Route Validity Sense Check

[skizz]

Howdy

I have a P2P season ticket from Maidstone Stations to London Terminals.

Essentially, my question is can I use this ticket to get to the likes of Gatwick Airport and East Croydon.

From Maidstone West I can use the Medway Valley Line to get to Tonbridge and then a train via Gatwick and East Croydon to do this, and based on the validity of associated routings I think this is correct. My logic being (correct me if I'm wrong)

Maidstone West associated stations – Ashford International, Strood Kent, Tonbridge

The Ashford – London Group: AF, AF+FV, AR+TN, AR+VB, DE, HS, OT, RA, VH, VR

TN route - London to Ashford via Redhill.

Is this correct? Rambling post but I hope you get what I'm trying to get at, as I would like an understanding of how I can get the full use of my ticket.

Thanks!

 

[kieron]

I shall assume that you have a Maidstone-London season ticket route "not valid on HS1".

There are no Maidstone-London trains via Gatwick.
There is no combination of Maidstone station and London terminal such that the shortest route passes through Gatwick.

Maidstone East is associated with Kemsing/Otford and Ashford.
Maidstone West is associated with Tonbridge, Strood and Ashford.
Ashford-London fails the fare check.

Tonbridge-London allows mapped routes via Redhill and Croydon, but don't let you go south from Redhill. The other maps don't give any mapped routes via Croydon.

I haven't noticed any easements which are relevant to your situation.

As such, I believe you will need a Redhill-Gatwick ticket or something if you wish to go to Gatwick, but you can catch some trains to East Croydon with your existing ticket.

 

[telstarbox]

Have you completed the fares check?

 

[skizz]

Thanks for the help chaps. kieron you are correct, it's a non-HS1 ticket.

I presume that Charing Cross - Maidstone West via Tonbridge is a valid route?

Apologies telstar, what is the Fares Check? is this a tool on the forum I have missed?

 

[telstarbox]

It's part of the rules which determine permitted routes.

See here for more info: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1192130

 

[kieron]

Thanks for the help chaps. kieron you are correct, it's a non-HS1 ticket.

I presume that Charing Cross - Maidstone West via Tonbridge is a valid route?

I don't know off-hand which way those trains go, sorry. Most of the time, a valid route like that consists of a mapped route from London to Tonbridge and the shortest route from Tonbridge to Maidstone West.

There are exceptions, as someone using a season ticket can start and end part way through a journey, meaning that you can go from one end to the other using a bit of one journey and a bit of another on a route which isn't in the routeing guide at all.

If you follow steps 3.4.5 and 3.4.6 on the long post telstarbox linked to, though, you may find your route is fine anyway.