London travelcard + Reading

[simon1979]

Hi everyone, and a happy new year.

I'd be grateful if anyone has any advice about regular travel from London Zone 3 to Reading.

I was told by two separate rail staff that it is possible to get a London travelcard, travelling from a London tube station, and a return to Reading in one ticket.

As I have a Network railcard, this would mean a big reduction for off peak travel.

However, I was just told at my local tube station that this is not possible.
I can't find any information about this online - does anyone know the situation?

Or alternatively have any idea about the best way to commute to Reading off peak from a London tube station?

Many thanks for you help!!
Simon

 

[MikeWh]

Can you fill in what the stations are, please? Zone 3 goes right round London and the answer may be different depending where the station is.

 

[dzug2]

I didn't think such a beast, as such, existed. A zones 3-6 travelcard with an extension from BZ6 to Reading would be one approach

The rail staff may be confusing it with a travelcard from Reading TO London - though that would cover zones 1-6

 

[bb21]

Reading - London Zones 3-6 does exist as a Travelcard season, however not for Day Travelcards. As MikeWh has mentioned, it depends on where the OP wishes to travel from as to whether such a ticket would be appropriate.

 

[LexyBoy]

I think they were referring to a Reading-London Travelcard. Although nominally "from" Reading, it is valid for unlimited travel and so absolutely fine to use from London. You can check Season tickets here - to get the ticket you want you need to put Reading as the origin, and your home station as the destination, rather than vice versa.

Depending on where you are, you could get a Travelcard from Reading to Zones 1-6, 2-6 or 3-6, priced at £4856, £4228 and £3968 respectively for the annual tickets (yes, it's an expensive route!).

Are you travelling every day? If not then a combination of tickets would probably be better - likewise if you do not require to travel in the peaks.

 

[simon1979]

Thanks very much for your replies!

I would be travelling from Turnpike Lane to Paddington, then on to Reading, so not everyday (around 70 times per year).

I noticed you could get a Reading to London return + travelcard (1-6) for just £14 with a network rail card, and asked at Paddington and a tube station if it would work the other way. I was told it would, but perhaps it was the wrong information!

Thanks again for your help
Simon

 

[bb21]

A Day Travelcard allows you to make a journey from the outboundary origin to the boundary of the zonal area and return, plus unlimited travel within the zones for a day. You cannot do it in the other direction as the outboundary element of your ticket expires when you get back to the origin on the ticket.

For a day version, you need to buy an inboundary Day Travelcard plus a return to Reading from the appropriate Boundary Zone. Note however that due to the minimum fare on Network Railcard-discounted tickets, if you travel at off-peak times, you will not be able to get any Railcard discount on the inboundary Day Travelcard on a weekday, nor on any day return fare from Boundary Zone 6. (There will be no Zones 1-2 or Zones 1-4 Off-Peak Day Travelcards from 19th January.)

If you are travelling via Paddington, then for a season ticket you will need the Reading - London Zones 1-6 one.

 

[yorkie]

For that journey, you need a "in-boundary" Zones 1-6 Travelcard plus a Boundary Zone 6 - Reading extension, rather than the Reading to Zones 1-6 Travelcard ticket.

There's a very good argument to say that the minimum fare should apply to the value of both tickets, but rather unfairly, the mimumum fare is applied to each individual ticket, which makes it not so good value for a Network Railcard holder if travelling on a weekday.

 

[LexyBoy]

You can buy an Off Peak Day Return from U123* London to Reading for £15.90 with Network Railcard, valid for one return journey from any Underground station in Z1-3 to Reading. You may not be able to buy this at Turnpike Lane though (or it may be a different price), so you'd need to get it from a NR station in advance.

An Off Peak Day Return from Hornsey or Seven Sisters National Rail station to Reading is £13.80, (including Tube transfer from King's Cross to Paddington).

For that journey, you need a "in-boundary" Zones 1-6 Travelcard plus a Boundary Zone 6 - Reading extension, rather than the Reading to Zones 1-6 Travelcard ticket.

Which is in fact cheaper than the combined ticket if minimum fares are not applicable (i.e. at weekends or without the Railcard). The minimum fare makes splitting this journey not worthwhile, especially as it means any journeys on Oyster are full fare, since the Network Railcard can't be added to an Oyster card.

 

[simon1979]

Thanks very much for the replies everyone. Getting on at Hornsey sounds like a good option, but I will ask again at Turnpike Lane whether I can just get a return zones 1-3 to Reading, and let readers know the outcome,

All the best
Simon

 

[maniacmartin]

Thanks very much for the replies everyone. Getting on at Hornsey sounds like a good option, but I will ask again at Turnpike Lane whether I can just get a return zones 1-3 to Reading, and let readers know the outcome,

To issue such a ticket, I believe LU staff have to look some figures up in a folder and key them into the TIS. It's a rare occurance for most tube offices, and not all staff seem to know how to do this or be bothered to do it.

 

[Mojo]

To issue such a ticket, I believe LU staff have to look some figures up in a folder and key them into the TIS. It's a rare occurance for most tube offices, and not all staff seem to know how to do this or be bothered to do it.

Such a ticket may also be available for purchase from the ticket machines, however as LexyBoy identifies above, the price may differ slightly.

 

[tannedfrog]

I wonder if the Thames Rover, 3 days or 7 days, discounted with Network Railcard, could be useful here?

 

[simon1979]

Thanks all. I asked at Turnpike Lane, and I cannot get a Network Railcard return to Reading, as posters suggested, although I could buy a standard off peak return for around £22. So, in sum, the cheapest options seems to be sticking with a standard Oyster fare + Network rail return to Reading from Paddington.

Great suggestion from Tannedfrog as I will be in Reading 3 days running on certain weeks!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time. Great forum
Simon