Commuting from Ashford International to London Old Street Area

[Ashfordian]

Hi, looking for a bit of advice please.

I currently commute from Ashford International to London on the HS1. I work near Old Street station so currently I travel to St Pancras/Kings Cross and either walk (about 30-35 mins to work), bus or tube to Old Street.

I recently switched to using an Oyster card rather than a travel card to encourage me to walk to save cost. However, I was wondering if there was a way I could get closer without using the Oyster whilst still using the HS1.

My ticket is valid to London Terminals Plus High Speed. As Old Street, Moorgate and Liverpool Street are classed as London Terminals I was wondering if there is anyway I could get this these without additional cost?

I have heard that it may be possible to change at Stratford Int, walk through Westfield Shopping Centre to Stratford London and then get a Greater Anglia train to Liverpool Street. Is this route valid?

I also saw another thread that suggested a London Terminals ticket was valid on the Northern Line from Kings Cross to Old Street and Moorgate - is this possible with my ticket?

Many thanks

 

[maniacmartin]

I also saw another thread that suggested a London Terminals ticket was valid on the Northern Line from Kings Cross to Old Street and Moorgate - is this possible with my ticket?

This would not be valid with your ticket as it is only for tickets that have validity between Finsbury Park and Kings Cross / Old St
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I have heard that it may be possible to change at Stratford Int, walk through Westfield Shopping Centre to Stratford London and then get a Greater Anglia train to Liverpool Street. Is this route valid?

I believe that this is valid under the shortest route rule. You can also get an itinerary for this route from National Rail Enquiries. Enter Ashford International to London Liverpool St, then in the advanced options specify via Bethnal Green.

Southeastern and Greater Anglia also show this as a valid itinerary without specifying a via point. If you print an itinerary from each of their websites then you can cover your back if challenged.

 

[Ashfordian]

Ok thanks for your help. Thought it sounded too good to be true with the Northern Line.

Will follow your suggestion for the Liverpool Street route.

Many thanks

 

[bb21]

I have heard that it may be possible to change at Stratford Int, walk through Westfield Shopping Centre to Stratford London and then get a Greater Anglia train to Liverpool Street. Is this route valid?

If I am not mistaken, the shortest route between Ashford International and London Terminals is 54 miles into Liverpool Street, via HS1 to Stratford International and then Stratford London to Liverpool Street, and hence your ticket is undoubtedly valid.

Ashford International to St Pancake via HS1 is 56 miles and Ashford International to London Bridge via non-HS lines is 54.25 miles.

That said, Liverpool Street barrier staff do not like tickets used in such manner. We were given assurances from ATOC that a brief would be issued so hopefully things have improved. You might want to quote NRCoC Condition 13(a)(ii) if challenged.

 

[westv]

Presumably it's quicker to walk from Stratford Int to Statford, wait for another train and then walk from Liverpool St to Old Street then it is to get a train straight to St Pancras and walk from there?

 

[soil]

If I am not mistaken, the shortest route between Ashford International and London Terminals is 54 miles into Liverpool Street, via HS1 to Stratford International and then Stratford London to Liverpool Street, and hence your ticket is undoubtedly valid.

Ashford International to St Pancake via HS1 is 56 miles and Ashford International to London Bridge via non-HS lines is 54.25 miles.

That said, Liverpool Street barrier staff do not like tickets used in such manner. We were given assurances from ATOC that a brief would be issued so hopefully things have improved. You might want to quote NRCoC Condition 13(a)(ii) if challenged.

The shortest route by rail is to London Bridge, 54.25 miles

Ashford Intl - Stratford International is 50 miles and Stratford - Liverpool Street is 4 miles, so this is shorter than the shortest route by rail, and is therefore permitted, Stratford Intl - Stratford being a recognised walking interchange.

 

[bb21]

Googlemap suggests 15-minute walk from Liverpool Street to Old Street, and 35-minute walk from St Pancake to Old Street.

The walk through Westfield is reasonably short and trains between Stratford London and Liverpool Street are frequent.

All in all I think there is nothing really in it. Liverpool Street possibly just shades it.

The shortest route by rail is to London Bridge, 54.25 miles

Ashford Intl - Stratford International is 50 miles and Stratford - Liverpool Street is 4 miles, so this is shorter than the shortest route by rail, and is therefore permitted, Stratford Intl - Stratford being a recognised walking interchange.

OK, pedant. You know what I mean.

 

[Ashfordian]

If I am not mistaken, the shortest route between Ashford International and London Terminals is 54 miles into Liverpool Street, via HS1 to Stratford International and then Stratford London to Liverpool Street, and hence your ticket is undoubtedly valid.

Ashford International to St Pancake via HS1 is 56 miles and Ashford International to London Bridge via non-HS lines is 54.25 miles.

That said, Liverpool Street barrier staff do not like tickets used in such manner. We were given assurances from ATOC that a brief would be issued so hopefully things have improved. You might want to quote NRCoC Condition 13(a)(ii) if challenged.

Excellent, thanks. Will quote the conditions if challenged and will print off a copy of the relevant section. I assume the ticket doesn't work in the barriers then if likely to be challenged.

Presumably it's quicker to walk from Stratford Int to Statford, wait for another train and then walk from Liverpool St to Old Street then it is to get a train straight to St Pancras and walk from there?

Yes I think it works out about 10-15 mins quicker overall but I wasn't sure if the route was valid. Before I had only used the route once when I had a travelcard so used the tube. Using the tube its quicker to go straight to St Pancras and guarantees a seat.

The 20 min transfer time quoted by National Rail between Stratford Int and Stratford presumably factors in a spot of shopping in Westfield as well!!

 

[bb21]

Excellent, thanks. Will quote the conditions if challenged and will print off a copy of the relevant section. I assume the ticket doesn't work in the barriers then if likely to be challenged.

Previous reports suggest that tickets from the South East do not work the barriers at Liverpool Street. People were also being challenged by barrier staff however we were assured that situations would improve.

Yes I think it works out about 10-15 mins quicker overall but I wasn't sure if the route was valid. Before I had only used the route once when I had a travelcard so used the tube. Using the tube its quicker to go straight to St Pancras and guarantees a seat.

The 20 min transfer time quoted by National Rail between Stratford Int and Stratford presumably factors in a spot of shopping in Westfield as well!!

You may also be interested to know that you can use the Central Line between Stratford and Liverpool Street if you prefer, as it is an interavailable route.

 

[Ashfordian]

Previous reports suggest that tickets from the South East do not work the barriers at Liverpool Street. People were also being challenged by barrier staff however we were assured that situations would improve.

You may also be interested to know that you can use the Central Line between Stratford and Liverpool Street if you prefer, as it is an interavailable route.

I didn't know that about the Central Line. I assumed I would need a travelcard or use the Oyster for that. Looking at trains from Liverpool St to Stratford they seem to run every few minutes so would only need the tube if something happened at the station.

All in all I think there is nothing really in it. Liverpool Street possibly just shades it.

Yeah there is not a lot in it really but a 15 min walk is more appealing than a 35 min walk especially in poor weather. Whilst I am working where I am I will probably mix and match a bit but definitely nice to have another option.

Thanks for your help. Greatly appreciated.

 

[paul1609]

I didn't know that about the Central Line. I assumed I would need a travelcard or use the Oyster for that. Looking at trains from Liverpool St to Stratford they seem to run every few minutes so would only need the tube if something happened at the station.



Yeah there is not a lot in it really but a 15 min walk is more appealing than a 35 min walk especially in poor weather. Whilst I am working where I am I will probably mix and match a bit but definitely nice to have another option.

Thanks for your help. Greatly appreciated.

I have in the past commuted from Appledore to london via Ashford and HS1 using a all zones travelcard.
I think the reality is that you will end up commuting via St Pancras. The transfer from stratford int to Stratford seems straightford but reliability issues and platform times mean that its just easier to stay on the train to St Pancras. This is particularly so in the homebound direction, obviously this may be more critical for me connecting to the hourly Marshlink Service.

 

[Be3G]

One small tip for Ashfordian: if walking from Stratford International to the regional station (or vice-versa), it might be slightly easier to not follow the signposted route through the indoor shopping precinct and instead walk along ‘The Street’ which is the outside portion of the Westfield centre. It's a slightly longer walk, but less crowded and with fewer obstructions so more pleasant and potentially faster for a brisk walk between the two stations.