North east London railbash

[adrock1976]

I am intending to bash the north-east area of London on Friday 11 July. I will also do a few other areas that I have previously missed south of the Thames.

My intended itinerary is posted below.

Liverpool Street 745 Enfield Town 816
Enfield Town 823 Edmonton Green 829
Edmonton Green 844 Cheshunt 858
Cheshunt 909 Hertford East 932 Hertford East - Zone 6 rtn
Hertford East 939 Broxbourne 955
Broxbourne 1012 Stratford 1040 Plat 11

Stratford 1045 Shenfield 1102 Plat 10. Also 1055 arr 1111
Shenfield 1114 Romford 1128 All stations. Also 1124
Romford 1141 Upminster 1150
Upminster 1154 Romford 1203
Romford 1208 Liverpool Street 1237 All stations

King's Cross 1323 Stevenage via Great Northern Railway 1347 Stevenage - Zone 6 rtn
Stevenage 1400 Moorgate via Hertford Loop and Northern City line 1504

Victoria 1540 Beckenham Junction via Chatham Main Line 1600 Also LB dep 1525 via Tulse Hill
Beckenham Junction 1612 Waterloo East 1637 Via Mid Kent Line

Waterloo 1707 Twickenham via Hounslow 1756
Twickenham 1807 Shepperton via Strawberry Hill 1828 Hampton – Shepperton rtn
Shepperton 1836 Waterloo via Wimbledon 1934

Liverpool Street 2035 Barking via Stratford 2050
Barking 2106 Liverpool Street via Stratford 2126 Also 2051 if running late


A question I would like to ask is how feasible is it to get from platform 11 to platform 10 at Stratford, and are there any tips such as which part of the train aligns up with the steps on the platform?

Also, do I type in the "From" box Stevenage, and in the "To" box 0035 for the Zones 1-6 day travelcard on the EC website? I can get the Hertford East and Shepperton returns separately.

I would like to add that I have already done the Chingford branch on my previous visit, which explains why it is not in my intended itinerary.

In peace

Adam

 

[telstarbox]

Stratford station plan: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/sjp/SRA/stationOverview.xhtml

 

[30907]

If you are struggling to read the station plan (I can't get it to enlarge, but I think it shows two subways), Googlemaps shows a subway at the extreme London end of 11 which would give the minimum walking distance.

Even better, the map view shows the subways!

 

[306024]

There are 2 subways that link platform 11 to platform 10 at Stratford. Your train from Broxbourne will stop by the eastern subway so be in the front coach and take the first subway you come to, turn left and first right. That will bring you up onto platform 10 by the 4 car stop board so you will then be at the front of the Shenfield train. Takes about 2 minutes. The central subway is a longer walk, and the western subway doesn't serve platform 11 at all.

You need the front at Shenfield for the stairs from platform 3 to 5 anyway, unless you make the 11.04 to Romford, which is easy enough if you are on time as that is cross platform from 3 to 4. Beware it is a bit of a walk at Romford to platform 1 for the Upminster train, 3 minutes is a bit tight but just do-able.

 

[Kite159]

Remember that Shenfield is one of the stations included in Oyster but are not in Zones 1 to 9 so you will need an extra ticket for it

 

[Be3G]

Also, do I type in the "From" box Stevenage, and in the "To" box 0035 for the Zones 1-6 day travelcard on the EC website? I can get the Hertford East and Shepperton returns separately.

If you're asking about getting a Stevenage to Zones 1–6 travelcard, then that wouldn't be valid for you as such a ticket is designed for people travelling from Stevenage, to London, and back to Stevenage; the order of your travels would be the opposite.

To be clear, the tickets you need for your day are:

• Zone 1–6 anytime day travelcard
• Boundary zone 6 to Hertford Stations off-peak day return
• Boundary zone 6 to Shenfield off-peak day return
• Boundary zone 6 to Stevenage off-peak day return

In order to buy the travelcard online, you need to pick any station within the six main London zones as the origin (except for a London terminal as whilst technically allowable it'll confuse the website), then as you say, enter 0035 as the destination. The travelcard will be the £17 ticket option that should appear.

 

[adrock1976]

Many thanks for the kind help regarding navigating Stratford.

How are Boundary Zones to destination booked online? I have found an option that would allow me to use both routes is a return from Hadley Wood to Watton-at-Stone (Any permitted).

I have also forgot to copy and paste in my original post an alternative itinerary for the Stevenage leg. Details are below.

Alternative route to Stevenage

Moorgate 1248 Stevenage via Northern City line and Hertford Loop 1351
Stevenage 1410 Welwyn Garden City 1423
Welwyn Garden City 1425 Moorgate (or Highbury & Islington) via Great Northern Railway 1516

Obviously, I intend to be at the front of the train arriving Liverpool Street at 1237, and I know that the Met/H & C underground is directly across from the gateline. Would I have sufficient time to change at Moorgate for the 1248?

In peace

Adam

 

[Be3G]

How are Boundary Zones to destination booked online? I have found an option that would allow me to use both routes is a return from Hadley Wood to Watton-at-Stone (Any permitted).

Unfortunately, boundary zone tickets can't be purchased online. They can, however, be purchased from any National Rail station (not just those in/near London), some NR ticket machines in the London area, and some London Underground ticket offices.

A note of caution regarding your Hadley Wood to Watton-at-Stone ticket: to use it, your train would have to call at the station where you switch from your travelcard to the ticket – which means you can't catch a fast train from Kings Cross to Stevenage as per your original itinerary. A boundary zone ticket doesn't have such a restriction, however, as it effectively extends your travelcard rather than counting as a separate ticket per se.

 

[yorkie]

If you are struggling to read the station plan (I can't get it to enlarge, but I think it shows two subways), Googlemaps shows a subway at the extreme London end of 11 which would give the minimum walking distance.

Even better, the map view shows the subways!

NRE site is broken, see NRE Stations Made Easy map doesn't work!

A 'highly trained' team of outsourced individuals based far, far away will fix it in approximately 2 weeks time.:roll:

There are in fact 3 subways at SRA

Enlarged plan link: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/SME/html/NRE_SRA/plan.html

 

[Techniquest]

A Zones 1-9 Travelcard would cover to Cheshunt, and allegedly to Broxbourne (it doesn't show a zone number in that bit of the map so I wouldn't count that myself), and I am aware you can buy a Travelcard that includes travel to Shenfield. Quite, an Anytime Day Travelcard for Zones 1-9 including Shenfield will set you back £27.30. I know this as I looked at it and mentioned it in my trip report a couple of weeks back Only available from LU ticket machines I'm afraid, and don't bother trying to get anything more than Z1-6 from a NR ticket machine, you can't do it and have to use an LU ticket machine for that.

Whether I would advise the OP gets a Z1-6 Anytime Day Travelcard and separate tickets, or whether to get a Z1-9 inc. Shenfield, I'm not sure. The itinerary I looked at suggested pre-0930 travel beyond Edmonton Green, so it'll still be Anytime tickets. I haven't the patience to look at all the fares, but it may still be cheaper than getting a Z1-9 ADT and relevant extensions.

Why the travel to Stevenage via the ECML anyway? Surely that can be done so much more easily on a long-distance journey anyway, mind you I should imagine BZ6-Stevenage would cover you on both routes anyway.

 

[Searle]

Alternative route to Stevenage

Moorgate 1248 Stevenage via Northern City line and Hertford Loop 1351
Stevenage 1410 Welwyn Garden City 1423
Welwyn Garden City 1425 Moorgate (or Highbury & Islington) via Great Northern Railway 1516

Obviously, I intend to be at the front of the train arriving Liverpool Street at 1237, and I know that the Met/H & C underground is directly across from the gateline. Would I have sufficient time to change at Moorgate for the 1248?

In peace

Adam

A two minute connection at Welwyn can be pushing it a little, as you'll have to navigate over a tiny overbridge to get to the other side of the station. Unless you have a particular reason for the all stopper train (the flyover perhaps?), I'd stay on until potters bar and catch the stopper from there, or even stay on to finsbury park and a catch a Hertford train down to Moorgate.

Similarly, 11 minutes is extremely risky for Liverpool street to Moorgate, and I wouldn't recommend it, but props to you if you do manage to pull it off!

 

[A0]

A two minute connection at Welwyn can be pushing it a little, as you'll have to navigate over a tiny overbridge to get to the other side of the station. Unless you have a particular reason for the all stopper train (the flyover perhaps?), I'd stay on until potters bar and catch the stopper from there, or even stay on to finsbury park and a catch a Hertford train down to Moorgate.

Similarly, 11 minutes is extremely risky for Liverpool street to Moorgate, and I wouldn't recommend it, but props to you if you do manage to pull it off!

I agree on the WGC change - that's very tight particularly with the bridge and barriers. If you change at Hatfield or Potters Bar you shouldn't have a platform change.

 

[adrock1976]

Many thanks for the replies regarding the Stevenage section.

I will ask at the booking office at Glasgow Central/Queen Street if they can issue the boundary zone extension. Failing that, I could get it from either Euston or Liverpool Street tube stations on the Friday morning, or alternatively, a simple Finsbury Park - Stevenage return as I do not intend using the InterCity service that runs to Leeds.

The reason why I'm doing a circular route to Stevenage rather than combining it with a longer distance journey is because I am travelling down to London on the overnight train, and returning on the Sunday on the only direct Glasgow train from Kings Cross First class free of charge, as I have accumulated enough points to redeem for that journey.

I have revised the alternative option to Stevenage to change at Hitchin rather than Welwyn Garden City, as it is same platform as was mentioned. It was not until I saw Google Map of WGC that the footbridge is also a public right of way, with automatic barriers at the bottom of the stairs (is that not a fire safety hazard? - I do not want a lengthy discussion here: I may save it for a new thread in the future).

A final question regarding boundary zone extensions - do I need to purchase the travelcard first, or can it be purchased separately from the travelcard (I intend to purchase the normal Zones 1-6 on the EC website, so as to accumulate some more points)?

In peace

Adam

 

[hassaanhc]

I believe the "off" position is for the barriers to be open, therefore if power was lost then the barriers would automatically open. Plus I'm sure they wouldn't be there if they were deemed dangerous

Boundary Zone tickets are only valid with a travelcard, and the staff do sometimes check if you hold a valid Travelcard before issuing the ticket, but it depends on who you get really. Most of the time at London Waterloo just showing my Oyster (which had monthly on it) was enough to get it issued, however a few times the staff member did use the blue handheld reader to check.

 

[Be3G]

I've found it's only SWT's staff who do check for the travelcard before issuing a boundary zone ticket; any other TOC's staff in my experience don't ask any questions.

 

[adrock1976]

I am going to attempt to purchase the boundary zone extension tomorrow from the InterCity booking office at Glasgow Central.

Is there any specific code that has to be input by the clerk into the "From" field?

In peace

Adam

 

[Hadders]

0072 is the code in the ticketing systems for Boundary Zone 6. Glasgow Central should be able to issue it.

Alternatively a guard on your train to London should be able to do it.