Please help!- finding the cheapest ticket for Brighton

[nik]

Hi all,

For the last two years, I used to regularly travel to Brighton from London (well, actually to FMR - Falmer) and attempted various combinations of tickets to get the cheapest fair. This year since Jan, for some reason, regardless of distance travelled, fares seem the same which doesn't make sense.

I'd appreciate some help figuring out the best route and ticket(s) please.

Info:
Ideally my journey would be from BKG (Barking) to FMR (Falmer).

What tickets I already have:
I already have a Zones 2-4 Travelcard. And a Gold Card as its an annual travelcard.

What I did consider in past was either:
BKG-FMR return (paying for zones 2-4 effectively twice)
OR
London Terminals-FMR (and then PAYG going into London) (but then I had problems tapping out..so that was difficult to do)
OR
Zones 1-6 Paper Travelcard + Boundary Zone 4 to FMR Return (very oddly, getting the ticket to start from Boundary Zone 6 worked out MORE expensive than from Zone 4)
OR
Limehouse-FMR (which worked out cheaper than starting from Barking...until this year now when regardless of whether the ticket starts from a closer or further away station, price is same -which is daft)

Please please please could someone more familiar with tickets help me figure out the cheapest way to do this route, ideally not having to pay twice for the Oyster zones I have already paid for? it'd always be a return on same day, and would be off peak. Over time, with repeated journeys, even if a few pounds are saved, it would really help me.
Thanks
Nikky

Thanks

 

[gray1404]

What days of the week are you travelling? If travelling on a Saturday or Sunday (or bank holiday) there are Super Off Peak Day returns from St Pancras.

 

[Paul Kelly]

On a weekday, I think the cheapest way would be to avoid travel via Zone 1 (i.e. go via West Ham, Canada Water, New Cross Gate/Norwood Junction and East Croydon). This will be a bit slower, but you don't need any extra tickets to cover Zone 1 and so so the paper return from Boundary Zone 4 (£12.80) is all you need.

If travelling at the weekend, then as gray1404 says, you can use a paper Super Off-Peak Day Return from St Pancras to Brighton (£7.00) plus a separate Off-Peak Day Return from Brighton to Falmer (£2.25). You would then be doubly valid (on your Travelcard and paper ticket) between New Cross Gate and Norwood Junction, but it would still be cheaper.

 

[nik]

Hi,

For clarification, I have to go there on weekdays. I did consider the non-zone 1 route via the Overground to Norwood Jnctn etc but that would be too time consuming and tedious.

Presumably the super off peak day return from St Pancras is only for weekends?

What I really want to understand is why a return from Limehouse (Zone 2) via/going into Zone 1, was cheaper than from Barking, for years, and now they make it the same price as travelling from Barking (Zone 4). Its ridiciulous.

 

[greatkingrat]

If travelling at the weekend, then as gray1404 says, you can use a paper Super Off-Peak Day Return from St Pancras to Brighton (£7.00) plus a separate Off-Peak Day Return from Brighton to Falmer (£2.25). You would then be doubly valid (on your Travelcard and paper ticket) between New Cross Gate and Norwood Junction, but it would still be cheaper.

London - Brighton is valid via Lewes so there is no need for a separate ticket Brighton - Falmer.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
You could buy a CDR Woodgrange Park - Falmer for 14.50 with Gold Card, compared with 19.15 for the CDR from Barking/Limehouse.

 

[nik]

Hi, Thanks GreatKingRat for finding that fare.

Just for clarification, would the CDR from Woodgrange Park be valid for going via underground to London Bridge and/or Victoria and then on either services from L Bridge or Victoria?

I ask because, in evenings, after say 6.45pm, none of the trains leaving Brighton stop at London Bridge so for speed I end up having to take the fast service to Victoria, so would want the possibility of having to use either terminal.

Also the Super Off Peak Day Return from StPancras - what does the "Not Underground" element of it mean? One of the £7 tickets states "Route NOT UNDERGROUND " while the other states "Thameslink only". Presumably I can a similar ticket starting at Blackfriars or London Bridge for the same £7 fare.

 

[MikeWh]

Hi, Thanks GreatKingRat for finding that fare.

Just for clarification, would the CDR from Woodgrange Park be valid for going via underground to London Bridge and/or Victoria and then on either services from L Bridge or Victoria?

Yes. It is route "+Any Permitted" which includes Underground transfer.

Also the Super Off Peak Day Return from StPancras - what does the "Not Underground" element of it mean? One of the £7 tickets states "Route NOT UNDERGROUND " while the other states "Thameslink only". Presumably I can a similar ticket starting at Blackfriars or London Bridge for the same £7 fare.

Route "Not Underground" means you can't use LU trains but can use any NR trains. Route "Thameslink Only" means you can only use Thameslink trains. I doubt there would be any Not Underground fares from Blackfriars or London Bridge because you'd never use Underground anyway.

 

[gray1404]

MikeWh has summed it up very clearly indeed.

The fare on the Super Off Peak Day Return fares (be that Route: Not Underground or Route: Thameslink only) is £10.60 without a railcard and only £7.00 if you have a railcard. I personally always go for the Not Underground option because then it is undoubtedly valid on Southern and Gatwick Express service for the relevant sections of the route. (I would also argue that and happily use a Thameslink Only ticket on any of the GTR brands but I do not want to open up that can of worms here). The downside with the Super Off Peak Day Return is that on this flow it is only valid for travel on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

If you wanted to go cheaper still then there are Advance fares available from London Victoria, Clapham Junction and East Croydon going to Brighton. These are offered on GTR's Southern branded services and require you to commit to a specific train. There is often very good availability on such fares on this route. These are priced at £3.30, £5.60 and £7.90 single with a railcard and £5.00, £8.50 and £12.50 without.

So with a railcard a return journey can be done as cheaply as £6.60 on any day of the week with a railcard and £10.00 without.