National Rail + Oyster

[fh9977]

Hi all,
I am trying to figure out what season ticket to buy for next year.
I travel peak times between Hatfield (Herts) and Piccadilly Circus.
Trains calls at New Barnet, but not at Hadley Wood.

It seems I have a few options to buy an annual Rail+Oyster season tickets:

Oyster Zones 1-2 £1,032.00
Hatfield London Terminals £2080.00
Hatfield Finsbury Park £2080.00

Oyster Zones 1-5 £1,760.00
Hatfield New Barnet £1060.00

Oyster Zones 1-6 £1,904.00
Hatfield Hadley Wood £1020.00

Train always stops at New Barnet peak times. But what if I would like to travel off-peak or weekends and train does not stop in new Barnet, can I get a single ticket or something just for that travel?

Train never stops at Hadley Wood, so it seems 3rd option is not really valid.

What baffles me is that rail fares have nothing to do with the distance you travel (Hatfield to Kings Cross or to Finsbury Park cost the same, difference between Hatfield - New Barnet and Hatfield - Hadley Wood is £40, but annual ticket beween Hadley Wood and New Barnet costs £528).

What am I paying for when I buy a rail ticket? Oyster fares are quite consistent with distance travelled, so it is clear that I am paying to travel from A to B, not the case with rail tickets.

Could someone shed some light?


Thank you.

FH

 

[yorkie]

FCC have said they will accept a travelcard + season combination non-stop through Hadley Wood, jonmorris0844 has a letter from them I believe. Hopefully he will reply to this topic soon to confirm

The situation is not clear-cut, because of the special status of Travelcards.

In general, you cannot use 2 seasons for non-stop trains, but in the case of PTE tickets you can use one PTE ticket (this does not count as a season) + 1 season.

For Travelcards the situation is less clear but FCC are happy with it.

 

[Helvellyn]

I take it a Hatfield to All Zones Travelcard Annual Season is not available?

 

[fh9977]

Hi Helvellyn,

Is this the season ticket you mentioned?
STANDARD ANNUAL Hatfield (Herts)- Zone R1256 Zones: £3144.00
I assume this is valid for the National Rail, but not the London Underground. (and it costs about £1000 more than Hatfield to London terminals)

Are there any other news on this?
As I have asked both ticket offices at Hatfield and Kings Cross and it is still unclear how rail + oyster combination could be used after the oyster extention up to Hadley Wood.


Thanks,
FH

 

[bnsf734]

Hi Helvellyn,

Is this the season ticket you mentioned?
STANDARD ANNUAL Hatfield (Herts)- Zone R1256 Zones: £3144.00
I assume this is valid for the National Rail, but not the London Underground. (and it costs about £1000 more than Hatfield to London terminals)

Are there any other news on this?
As I have asked both ticket offices at Hatfield and Kings Cross and it is still unclear how rail + oyster combination could be used after the oyster extention up to Hadley Wood.


Thanks,
FH

I believe this season would be valid on the Underground & buses within Zones 1-6

Calv

 

[barrykas]

In general, you cannot use 2 seasons for non-stop trains, but in the case of PTE tickets you can use one PTE ticket (this does not count as a season) + 1 season.

All well and good, apart from the fact that TfL isn't a PTE. The six PTEs in England are Greater Manchester (GMPTE), Merseyside (Merseytravel), South Yorkshire (SYPTE), Tyne and Wear (Nexus), West Midlands (Centro) and West Yorkshire (Metro).

For Travelcards the situation is less clear but FCC are happy with it.

OFFICIALLY if you want to combine a point to point season with a Travelcard, you have to buy a season to an appropriate Zone, and a Travelcard to cover the remaining zones, thus complying with Condition 19(a), whereas combining a point to point Season with a Travelcard falls under Condition 19(b), and the train needs to stop where you change from one to the other.

As has been noted, FCC (at least on the GN side) are quite happy to waive the requirement for the train to stop where you change from one ticket to the other in such cases.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[yorkie]

Yes, I know TfL does not count as a PTE (although it is unclear how a customer is supposed to determine that), I was just stating that in general you cannot combine seasons without the train calling but you can if one is a PTE season, but with Travelcards the situation is not so clear, and FCC allow the combination on non-stop trains, that's all.

 

[barbarak]

Hi All,

I am in a similar situation where I want to combine a season ticket with an Oyster travelcard. I am going to start commuting between Peterborough and Central London. My alternatives are to buy a season ticket between Peterborough and King's Cross, or to get a ticket between Peterborough and Finsbury Park, combined with an Oyster travelcard zones 1-2. From Finsbury Park I can then take the tube. A lot of trains stop in Finsbury Park, but there are quite a few ones that don't, especially at peak times. I don't mind going through to King's Cross, but I would really like the zones 1-2 travelcard as I move about quite a lot in London.

I understand that officially, I am not supposed to travel on a train that does not stop in Finsbury Park, but do people think FCC is happy to waive this requirement? Do I need to talk to them/get a letter from them, or is it ok to just explain at a ticket control?

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[yorkie]

I understand that officially, I am not supposed to travel on a train that does not stop in Finsbury Park, but do people think FCC is happy to waive this requirement?

Yes, I have seen evidence that they are happy to waive the requirement. Other TOCs have also waived the requirement on occasions that I have witnessed.

Do I need to talk to them/get a letter from them, or is it ok to just explain at a ticket control?

Thanks a lot for your help!

I recommend writing to them. A member of this forum did that (but a long time ago I recall) and they wrote back confirming it would be accepted. Given that a strict interpretation of the rules would suggest that they could refuse acceptance, I'd recommend getting a letter to be safe.

 

[barbarak]

Thanks Yorkie, that was very useful - I will write to them and hope to get something in writing.

 

[yorkie]

You're welcome! Let us know how you get on.