Cross-London ticket validity to Elephant and Castle

[magd1272]

A couple of weeks ago I travelled SOT - EUS on a 1st Advance, walked to St Pancras and asked the gate attendant if a Stoke - London Terminals ticket was valid for onward travel to Elephant & Castle. Without a second thought he said yes, and opened the gate for me.

Subsequent research suggests Elephant isn't officially a London terminal station, though other Thameslink through stations appear to be. I repeated exactly the same journey today and asked the man at the gate, and he said I needed to use Oyster for onward travel - which I did without question.

Obviously I'm not going to travel illegally, but nor do I want to pay unnecessarily. Please could someone advise what's correct? Many thanks.

 

[bb21]

From Stoke, Elephant & Castle is not an appropriate terminal.

On Thameslink core, you cannot use a London Terminals ticket to travel through Farringdon.

Your question is not actually about a cross-London transfer as your ticket does not include one.

 

[yorkie]

Lucky you didn't encounter an RPI as a Stoke - London Terminals ticket has no further validity from Euston.

Next time consider booking to somewhere the other side of London; the fare might not be much more.

 

[magd1272]

Thanks both, that's very clear and helpful. I just found/find it confusing that it says London Terminals when actually the validity is to Euston only. Out of interest, does an off peak Euston - Stoke return via any permitted route offer greater flexibility on route or terminating station?

Given that I'd asked gate staff and specifically been told my ticket was valid, I'd have felt rather aggrieved to be handed a penalty fare, but I can imagine it would have been hellishly difficult to prove my case.

 

[tractakid]

I would expect Stoke-Birmingham-Marylebone is a permitted route.

 

[Urban Gateline]

I would expect Stoke-Birmingham-Marylebone is a permitted route.

Not on an Advance ticket which is on the booked train only!!

 

[magd1272]

Fair point, advance ticket is clearly booked train only, but I was wondering about flexibility with an off peak "any permitted route" ticket. Come to think of it, I might actually have been on an off peak return a few weeks ago, which is maybe why (correctly or not) I was allowed to travel across London on it.

 

[PermitToTravel]

You'd be allowed on any permitted route to a London Terminal. These are quite complicated to work out. For Stoke the choices are Euston, St Pancras via Derby, Marylebone via Birmingham, Paddington via Reading, or anywhere a direct train arrives in the case of diversions.

 

[Tetchytyke]

If you have a flexible ticket you can use any appropriate London Terminal. If you're travelling from Stoke these are likely to be Euston (direct), Marylebone (via Banbury), Paddington (via Banbury and Reading) and possibly St Pancras (via Derby).

Tickets to London Terminals are not valid to or via Farringdon, unless they are marked as valid on High Speed 1.

 

[yorkie]

Thanks both, that's very clear and helpful. I just found/find it confusing that it says London Terminals when actually the validity is to Euston only.

The only reason this particular ticket is only valid to Euston is because it's only valid by the booked train(s) and appropriate connecting trains (where applicable).

Out of interest, does an off peak Euston - Stoke return via any permitted route offer greater flexibility on route or terminating station?

Yes.

Given that I'd asked gate staff and specifically been told my ticket was valid, I'd have felt rather aggrieved to be handed a penalty fare, but I can imagine it would have been hellishly difficult to prove my case.

Agreed.

 

[magd1272]

Thanks all for your comprehensive and helpful replies, most appreciated.