Tickets to London Zones 1-3, valid on HS1?

[DeeGee]

I have a question about HS1 validity.

Planning a journey in a fortnight, Grimsby town to Excel London, using DLR for the final leg.

The Forum's ticketing site has offered me, as part of a split, a Hull Trains only Advance from Grantham to Zones 1-3.

I only get an itinerary as far as Kings Cross.

I believe the quickest route involves HS1 to Stratford, and then onward from Stratford via either DLR or Jubilee Line.

Will my ticket be valid this way, or do I need to find another route?

 

[Taunton]

Quickest route Kings Cross to Excel is Thameslink to Farringdon, then Elizabeth Line. The Jubilee does not go to Custom House, the station at Excel (in Zone 3).

 

[DeeGee]

Oh, that's perfect. Google has misled me, but that sounds ideal.

(Or maybe not misled me, I think I originally asked for a route to Beckton)

 

[Haywain]

Will my ticket be valid this way, or do I need to find another route?

I'm pretty sure that your ticket would not be accepted on HS1.

 

[Watershed]

Tickets issued to numbered Underground Zones are, in principle, only valid on the Underground and DLR. The exception to this is National Rail services that run on interavailable routes, such as Thameslink between West Hampstead/Finsbury Park and London Bridge/Elephant & Castle.

Similarly, Elizabeth line services accept Underground zonal tickets between Paddington and Abbey Wood/Stratford. TfL would like you to believe you must have a ticket valid on the Underground to use the PAD-ABW section, but that is not reflective of the legal position.

 

[Hadders]

To answer the substantive question, HS1 is not in any of the zones and so the ticket is not valid between St Pancras and Stratford International via HS1.

 

[talldave]

If the OP specifically wants to ride on HS1, they could use contactless from St Pancras International to Stratford International and then complete the journey on DLR. However, don't attempt this at a weekend as DLR is engineering works central right now.

Taking the Elizabeth Line will be a far superior experience. DLR will be worth a ride once the new trains are running at some unspecified random time in the future!

 

[saismee]

A slight correction: HS1 runs to Stratford International, a separate (but very close) station to Stratford. Although the walk is relatively short between them, they aren't considered to be connected, and I wouldn't suggest the walk if you aren't an avid walker.

If you want the quickest journey, I would suggest what Taunton said above. If you really wanted to try the DLR, you could take the Elizabeth Line to Stratford and change there, but it would be a longer journey. Also consider what talldave said, as the DLR has a lot of maintenance works going on. It seems to be okay between Stratford and Custom House at the moment, but I'd suggest checking the TfL Go app when you travel, just to be safe.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Select Stratford International as the destination and you'll be given an appropriate ticket for HS1. I don't know off hand what the booking engine will suggest.

 

[Joe Paxton]

A slight correction: HS1 runs to Stratford International, a separate (but very close) station to Stratford. Although the walk is relatively short between them, they aren't considered to be connected, and I wouldn't suggest the walk if you aren't an avid walker.

It's really not very far - the issue is the straightforward routes are all via the Westfield centre so shoppers can get in the way! The easiest way is via the uncovered route along what is called The Street, rather than heading inside via the (almost) semi-circle.

(The shortest way is I think via said semi-circle and then the exit onto Hitchcock Lane and the lesser-used eastern entrance to the HS1 station.)

 

[saismee]

It's really not very far - the issue is the straightforward routes are all via the Westfield centre so shoppers can get in the way! The easiest way is via the uncovered route along what is called The Street, rather than heading inside via the (almost) semi-circle.

(The shortest way is I think via said semi-circle and then the exit onto Hitchcock Lane and the lesser-used eastern entrance to the HS1 station.)

It's not that far but you have to either go through a shopping centre or over a bus stop/station. I suppose it was a bit more of a walk for me as I needed to visit the ticket office for a platform ticket to see a friend. In any case, OP would've taken the DLR between them, but it's still important to differentiate the two stations as it could lead to confusion later.

 

[DeeGee]

Thanks for this.

I'm not particularly keen on riding HS1, I grew up in Kent and have been riding it since it opened, but was just looking for the fastest route that my ticket would allow.

Originally I was looking to get to Beckton, which is what I plugged in to Google to get an itinerary (I couldn't get it to give me anything beyond Kings Cross on a ticketing site) but now I've been reminded that Custom House is Excel and I've changed hotel accordingly, I can get a full itinerary all the way now.

Thanks for your help though.

Looks like the tickets I need are the traditional combination of a pair of Advances between Grimsby and Doncaster, and a pair of advances from Doncaster to Custom House (Hull Trains o/w and Grand Central back). Won't be back until gone 9 on the Sunday, but I'll just have to fill the day somehow.

 

[alistairlees]

A one way ticket from Doncaster to London Zones 1-3 is valid:
- on the train from Doncaster to London Kings Cross / Terminals (depending on the ticket type); and then to continue
- on London Underground from Kings Cross (or other appropriate Terminal) to Zone 3, passing through Zones 1 and 2.

The question is, what is London Underground? Basically it is:
- the tube / Underground as everyone would recognise it
- DLR
- Elizabeth line between Paddington and Stratford / Abbey Wood
- National Rail services where there is "interavailability" with the tube / Underground

 

[yorkie]

....Looks like the tickets I need are the traditional combination of a pair of Advances between Grimsby and Doncaster, and a pair of advances from Doncaster to Custom House (Hull Trains o/w and Grand Central back)..

The forum's site should find and offer this automatically, without any need to do any research yourself. If it isn't, please let us know!

 

[drueberflug]

I believe the quickest route involves HS1 to Stratford, and then onward from Stratford via either DLR or Jubilee Line.

Will my ticket be valid this way, or do I need to find another route?

Your ticket will not be valid on HS1 services.
Instead of changing at Stratford in any way, you may want to make use of a cross-London transfer to London Liverpool Street or Farringdon, where you can change for the Elizabeth line.

Advance tickets to "London Underground and DLR Zones 1-3" that can be cheaper than splitting are available, so you may want to look out for those to save some money.
Trainsplit seems to not show these when looking up a journey straight to Customs House on the Elizabeth line.

At Custom House, you could change for a DLR service to take you to the right entrance at Excel London, if needed.

Bear in mind: there are only two events at Excel London on the 21st, one of which starts at 8 in the morning.
If you attend that one, there is no feasible way for you to get there on time without travelling overnight, and especially not without a nightly multi-hour wait in Newark-on-Trent, where you'd even need to change stations.