Recent content by eAi

Thanks for everyone’s answers. I agree it must be related to Windmill Bridge Junction. I don’t think it can be related to other trains on the slow line - as these are the same in the peak and off peak. The off-peak trains terminate at Coulsdon Town. Out of interest, is there any process by...

I understand about Windmill Bridge junction, at least to some extent, but I guess I’m not talking about any extra trains being run - just some using the slow lines from Norwood Junction north. Surely there’s a way for them to cross over from fast to slow lines somewhere between Windmill Bridge...

This may be the wrong place to ask, but it seems odd that there are no stopping trains between East Croydon and London Bridge in the evening rush hour. This means you have to go to Norwood Junction and change, which means if you’re going you Anerley you spend 7 minutes on trains and 15 minutes...

I'm bemused by it too. I emailed Southern after being told by a guard that we shouldn't be there. I told him that we could because it was a Metro train and he thanked me for letting him know (he said it was the first time he'd been a guard on a metro train - they don't usually have them)...

This is a bit of a bump, but perhaps better than starting a new thread. I emailed Southern to ask them about First Class on Metro services and got this answer: No you are incorrect in thinking any customer can use First Class on Metro train services. You must have purchased a First...

I finally got a reply back from SWT customer service and they say that only their smartcard is valid on their trains, and that that isn't valid on Cross Country trains. How a normal user is expected to understand that I'm not sure - when ticket machines will sell you a ticket and the gate card...

I thought that was the point to. I'd much rather these cards were National Rail branded and run by ATOC. That would be much clearer than this random mess of tickets. I've honestly no idea if they actually expect you to have one card per operator you travel with? Does every guard/inspector...

I just bought a single ticket on my Southern Vectis The Key and tried to use it on South West Trains. The ticket was purchased from a SWT machine and the journey involved a SWT and a CrossCountry train - between Swathling and Winchester. Is this a valid thing to do? I spoke to a SWT employee...

You certainly do need to touch out with Oyster - there are obviously cases where the shortest route between two stations that are both covered by your travelcard goes outside your travelcard's allowed zones. But, that's not really relevant here, where you're not taking the shortest route.

So are you saying that on National Rail with an Oyster card you must take the shortest route (or any other route allowed by the routeing guide) between your start and destination, just like you would with a normal ticket? This certainly isn't the case with an oyster card on the tube, and it...

That seems contrary to what other people say. The general consensus seems to be that you're allowed to travel freely with an Oyster card, within the Oyster area and only pay for the shortest route between the start and finish of your journey (as long as you either keep your journey under the...

Exactly. It's pretty obscure, and I expect people with travelcards are at the more trustworthy end of the spectrum so they wouldn't consider doing this.

Yep! This truly is hypothetical - just interested how these things work. If you had a travelcard and started and ended your journey within its zones, I would guess the time limit doesn't apply. I also guess you could buy a ticket from somewhere on national rail (say Feltham) that's outside...

Hey, With oyster, are you allowed to travel anywhere on the rail network without going through a barrier for the cost of the fare between your start and finish points - as you are on the tube? For example, if I went from Victoria to Feltham to Waterloo, without touching out at Feltham, would...

Hi, I've often been somewhat confused by advanced fares that use more than one train. An example I saw last week was Victoria to Hove, via Brighton. Only the Brighton to Hove part was covered by a reservation, so can you take any train to get to Brighton? Also, I only wanted to go...