Sittingbourne to Gunnersbury

[youngpete]

My Grand-daughter needs to travel from Sittingbourne (SIT) to Gunnersbury (GUN) via London Victoria (VIC), Clapham Junction (CLJ) and Richmond (RMD) on a three day a week basis. She holds a 16 - 25 Railcard. Flexibility in train time is regarded as necessary but needs to travel out between 6:30 and 7:30 am, returning after 17:00

A Flexi Season works out at £52.93 per day.

SE Trains comes up with an anytime Day Return for £40.35 as does both the Trainsplit sites

The Trainline App comes up with a fare of £27.00, splitting at Gillingham (Kent) (GLM)but shows a SIT - GLM fare of £7.50, less that the required £12 minimium on 16-25 railcards so I am ignoring this fare as I dont think it reflects the railcard Ts and Cs

All these are paper tickets and E-tickets are preffered.

The best option for this seems to be SIT - Bromley South Anytime Day return and Bromley South to RMD Anytime Day Return at £38.30 from Trainsplit plus a return RMD - GUN on contactless at £4.60 return. Bit more expensive but more convienent.

Can the Forum expert members come up with any other options please.

Thanks.

 

[transportphoto]

The Trainline App comes up with a fare of £27.00, splitting at Gillingham (Kent) (GLM)but shows a SIT - GLM fare of £7.50, less that the required £12 minimium on 16-25 railcards so I am ignoring this fare as I dont think it reflects the railcard Ts and Cs

£7.50 is the full fare without applying the railcard discount. It is perfectly valid at anytime of day.

 

[zero]

Is there a reason she needs to travel via CLJ and RMD? There is a direct tube line from Victoria to Gunnersbury which would be preferable to making two extra changes, although I'm not sure how it affects the total fare.

 

[Watershed]

The suggested Trainline split would be entirely valid on the suggested itinerary; as @transportphoto says it's based on using an undiscounted ticket as far as GLM. I'm surprised TrainSplit isn't coming up with it, so perhaps there is something we are missing here?

For future reference, any tickets you buy are contractually valid in accordance with the itinerary you choose. So even in the event a retailer made a mistake (which doesn't appear to be the case here), you would still be allowed to travel on that itinerary.

 

[Haywain]

All these are paper tickets and E-tickets are preffered.

I don't think you'll find eTickets for this as Gunnersbury is a TfL operated station.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Is there a reason she needs to travel via CLJ and RMD? There is a direct tube line from Victoria to Gunnersbury which would be preferable to making two extra changes, although I'm not sure how it affects the total fare.

The trainsplit site doesn't seem to find this route. It also suggests going via Stratford International and Stratford. That would use what I think of as the North London line. Presumably if using HS1, you could also go through to St Pancras, then the Picadilly to Hammersmith which is cross platform to the District for the train to Gunnersbury. Without checking I would think that would be competitve time wise.

Sittingbourne to London Victoria takes around one hour 10 minutes. Victoria to Gunnersbury on the District Line would be about 30 minutes. So look at costs to Victoria and then contactless or Oyster, or a ticket to U whatever.

I think the journey planners have a habit of finding bizarre routes round London when a station, like Gunnersbury, has both Underground and National Rail services. The bizarre routes take longer that the obvious direct one.

Therefore split the journey planners/ticket sites so as to use one to a London Terminal and the TFL planner beyond.

 

[youngpete]

With all respect to Watershed and his comments about a valid itinery, I fail to see how a Anytime Day Return from Gillingham (Kent) to Gunnersbury ( the ticket quoted by Trainline) which according to BT Fares costs £51.80 how that discounts to £19:50. the only fare on BR fares that could possibley discount to £19.50 looks like an off peak Day return at £28.90 undiscounted.

I need to look at marlowDonkeys suggestion as well.

 

[transportphoto]

With all respect to Watershed and his comments about a valid itinery, I fail to see how a Anytime Day Return from Gillingham (Kent) to Gunnersbury ( the ticket quoted by Trainline) which according to BT Fares costs £51.80 how that discounts to £19:50. the only fare on BR fares that could possibley discount to £19.50 looks like an off peak Day return at £28.90 undiscounted.

I need to look at marlowDonkeys suggestion as well.

You’re the only person to have mentioned £19.50 so far? Please could you expand on which elements of @Watershed’s comments need clarification?

 

[zero]

If the objective is to reduce costs that rules out using HS1, and the Piccadilly line to/from St Pancras during rush hour will not be pleasant - the District line will also be crowded but a nicer experience.

I can't be bothered to check splits but one option is to exit the station and go back in at BMS - the oyster/contactless "return" fare from BMS to GUN will be the Z1-5 daily cap £15.30 plus SIT-BMS SDR £26.30 (16-25). I don't think there is a reader on the platform at BMS

 

[Hophead]

Is there a reason she needs to travel via CLJ and RMD? There is a direct tube line from Victoria to Gunnersbury which would be preferable to making two extra changes, although I'm not sure how it affects the total fare.

And this will be particularly critical on the journey home where she will be reliant on punctual trains at both Gunnersbury & Richmond. Things may well have changed since I was doing a similar daily journey, but the SWR trains were mostly crush-loaded between Richmond & Clapham Junction, with occasional dashes up the platform to find a doorway with space for one more commuter.

And as someone who did formerly commute to Gunnersbury, I would advise the grand-daughter to familiarise herself with the route to Kew Bridge for those occasions when there are no trains at Gunnersbury (this will happen). It's about a 15-minute walk from Chiswick Park - the business campus which I am guessing is the workplace.

And a quick additional thought - there are peak-hour trains between Sittingbourne & Cannon Street, which would allow for interchange at either London Bridge / Waterloo / Richmond (rail) or London Bridge / Westminster (Jubilee / District). I haven't timed or costed this alternative.

 

[youngpete]

My apologies to transportphoto. Trainline show a complete ticket as £27.00 including a £7.50 Sittingbourne to Gillingham undiscounted ticket which makes the Anytime Day Return quoted by Traunline at £19.50, which is what I am querying. I dont really want to get my Grandaughter into a discussion/arguement with RPIs, even with an itinery.

You’re the only person to have mentioned £19.50 so far? Please could you expand on which elements of @Watershed’s comments need clarification?

 

[zero]

And as someone who did formerly commute to Gunnersbury, I would advise the grand-daughter to familiarise herself with the route to Kew Bridge for those occasions when there are no trains at Gunnersbury (this will happen). It's about a 15-minute walk from Chiswick Park - the business campus which I am guessing is the workplace.

She may as well just walk to Chiswick Park tube or take a bus to Hammersmith in that case. Unless the entire tube is down.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

She may as well just walk to Chiswick Park tube or take a bus to Hammersmith in that case. Unless the entire tube is down.

A couple of thoughts.

If the workplace is almost as near to Chiswick Park as Gunnersbury, then both Ealing and Richmond District Line trains can be taken from Victoria or Hammersmith.

If electronic tickets are desirable, then splitting at a London Terminal and then Oyster or contactless for the TfL part of journey would achieve this, or avoid paper at least.

 

[kieron]

The best option for this seems to be SIT - Bromley South Anytime Day return and Bromley South to RMD Anytime Day Return at £38.30 from Trainsplit plus a return RMD - GUN on contactless at £4.60 return. Bit more expensive but more convienent.

If I was averse to buying paper tickets, I'd look at buying a travelcard each day on a Key smartcard. It costs 5p more per day (until July), but is valid via the District Line or Gravesend, something which could be useful if the preferred route was disrupted.

There are some other options which don't need paper tickets, but there is generally a cost to making cross-London journeys without a cross-London ticket.

My apologies to transportphoto. Trainline show a complete ticket as £27.00 including a £7.50 Sittingbourne to Gillingham undiscounted ticket which makes the Anytime Day Return quoted by Traunline at £19.50, which is what I am querying. I dont really want to get my Grandaughter into a discussion/arguement with RPIs, even with an itinery.

I don't know about the app, but Trainline's web site tells you exactly which tickets they are offering you before you pay anything. You could look at the tickets and then decide whether or not they are ones you would suggest to your granddaughter, rather than decide anything based on the price alone.

 

[greatkingrat]

Trainline appears to be offering various splits involving tickets to Zones 3-6, even though the suggested itinerary goes via Victoria.