Brighton to Penge West

[thelem]

I'm travelling from Brighton to Penge West for the weekend, but I'm confused by the prices.

On the Southern site, I can get a single on Saturday morning for £5-10, using Southern trains and changing at East Croydon.

The cheapest ticket for the return journey on Sunday is £28.90 and goes via Victoria. There are loads of cheaper tickets, both singles and returns, shown as not available.

Why the huge price difference and can I avoid it?

 

[bb21]

The £5 fare on Saturday is a quota-controlled Advance fare. You must travel on your booked services with this fare. If you miss your booked train, you must buy another ticket.

I cannot find such £5 fares for Sunday. There are £8 Advance fares from East Croydon however. There is no service this Sunday between Penge West and East Croydon, so you might want to just get the 197 bus instead.

Alternatively on the Sunday there are flexible FCC Only Super Off-Peak Single fares priced at £9.90, which can be purchased at the station and valid on any FCC service between East Croydon and Brighton.

 

[RJ]

The £5 ticket is a Southern Only Advance fare. If you select a journey plan that only uses trains operated by Southern, it should show up, subject to availability.

On Sunday only, there are engineering works on the line running through Penge West. If the journey planner won't offer you a £5 single between Penge West and Brighton, try for East Croydon to Brighton instead. Or, try telling the journey planner that you wish to avoid Selhurst.