Sneaky fare increases on Thameslink

[Haywain]

I have discovered this morning that from last Sunday there have been some quietly imposed fare increases on Thameslink, with afternoon restrictions imposed on some Off Peak Day Returns, and possibly other changes that I haven't spotted yet. As a result, I made a journey from Luton to West Hampstead and back, and now find it would have been cheaper to buy a ticket to London Thameslink.

To travel out at 13:00 and back at 17:30 for West Hampstead an Anytime Day Return (£33.80) is now required, while an Off Peak Day Return (£24.30) still works for St Pancras. The only consolation for me is that as I was using KeyGo I was charged for two singles, with the inbound journey being the contactless fare, so charged £17.65 with railcard discount.

(Fares above are undiscounted)

 

[Watershed]

In their infinite wisdom, they've decided to use the same restriction code (LS) on these Off-Peak Day Returns as they use for the Super Off-Peak Day Returns to London. No scope for confusion at all there...

The industry really just can't help itself when it comes to creating confusion. This is precisely the kind of nonsense that contributes to the current fares system being as complex as it is!