Brighton to Heathrow - and return

[Mrdini]

Hi,

So - when I go from Preston Park (Brighton) to Heathrow, I tend to buy a Thameslink single to Farrington plus a One Day Travelcard for the Elizabeth, which comes out to £18.85 (disabled railcard).

However, I cannot for my life work out how to buy a return ticket that includes a 2nd one day travelcard for the return journey (Heathrow to Brighton) on a later date. Is such a combination possible at all?

Thanks!

 

[JonathanH]

Hi,

So - when I go to Heathrow from Brighton (well, actually PRP), I tend to buy a single Thameslink to Farrington plus an One Day Travelcard for the Elizabeth which comes out to £18.85 (disabled railcard).

However, I cannot for my life work out how to buy a return ticket that includes a 2nd one day travelcard for the return journey on a later date. Is such a combination possible at all?

Thanks!

You just need to book another one-day travelcard from Brighton, and only use the return journey. Again £18.85.

 

[Mrdini]

£15.55 on a Sunday but got you now. So illogical but that'd work. Thanks!

 

[Wolfie]

You just need to book another one-day travelcard from Brighton, and only use the return journey. Again £18.85.

Perhaps l am being stupid (that wouldn't be a first, lol) but would a single to East Croydon and then a Travelcard not be valid for the stated journey and possibly cheaper too? Or is this an artefact of certain Thameslink fares?

 

[JonathanH]

Perhaps l am being stupid (that wouldn't be a first, lol) but would a single to East Croydon and then a Travelcard not be valid for the stated journey and cheaper too?

Not cheaper, well not at the moment anyway, given how cheap the "Thameslink only" travelcards from Brighton are.

 

[Wolfie]

No, well not at the moment anyway, given how cheap the "Thameslink only" travelcards from Brighton are.

Ok, TY.

 

[JonathanH]

£15.55 on a Sunday but got you now. So illogical but that'd work. Thanks!

£12.85 for a "Thameslink only" super-off-peak day travelcard from Brighton on a Sunday. The operator restriction only applies south of London. £15.55 is the all operator ticket at the weekend.

Ok, TY.

Obviously it would be valid, but, with the disabled railcard

Super Off-Peak Day Travelcard Thameslink Only from Brighton = £12.85 (weekends only)
Off-Peak Day Travelcard Thameslink Only from Brighton = £18.85

Off-Peak Day Travelcard for Zones 1-6 = £10.00

Thameslink only fares
Off-peak day single from Brighton to East Croydon = £12.45
Super-off-peak day single from Brighton to East Croydon = £9.50 (weekends only)

 

[yorkie]

£12.85 for a "Thameslink only" super-off-peak day travelcard from Brighton on a Sunday. The operator restriction only applies south of London. £15.55 is the all operator ticket at the weekend.

Note, the only operator between Brighton/Preston Park and the boundary of Zone 6 is Govia Thameslink Railway.

However, some staff at the company would take the view that a Thameslink Only fare is a brand-specific product, rather than operator specific (for which there is no provision in the regulatory regime) while others take the erroneous view that each brand is a separate company; the matter is due to go to court later this year:

Collective competition claim against Govia Thameslink Railway

I work as a contract manager and am always mindful that if a dispute were to arise, it is the written agreement that will tend to prevail, and any "evolution" would need to be proven - usually quite onerous, and liable to bring out quite a lot on the way. I'd also observe that the case is based...

www.railforums.co.uk

Anyone who needlessly pays more for an "any operator" ticket should keep the ticket and/or receipt (or other evidence such as a bank/card statement should suffice) to claim the difference if/when the claim succeeds.