Where to buy tickets to or from "ZONE U1234"?

[redreni]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered before. I did a search and could only find some rather old threads recommending LU ticket offices as the best or only place to buy Zone U* LONDON tickets, but of course other than a few travel centres for tourists (which have very limited opening hours), those don't exist any more.

I'm also conscious that the recent offer given to the RMT by the RDG reportedly included plans to close all ticket offices on the NR network as well (presumably including the Elizabeth Line ticket offices at places like Abbey Wood which TfL has only just opened).

I have a Network Railcard and I often want to start my journey at Abbey Wood. Because Network Railcards can't be associated with Oyster or contactless payment cards, it is often cheaper to buy a paper ticket than to use oyster or contactless for some or all of the journey I'm making.

I keep seeing fares on brfares.com to or from "ZONE U1234* LONDON" or "London Underground Zones 1-4" which are cheaper than a similar ticket going from or to Abbey Wood, but then I can't buy them online because the online retailer won't show them if I specify Abbey Wood as my point of origin, nor will it let me specify a London Underground zone or station as my point of origin. For instance, a cheap day return from ZONE U1234* LONDON to Stevenage should be £16.80 according to brfares.com but the cheapest I can find from an online retailer travelling from Abbey Wood is £17.25 (which is the same as what brfares.com shows if you select Abbey Wood as the point of origin).

Sometimes I can buy these cheaper fares from the ticket machines or ticket office at Abbey Wood, but not always. Yesterday, for example, I was trying to get an LNER only advance single from ZONE U1234* LONDON to Stevenage which was showing as available on a split ticketing website but wouldn't show up for the ticket office clerk at Abbey Wood.

Does anyone know of any way of buying these tickets at face value other than from a ticket office? Or any tips as to what the ticket office clerk should be searching for if they're not finding these fares?

 

[Starmill]

This page: https://nationalrail.co.uk/pj/stations/ABW suggests that Abbey Wood offers what is known as 'Ticket on Departure' or ToDi.e. you can buy the tickets online and collect them from the ticket machines there. If the machines which have the ToD option aren't working the station staff should advise you on how to collect.

Does that assist? I know you suggested you'd prefer to be able to buy the ticket directly at the station.

 

[Adam Williams]

I think the customer's point is that they can't buy the tickets they want online for ToD fulfilment (or indeed, any fulfilment?)?

 

[redreni]

This page: https://nationalrail.co.uk/pj/stations/ABW suggests that Abbey Wood offers what is known as 'Ticket on Departure' or ToDi.e. you can buy the tickets online and collect them from the ticket machines there. If the machines which have the ToD option aren't working the station staff should advise you on how to collect.

Does that assist? I know you suggested you'd prefer to be able to buy the ticket directly at the station.

Thanks for replying.

I'd be happy to buy online and collect before departure but I am yet to find an online retailer that will sell me a ticket to or from ZONE 1234* LONDON. So if I did that I would have to buy a more expensive ticket from Abbey Wood.

If I don't order in advance I can sometimes buy the ticket I want from the ticket machines at Abbey Wood because they have ZONE 1234* LONDON set as the point of origin for any destination that they consider requires use of the Elizabeth Line (Abbey Wood for any journey that they consider uses the North Kent line). You can't choose. I don't know which it would be for a return to Stevenage.

What I'm looking for is an online retailer that will let me specify I want to start or end my journey at ZONE 1234* LONDON? (Or one that will offer me that fare if I select a zone 4 underground station as my origin or destination).

 

[yorkie]

Am I missing something?

Trainsplit sells a ticket to this destination when I search for York to Abbey Wood:

​ Journey 1​

​ 1 Adult.​

	Journey	Date	Time
Outward Journey	York to Abbey Wood	14/12/2022	14:32 - 17:47	​

Seat Reservations:	York to London Kings Cross, seat A35 Choose My Seat	​

​ Fare: £35.50​

You have chosen a fixed-time (advance) journey for £35.50

York to London Undergrnd Zones 1-4 Advance Single (BSS)	£35.50	Only valid on booked London North Eastern Railway services and required connecting services. Restriction GC applies - click for details
​ Fare: £35.50

 

[Adam Williams]

Presumably the search is something like https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/re...2022&InboundTime=17:00&Railcard=NEW&Adults=1#

and the question then is why is this fare not surfaced with the Network Railcard discount (it's there, but only at the public price)?

 

[Haywain]

Am I missing something?

Trainsplit sells a ticket to this destination when I search for York to Abbey Wood:

Trainsplit will sell the ticket from an origin of London Underground/DLR zones 1-4, but not with a Network Railcard discount. Not sure why that is.

Presumably the search is something like https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/re...2022&InboundTime=17:00&Railcard=NEW&Adults=1#

and the question then is why is this fare not surfaced with the Network Railcard discount (it's there, but only at the public price)?

There’s an afternoon restriction FROM Stevenage.

 

[Adam Williams]

There’s an afternoon restriction FROM Stevenage.

On Saturdays?

 

[jon81uk]

It looks like Greater Anglia will sell an Underground zone 4-6 t Stevenage day return with network railcard discount for £16.75 Or zone 1-4 to Stevenage for £16.80 as OP got.

 

[Haywain]

On Saturdays?

No! I just looked at the time.

 

[Adam Williams]

Trainsplit will sell the ticket from an origin of London Underground/DLR zones 1-4, but not with a Network Railcard discount. Not sure why that is.

I have no idea either, I think the journey planner folks will need to look at it. The origin and dest are in the NSE area according to the railcard geography records in the fares data. I can't see any relevant railcard restrictions either.

 

[redreni]

Problem solved

Am I missing something?

Trainsplit sells a ticket to this destination when I search for York to Abbey Wood:

Problem solved, thanks!

 

[pelli]

GWR MixingDeck offers, for a Saturday search from Abbey Wood to Stevenage (and "open return", meaning you don't select a return itinerary and get offered both day and period returns) the following Day Returns (see attached screenshot):
£26.20 Off-Peak from Abbey Wood
£29.00 Anytime from Abbey Wood
£31.20 Anytime from London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4
So for some reason they are missing the £25.50 Off-Peak Day Return from London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 (route LNER Only), unrelated to the railcard. (With a Network Railcard, you also get the three options discounted.)

(I couldn't get new.trainsplit.com or trainscanbecheaper.info to offer the Off-Peak Day Return from London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 to Stevenage either.)

 

[Adam Williams]

(I couldn't get new.trainsplit.com or trainscanbecheaper.info to offer the Off-Peak Day Return from London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 to Stevenage either.)

Click the link I posted, turn splits off and click "Flexible".

 

[pelli]

Click the link I posted, turn splits off and click "Flexible".

Ah, sorry I didn't think of searching using London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 explicitly, so was just looking at Abbey Wood to Stevenage.

Searching London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 to Stevenage in GWR MixingDeck yields the £25.50 Off-Peak Day Return (Route LNER Only) that was not offered for the Abbey Wood search, discounted to £16.80 with a Network Railcard. That points to it being the combination Elizabeth Line and Route LNER Only that prevents it from being offered for the itineraries Abbey Wood - Farringdon - St Pancras / King's Cross - Stevenage, as the Anytime Day Return (no route restriction) is offered.

Anyway, this then looks to be a different issue from trainsplit etc only offering the £25.50 Z1-4 to Stevenage ticket undiscounted, not applying the Network Railcard discount (but it does seem to accept other railcards like 16-25).

 

[yorkie]

Presumably the search is something like https://tickets.railforums.co.uk/re...2022&InboundTime=17:00&Railcard=NEW&Adults=1#

and the question then is why is this fare not surfaced with the Network Railcard discount (it's there, but only at the public price)?

I 'm not sure, but it does come up when searching for Abbey Wood to Stevenage.

Ah, sorry I didn't think of searching using London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 explicitly, so was just looking at Abbey Wood to Stevenage.

Searching London Underground and DLR Zones 1-4 to Stevenage in GWR MixingDeck yields the £25.50 Off-Peak Day Return (Route LNER Only) that was not offered for the Abbey Wood search, discounted to £16.80 with a Network Railcard. That points to it being the combination Elizabeth Line and Route LNER Only that prevents it from being offered for the itineraries Abbey Wood - Farringdon - St Pancras / King's Cross - Stevenage, as the Anytime Day Return (no route restriction) is offered.

Anyway, this then looks to be a different issue from trainsplit etc only offering the £25.50 Z1-4 to Stevenage ticket undiscounted, not applying the Network Railcard discount (but it does seem to accept other railcards like 16-25).

Yes that's a completely different issue; when searching for the actual journey on Trainsplit, the fare is found.

 

[hkstudent]

I 'm not sure, but it does come up when searching for Abbey Wood to Stevenage.

Yes that's a completely different issue; when searching for the actual journey on Trainsplit, the fare is found.

Though need to clarity: does Elizabeth Line stations out of zone 1 counted as London Underground for fare purposes?

 

[yorkie]

Though need to clarity: does Elizabeth Line stations out of zone 1 counted as London Underground for fare purposes?

TfL have stipulated the Crossrail "core" (Paddington to Abbey Wood/Liverpool Street) is to be treated as "Tube"; there have been previous threads on the subject.