Didcot Parkway to London Waterloo

[iainbhx]

A friend is having to visit St Thomas's Hospital frequently and has asked me advice about monthly seasons as a way of doing it. Is the Didcot Parkway to London Terminals ticket viable for this and if so is the route via Paddington and then the Tube?

 

[cactustwirly]

A London Terminals ticket isn't valid on the tube.
However the Oyster/Contactless fare is only £2.40.
I believe you could change at Reading, and take the Waterloo from there, but it is painfully slow!

 

[MarlowDonkey]

A London Terminals ticket isn't valid on the tube.
However the Oyster/Contactless fare is only £2.40.

As with all London area commuting, the choice is between a season valid only on the National Rail part of the journey or a season ticket with a Zone 1-6 Travelcard at a higher price.

 

[robbeech]

You mention frequently, I suppose if you meant most days you would have likely stated that. For that reason I’d stick with a London Terminals season (if seasons are the way they want to go) and use Oyster or Contactless for the underground journey as others have pointed out.
OT, it’s an excellent hospital and they’ll be looked after well, though you probably know that already.

 

[iainbhx]

You mention frequently, I suppose if you meant most days you would have likely stated that. For that reason I’d stick with a London Terminals season (if seasons are the way they want to go) and use Oyster or Contactless for the underground journey as others have pointed out.
OT, it’s an excellent hospital and they’ll be looked after well, though you probably know that already.

From what I understand, we are probably talking 4-5 times a week.

 

[jimm]

What times of the day is your friend travelling into London?

If it's after 09.30 Mon-Fri, then another option would be to buy a Thames Valley 7-Day Rover ticket - which is £89 per week but that can be reduced to £58.75 using a Network Railcard or any of the National Railcards - and then use an Oyster card on the Underground.

The Rover is barred from peak long-distance fast services out of Paddington between 16.00 and 19.00 - full list on the page linked to below - but not the limited-stop Class 387s to Didcot.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/pr974ce40a04000201573f9c65800c99.aspx

 

[Bookd]

While Reading to Waterloo is slow, the hospital is 10 minutes walk from Waterloo and by the time you have gone to Paddington and then the tube it would only be about 20 minutes longer and might be easier as it avoids the Paddington change and the tube journey.

 

[bnm]

And the other bonus of changing to SWR at Reading for Waterloo is you limit the amount of time travelling with GWR.

GWR's inability to run anything approaching a decent train service is reason enough to take the slower route to Waterloo.

 

[telstarbox]

Has he priced up renting a room in SE1, SE5, SE17 as an alternative?

 

[nickswift99]

Didcot seasons are priced the same as Oxford ones. I'd suggest buying one from Chiltern as that will also give free weekend travel on their network and provide an alternative route to get home when GWR aren't working (Marylebone to Oxford and the bus).

The Bakerloo line from Paddington/Marylebone to Waterloo is quick, reasonably reliable and unlike other lines it's often possible to get a seat, even in the peak. There's no lift access at Paddington so the traveller will need to be able to use escalators.

Parking at Didcot is a little tricky at the moment as the main railway car park is being rebuilt and with the Newbury blockades some passengers are travelling from Didcot. This means that no parking season tickets are available. Parking is £6 a day at the car parks opposite the station entrance. I wouldn't recommend parking in the railway car park if walking long distances or up and down steep steps could be an issue.

The key question for ticketing is working out the time of day that travel is needed. A one month season to London Terminals from Didcot is £489. An Off-Peak Day Travelcard (using a Network Railcard) is £20.55 but subject to time restrictions. So 20 days a month would be £174 cheaper including the cost of a return on contactless in Zone 1.

 

[cactustwirly]

Has he priced up renting a room in SE1, SE5, SE17 as an alternative?

I doubt that would be any cheaper tbh