Change of plans in London - ticket to Zone 1, now needing Zone 2. Route and fare options

[Lockwood]

I was meant to be doing some work in London for two days, needing travel to Russell Square. This is a journey I have done many times, and got work to book me a ticket from my home station to Zone 1. I have accommodation arranged near King's Cross.

There has been a change of plan and I have been asked to go to Whitechapel for one of the shifts instead.

I had a look on the booking portal for a Zone 1 to Zone 2 ticket - I wasn't expecting to find anything, but it was worth a try.

I was expecting NRE to give me a route of Liphook - Waterloo, Waterloo - Tottenham Court Road, TCR - Whitechapel. Instead it was suggesting Liphook - Clapham Junction - Victoria - Whitechapel. Cool, I always forget about the option of changing at Clapham, and pretty much anywhere in London I want to go to, NRE suggests changing there. That might also get me in sooner, if it is being generous in how long it will take to change at Clapham, and the District Line I think has a higher frequency than the Elizabeth Line. Is this the best route?

I'm going to assume my cheapest option here is to use the Zone 1 ticket to get me to Victoria, then use my own Oyster/contactless to go from Victoria to Whitechapel, and from Whitechapel to Kings Cross?

 

[Haywain]

Or just use the underground to Aldgate East and have a slightly longer walk.

 

[miklcct]

Use your ticket to Clapham Junction and Oyster for the Overground (to avoid Zone 1) to Whitechapel, then your Oyster again back to King's Cross.

 

[Lockwood]

I'm already pushing it timewise - I've already had an agreement I'll be starting later (the new shift is starting half an hour before the old one, and further away, and they've given me less than 24 hours notice, so that's Their Problem)

Having said that, it looks like a 13 minute walk on Google and a 6 minute walk from Whitechapel - while I thought I was needing to go immediately opposite the station, I need an entrance round the other side, which adds time. So if that adds less than 10 minutes, it's worth considering (hoping it's cooler than last time I did a shift in London - else I'll melt before I get half way!)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Aug 2024 ==

Use your ticket to Clapham Junction and Oyster for the Overground (to avoid Zone 1) to Whitechapel, then your Oyster again back to King's Cross.

Just checked that - total non-starter. 20 minute wait at Clapham for a bus, over an hour on a rail replacement bus, then 10 minutes more on a train at the other end.

Certainly a useful option to keep in mind for the future, but not one I can use this time. Thanks though

 

[redreni]

For next time I'd suggest getting work to book you a ticket to zones 1-2. For this time, assuming you don't have the option to have your existing ticket refunded and get a new one to zones 1-2, I would just get out at the nearest zone 1 station (Aldgate East) and walk.

I wish I could say it's a nice walk, but it isn't! It's not a long walk, though, mercifully.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Its only a five minute walk from Aldgate East to Whitechapel, depending upon whereabouts exactly in Whitechapel you need to go

 

[Lockwood]

I wish I could say it's a nice walk, but it isn't! It's not a long walk, though, mercifully.

Yeah, that definitely counts as "a walk", but not an overly pleasant one.

Looking forward to not doing it again!