Southern-buy on board

[GW43125]

Evening all,

Is it permissible to buy tickets on board on southern?

I may be doing the coastways soon, however I won't be sure what we want to do until I get there. Can I buy my ticket off the guard (yes, there'll be one, 313s need them) or do I need to try to track them down before we leave or fight with TVMs?

Thanks.

 

[Hadders]

Where facilities exist (ticket office or TVM that sells the ticket you need and accepts your chosen method payment) then you must buy your ticket before you board.

 

[LowLevel]

The only 'Southern' trains where you can completely legally buy on board are Gatwick Express trains (as they have an official published policy of permitting buy on board here, given the tourists etc. who use it).

For all other trains, you must take advantage of any available and suitable ticket purchase opportunities - be that a ticket vending machine, a ticket office or a Permit to Travel machine. However, as they are obliged to accept Cash, Card and Rail Travel Voucher (among other methods of payment) you could decide that you wanted to pay by one of these methods if it just so happened that the available facilities did not support this (e.g. card-only TVMs at an unstaffed station). In that case, you can buy on board without paying anything extra (though you can't get Advances, not that they're much use on that line anyway).

Reference Gatwick Express - that's completely duff information and hasn't been the case since the on board hosts (former senior conductors) were removed and replaced with gatelines a number of years ago. A number of on board supervisors have now been reintroduced but Gatwick Express trains are penalty fare services.

https://www.gatwickexpress.com/travel-information/on-board/penalty-fares/revenue-protection-policy

Please avoid posting information that is totally incorrect and very easily checkable by a 30 second Google. At best you'll spread confusion and at worst you'll get someone into trouble. Thank you.