Cross-london transfer advice

[amberstarfy]

I am going to Amsterdam in October, and to get to St. Pancras we need to use the tube.
If I book an Anytime Day Single from BSK -> STP via Any Permitted Route, will I get the cross-London transfer?
All of the National Rail guidlines have been useless at telling me whether the † symbol will be there, so I'm asking here.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If I book an Anytime Day Single from BSK -> STP via Any Permitted Route, will I get the cross-London transfer?

Welcome to the forum. If that's the £34.50 Anytime Day Single fare, route "Any Permitted", it'll probably be issued, instead, from Basingstoke (BSK) to London Terminals, rather than to London St Pancras, and no, I don't think you then get the cross London transfer included. You can, however, get an Anytime Day Single fare, route "Any Permitted" from Basingstoke to Zone U1* London, but that's £37.50. Others on here might be able to offer alternative cheaper, but equally flexible options. Presume you have to be at St Pancras for a certain time?

 

[Crithylum]

You could try looking for somewhere slightly north or east of central London, eg Finsbury Park.
It may be cheaper than a ticket to U1.

 

[tumbledown]

E.g Kentish Town

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

 

[Mcr Warrior]

You could try looking for somewhere slightly north or east of central London, eg Finsbury Park.
It may be cheaper than a ticket to U1.

Yes. That looks to be £35.10 for an Anytime Day Single from Basingstoke to Finsbury Park, route "✠Any Permitted".

E.g Kentish Town

Purchase flexible walk-up fares for any British train journey

Purchase flexible single/return tickets & Travelcards – in 3 clicks, at face value with no fees. Every British rail fare shown, railcard discounts included.

www.brfares.com

Even cheaper at £33.30. Also routed "✠Any Permitted". Good find!

 

[Gaelan]

If I book an Anytime Day Single from BSK -> STP via Any Permitted Route, will I get the cross-London transfer?

I believe there is no such thing as a ticket from Basingstoke to St Pancras. Your ticket will either be issued to "London Terminals", with no †, or to zone 1 (for an extra charge) in which case it would be valid to any underground station in zone 1. (This won't have a † either, because it's for travel to London, not crossing London. But it'll work the tube barriers.)

That being said, assuming you're connecting onto a Eurostar, there's a special destination available for this purpose called "London International (CIV)" (some systems have slightly different names). The station code is LNE. These fares are often have less onerous peak restrictions than normal tickets, and include the tube transfer to St Pancras. (They may also offer additional passenger rights, but this isn't particularly clear. In practice, in most cases connections are honored even on normal tickets.) From Basingstoke, the anytime single fares to LNE are £32.40 via Woking, or £37.50 via any permitted route, less with a railcard. If you're traveling back via the same route, returns are available and offer better value.

You can buy these fares from brfares, Trainsplit, or an especially competent ticket office. They are valid only in combination with a Eurostar ticket.

 

[amberstarfy]

Thanks everyone for the advice - I've settled the question now through the London International CIV option.
Thanks Gaelan for the tip - that is valid on BR Fares and I will be booking that for our trip!