PAYG advice

[SandLake]

Not sure that PAYG is the right term. I travel a couple of times a year from Heathrow to Chelmsford and I normally buy a return ticket for the route but due to unforeseen circumstances my next trip has become a bit complicated, I don't know my return date, it will either be the 3rd or the 5th April (Flights are another problem but I have a solution for that).

Most sites, including Rail UK Ticketing, offer me Day Returns when I select Open Returns but I have found TFW will offer me a 1st class Anytime Return for £116

If I just turn up at Heathrow or Chelmsford without a prebooked ticket and use a Debit Card or an Oyster Card how much would each single journey cost me?

 

[bcarmicle]

Chelmsford is not in the contactless zone so you cannot tap in and out with either Oyster or a contactless card.

A standard off-peak single is £40.90 and a standard anytime single is £47.00. For that fare, peak times are for trains departing between 4:30 and 9:30, and between 16:00 and 19:00. The afternoon restriction does not apply in Chelmsford -> Heathrow direction.

 

[JonathanH]

Chelmsford is not in the contactless zone so you cannot tap in and out with either Oyster or a contactless card.

It will be by April - https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...ess-payment-cards.231684/page-72#post-7688159

Contactless to Chelmsford (but not Oyster) starts on 8 March.

Getting off, tapping out and back on at Shenfield saves some money over the direct fares.

 

[SandLake]

How does tapping out and back on at Shenfield work, is that physically possible?

 

[Hadders]

How does tapping out and back on at Shenfield work, is that physically possible?

From 8th March all you’ll need to do is touch in at Heathrow and touch out at Chelmsford. This will only work if using contactless.

Oyster isn’t (and won’t be) valid beyond Shenfield so if you wanted to use Oyster or ‘split’ at Shenfield you’d need to touch out by exiting through the ticket barriers and re-enter using another ticket (or contactless). This would mean stepping back a train.

 

[SandLake]

This is a new world for me as I have never used contactless, the Single fare finder shows me that the fare from Heathrow T5 Rail station to Chelmsford is £15.70 off peak - fantastic!

My journey will possibly not get me to Chelmsford until just after 1600 but I believe that the fare is determined by the time that you touch in.


Thanks all for your assistance with this - I find London Transport to be fantastic - but not always obvious!

 

[Alex365Dash]

My journey will possibly not get me to Chelmsford until just after 1600 but I believe that the fare is determined by the time that you touch in.

Yes, that’s correct.

 

[Hadders]

And for completeness, using contactless you could either:

1. Touch in at Heathrow and take the Elizabeth Line to Shenfield, change to Greater Anglia and continue to Chelmsford.

2. Touch in at Heathrow and travel to Liverpool Street using the Elizabeth Line and touch out to leave the underground station. Then touch back in again and enter the National Rail platforms and take Greater Anglia to Chelmsford where you touch out. The two legs will be joined into one charge as long as the touch out and in at Liverpool Street are within 40 minutes. Peak/off peak is determined by the touch in time at the start of the journey (ie at Heathrow).

Option 2 is likely to be faster than option 1 depending on the timetable and the time taken to change at Liverpool Street. Another option is to take the Elizabeth Line to Stratford and change to Greater Anglia there.

 

[JonathanH]

The contactless fare from Heathrow to Chelmsford using the Elizabeth Line seems to be cheaper than the contactless fare from Heathrow to Shenfield, and doesn't have an equivalent 'paper' fare (because the paper version assumes travel on Heathrow Express).

 

[Tetchytyke]

Contactless fares:

T5 Rail to Chelmsford: £21.40 peak, £15.70 off-peak.
T5 Rail to Brentwood: £18.70 peak, £16.30 off-peak.
T5 Rail to Shenfield: £23.10 peak, £20 off-peak.

Anyone care to explain any of that?

 

[JonathanH]

Contactless fares:

T5 Rail to Chelmsford: £21.40 peak, £15.70 off-peak.
T5 Rail to Brentwood: £18.70 peak, £16.30 off-peak.
T5 Rail to Shenfield: £23.10 peak, £20 off-peak.

Anyone care to explain any of that?

I think it is down to the amount that TfL are charged for use of the Heathrow tunnel, which doesn't seem to have been loaded into the Oval fare to Chelmsford.

Mind you, it is also cheaper to go from Chelmsford to Heathrow than to Hayes & Harlington.

 

[MikeWh]

******** WARNING *********

Any fares in the fare finder involving Greater Anglia phase 2 extensions (the ones that were pulled in December) are wrong. The stations had to be enabled in the fare finder before the fares change weekend, but the new fares will become visible on Sunday.

You can now see why the GA extensions were pulled last year.

 

[Edvid]

Thanks for the heads up @MikeWh. I suspected the likes of Roydon - Broxbourne (£25.80 peak / £16.20 off-peak) were dodgy!

 

[MikeWh]

I suspected the likes of Roydon - Broxbourne (£25.80 peak / £16.20 off-peak) were dodgy!

Now £4.10/£3.00 which is a bit more palatable.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Any fares in the fare finder involving Greater Anglia phase 2 extensions (the ones that were pulled in December) are wrong. The stations had to be enabled in the fare finder before the fares change weekend, but the new fares will become visible on Sunday.

Thanks Mike.

It doesn't look like TfL have updated them yet, Chelmsford to T5 is still showing as £21.40/£15.70 and Shenfield to T5 is still showing as £24.60/£21.50.

 

[Edvid]

It doesn't look like TfL have updated them yet, Chelmsford to T5 is still showing as £21.40/£15.70 and Shenfield to T5 is still showing as £24.60/£21.50.

Heathrow NR - Brentwood/Shenfield fares were increased yesterday, though many fares from stations beyond Shenfield are indeed lower (and they're all on the Tube fare scale).

Same goes for stations beyond Broxbourne by the looks of things.

 

[MikeWh]

(and they're all on the Tube fare scale).

I wish I'd paid more attention to this post. You've hit a very large nail squarely on the head.

 

[JBuchananGB]

Another option is to take the Elizabeth Line to Stratford and change to Greater Anglia there.

A lot less walking with this method.
May have to change at Paddington on Elizabeth. Not many trains from Heathrow take the Shenfield route.
Just need to double check which platform Chelmsford train leaving from. Normally 10 but sometimes 10a.