser window) to view the PDF.

You can buy a Travelcard from any rail or tube station in London – or, if you're travelling into the city with East Midlands Trains, it's simpler to buy a Travelcard extension for your ticket into London.

 

[thefab444]

A zones travelcard is available from all stations isn't it?

 

[dan_atki]

Whilst a standard 1-6 travelcard can be purchased from anywhere, in this case we're talking about a station out of the zones to R1256 - e.g. Woking to R1256. Such tickets include one return journey from the station out of the zones to the zones themselves.

I'm not sure what exactly governs which stations these are available from (I thought it was only those with a SDR and CDR to London Terminals, though at a few checks I've found this is wrong).

Last station on EMT out of St Pancras that you can purchase such a travelcard is Market Harborough.

 

[yorkie]

In general it's the former "Network area" with a few extentions. GNER actually introduced quite a few, and go the furthest out.

 

[dan_atki]

I thought they were also only in NSE area but they also extend out to South Wales too (upto Carmarthen IIRC).

 

[fixsheff]

Thanks for your help everyone, much appreciated.

 

[yorkie]

I thought they were also only in NSE area but they also extend out to South Wales too (upto Carmarthen IIRC).

Yes, FGW are another company who introduced quite a few. It really is appauling that MML/EMT do not do this, and charge ludicrous prices for what is now a glorified outer-suburban style DMU operation!

 

[Max]

CDR? Where have you been recently Max?

Bah, I don't like these new-fangled names. Simplified? As if!

 

[Techniquest]

Good man, stick to your guns (or, in this case, your ticket names)!

 

[Ben]

Bah, I don't like these new-fangled names. Simplified? As if!

Simplified profit boosting.

They never said it was making it simple for us.

 

[paul1609]

Yes, FGW are another company who introduced quite a few. It really is appauling that MML/EMT do not do this, and charge ludicrous prices for what is now a glorified outer-suburban style DMU operation!

and i thought the class 253 DEMUs were introduced on the line some years ago!