Network Railcard - pre-10am journey

[MatthewC]

Looking to make a journey on Monday using my Railcard from Hampton Court to Brighton. Have struggled to find the answer to this online.

I need to change at Clapham Junction in order to catch the Ore service. Was thinking in order to get there early to buy a return, but do the first portion to Clapham on contactless and then get on the 10.01 from there, once the railcard fares are valid.

Will that be accepted if/when tickets are checked? Is there a chance the guard rejects it as my journey clearly started before 10?

 

[Surreytraveller]

That's fine. Don't forget you'll need to tap out. Might be worth having an online account so you can show your contactless taps in the event you have your ticket inspected by someone who both notices and cares

 

[tbwbear]

Do you mean you will buy a Hampton Court to Brighton return with Network Card Discount, and use contactless to pay the Hampton Court to Clapham Junction part ?

If so, isnt that effectively the same as trying to use a Hampton Court to Brighton return, starting at Clapham Junction, going to Brighton and then returning to Hampton Court ?
I am not sure if that is allowed, is it ?

I assuming there is a way of tapping out at Clapham without exiting. If you have to use the ticket from Hampton Court to enter at Clapham would the barrier accept that?


Nevertheless, I doubt it will be noticed / or be a problem. I would certainly give it a go. It is a reasonable enough approach.

 

[Belperpete]

Will that be accepted if/when tickets are checked? Is there a chance the guard rejects it as my journey clearly started before 10?

The guard on the Clapham Jcn to Ore train doesn't have to be told anything about your entirely separate contactless journey. In the unlikely event that you are challenged, all you need to tell him is that you started your current journey short at Clapham Jcn. after 10 am. However, you need to check that your ticket doesn't have a restriction code prohibiting break of journey or starting short.

However, if you need to tap out at Clapham Jcn in order to terminate your previous contactless journey, getting back through the barriers with a Hampton Court ticket could be interesting, particularly as you are going to need to get through the barriers well before 10am in order to catch a train at 10:01. Be prepared in case the barriers reject your ticket, and you have to negotiate with the gateline staff. I have had them refuse me re entry there after a valid break of journey, because they claimed my off peak ticket wasn't valid at that time

It might be worth considering making the journey to Clapham Jcn using an old fashioned card ticket, or an e-ticket, to avoid having to exit the barriers.

 

[Mike99]

If you travel on the 10:12 service from Clapham Junction to Portsmouth Harbour and Bognor Regis (rather than 10:01 Ore service) this arrives at East Croydon 10:22 connects into 10:29 Thameslink service to Brighton. arrives 11:18.

I'm presuming by catching the 10:01 Ore service and planning to change at either East Croydon (10:10), Gatwick Airport(10:25) or Haywards Heath (10:37) this would put you on to Thameslink Service departing from either East Croydon (10:19), Gatwick Airport(10:35) or Haywards Heath (10:52) arriving Brighton 11:13.

By leaving Clapham Junction later it will save any issues with the 10:00am restriction but arriving just 5 minutes later at Brighton.

 

[30907]

The offpeak contactless fare to East Croydon is the same as to CLJ, and rather cheaper than the paper single.
You could use contactless that far, exit and re-enter and catch the next train south.

OTOH, read the thread about platform changes at ECR

 

[Surreytraveller]

I assuming there is a way of tapping out at Clapham without exiting. If you have to use the ticket from Hampton Court to enter at Clapham would the barrier accept that?

You can tap out without waking through the barrier. There's no one to force you to walk through it

 

[dmncf]

Are there Oyster validators on the London Overground platform that the OP could use?

 

[Belperpete]

You can tap out without waking through the barrier. There's no one to force you to walk through it

Agreed, but it is going to look very suspicious, particularly if someone else promptly passes through, as is quite likely at that time of day, as it will look like you are letting someone else out. I wouldn't want to try it with an RPI anywhere near.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Jul 2024 ==

Are there Oyster validators on the London Overground platform that the OP could use?

There are pink readers on the overground platforms, but I don't believe that they can be used to tap out?

 

[otter11]

Agreed, but it is going to look very suspicious, particularly if someone else promptly passes through, as is quite likely at that time of day, as it will look like you are letting someone else out. I wouldn't want to try it with an RPI anywhere near.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Jul 2024 ==


There are pink readers on the overground platforms, but I don't believe that they can be used to tap out?

There is a yellow reader near the bottom of the steps to platform 17 in the subway - this can be used to start or end a journey on contactless.
This is used a lot at Clapham junction as many people switch between paper and oyster there. I've done it many times.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I sometimes use "cheap day return" tickets which get me to my final destination earlier than would be possible if I started my journey at the origin at a late enough time to be legitimate. But I start short at a point where that segment of the journey is starting late enough to be OK with that ticket restriction. I've never had any trouble either with barriers of staff checking tickets. I assume I have no problem because that's perfectly legitimate (unless there are specific restrictions on the ticket that stop break of journey or whatever - though in my regular case I'm starting short at somewhere I have to get on a different train anyway). This is all with paper [card] tickets.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

the yellow readers at clapham: there are two in the subway opposite stairs to platform 17 as people have said, I think there is also one on platform 17, between the stairs to the subway and stairs to the bridge.

I regularly use the ones in the subway.

 

[Belperpete]

I sometimes use "cheap day return" tickets which get me to my final destination earlier than would be possible if I started my journey at the origin at a late enough time to be legitimate. But I start short at a point where that segment of the journey is starting late enough to be OK with that ticket restriction. I've never had any trouble either with barriers of staff checking tickets. I assume I have no problem because that's perfectly legitimate (unless there are specific restrictions on the ticket that stop break of journey or whatever - though in my regular case I'm starting short at somewhere I have to get on a different train anyway). This is all with paper [card] tickets.

I think it depends on how restrictive the barriers are set. Those at Birmingham New Street, for example, seem very lax, as people often have to exit and re enter again if changing trains at the wrong end of the station. Whereas those at Clapham Jcn seem to reject tickets much more, and the attitude of at least some staff seems to be that if the barriers have rejected your ticket then it must be invalid.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Jul 2024 ==

There is a yellow reader near the bottom of the steps to platform 17 in the subway - this can be used to start or end a journey on contactless.
This is used a lot at Clapham junction as many people switch between paper and oyster there. I've done it many times.

That is useful to know, thanks. It is not a platform I use much. If there are plenty of people changing to Oyster there, I would have thought there would be even more doing so at platforms 1 and 2 for the overground services. Is there not something similar there?

 

[Haywain]

This is used a lot at Clapham junction as many people switch between paper and oyster there.

And some switch between not having a ticket and Oyster or contactless!

 

[otter11]

I think it depends on how restrictive the barriers are set. Those at Birmingham New Street, for example, seem very lax, as people often have to exit and re enter again if changing trains at the wrong end of the station. Whereas those at Clapham Jcn seem to reject tickets much more, and the attitude of at least some staff seems to be that if the barriers have rejected your ticket then it must be invalid.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Jul 2024 ==


That is useful to know, thanks. It is not a platform I use much. If there are plenty of people changing to Oyster there, I would have thought there would be even more doing so at platforms 1 and 2 for the overground services. Is there not something similar there?

Unfortunately not, although as stated you could just walk down stairs, tap out at the barriers but not exit.

There are pink readers at platform 1 but my understanding is that these can be used to start a contactless journey but not finish one.

 

[Mike99]

I wonder what happened this morning?

 

[yorkie]

Looking to make a journey on Monday using my Railcard from Hampton Court to Brighton. Have struggled to find the answer to this online.

I need to change at Clapham Junction in order to catch the Ore service. Was thinking in order to get there early to buy a return, but do the first portion to Clapham on contactless and then get on the 10.01 from there, once the railcard fares are valid.

Will that be accepted if/when tickets are checked? Is there a chance the guard rejects it as my journey clearly started before 10?

How did the journey go?

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