Does anyone have a real problem with Stratford station?

I’m not a fan of any National Rail non-terminus which shares the same set of platforms with trains I use for travelling just within London (be it Thameslink, Elizabeth line, District line) as it is really easy to forget to touch out or in when changing to or from the train going outside London or it can be hard to find the Underground platform (eg Barking, where westbound District line trains are caught from the platform just adjacent to the c2c one the same direction, but they don’t make it clear). As far as I can see, East Croydon involves going up to the ticket barriers to touch out and then using your rail ticket to get back in. But Stratford has to be the most confusing and passenger-unfriendly of the lot, or am I missing something?

Twice it has taken me 5-10 minutes to get from the alighting platform to the boarding one when first changing from the Jubilee line and second from the Elizabeth line, on both occasions due to struggling to find somewhere to touch out and actually find the platform (on the first occasion, I forgot to touch out and having gone back up to the Elizabeth line platform, this made me a bit disoriented). The Oyster card readers seem few and far between and inconspicuous, and after changing from the Jubilee line I didn’t see a single one until going up to an Elizabeth line platform. But the one I found was out of order and I had to search for another among a crowd who’d just got off the train. During earlier days of using this station, I actually used the ticket barrier near the exit to touch out and go back in to change - I wonder where people touched out/in in a similar situation before the Elizabeth line was opened?

That’s another thing - the NR platforms are not easy to find because I so often don’t immediately see the signposting for the required one, and I’ve been using Stratford for mainline trains in both directions on numerous occasions. On this one following the Jubilee line journey, there was a sign for platforms 9 and 10 (I needed to go to the latter as usual for a Southend Victoria train) but it involved a really roundabout route requiring going up and down two flights of steps when I expected the entrance to share the same passage. And it doesn’t help that Stratford is quite a popular station with limited space and you have to watch out for loads of people sailing past in both directions as you look for the sign. Any tips for finding your way quicker at this station?

Welcome to the Forums.

In line with my signature about ‘the best way to go fast is not to go slow’ my advice is to invest some time the first time that you visit a novel large station. Examples including Glasgow Central, Edinburgh Waverley, Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street, Reading, St Pancras International and Stratford.

Make a point of appreciating where there are multiple entry/exit points, barrier lines, summary indicators, plans, groups of bay platforms, choices of subways and bridges that don’t all necessarily access all areas, toilets, lifts, refreshment facilities and so on.

Hopefully you will then develop a ‘mental map’ that will greatly assist when you are next there; perhaps even just on your return journey.

Best wishes for your travels.

Southend Victoria is now on the contactless network if that helps.

Probably the simplest thing, if you want to change from a conventional paper or electronic ticket to contact less or oyster and vice versa is to follow the signs for an exit, go through a barrier to finish using one kind of "ticket", then go back through a barrier using the other kind of "ticket" and go find the next train. Statford is big and rambling so this may take a while but will avoid forgetting to touch in or out.

StephenHunter said:

Southend Victoria is now on the contactless network if that helps.

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I’ve seen a number of those contactless readers, including one at the tiny one-platform Battlesbridge where I got off this morning, and I still don’t understand how they work. Is the idea that you can use a contactless card to travel seamlessly from a place in London to one outside it, whatever network you use?

Alfonso said:

Probably the simplest thing, if you want to change from a conventional paper or electronic ticket to contact less or oyster and vice versa is to follow the signs for an exit, go through a barrier to finish using one kind of "ticket", then go back through a barrier using the other kind of "ticket" and go find the next train. Statford is big and rambling so this may take a while but will avoid forgetting to touch in or out.

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I did that at Stratford during my earlier days of using it as an interchange (and West Ham for a shorter while I think) but that was when I thought that was the only way to validate my outward and return journeys with my Oyster card without getting an unknown journey fine - then I realized there were actually Oyster card readers at those stations! (More obvious at West Ham than at Stratford) Up until then, I hadn’t travelled much in London beyond Underground trains (where there are always ticket barriers) and hadn’t got used to the fact that some of the readers are in the middle of stations on platforms or at the bottom of steps and not just near entrances/exits.

SimonR2 said:

I’ve seen a number of those contactless readers, including one at the tiny one-platform Battlesbridge where I got off this morning, and I still don’t understand how they work. Is the idea that you can use a contactless card to travel seamlessly from a place in London to one outside it, whatever network you use?

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Yes, that's correct. Tap in when you board, tap out when you leave.