Off peak times for TFL contactless fares on National Rail

[trevmonk]

Wanting to catch the 09.31 from St Albans to London I assumed there was a three minute grace period on the barriers, as at London Underground, and I would be charged the off peak contactless fare from 09.27 onwards. The barrier staff told me definitively though that it is 09.29. Is this right, or were they guessing?

 

[Hadders]

I believe it's a 2-minute grace period. I've recently touched in at 09:29 and been charged the off-peak fare.

 

[tram21]

This is on their website from 2024, unless its been changed recently it's 09.27

1) Touching in after the start of the AM peak

Peak starts at 06.35.

2) Touching in before the end of the AM peak

Off-peak starts at 09.27.

3) Touching in after the start of the PM peak

Peak starts at 16.05.

4) Touching in before the end of the PM peak

Off-peak starts at 18.57.

Please note that the grace times quoted above apply for both Oyster and Contactless. The quoted times are as set at the particular validation devices and these may sometimes vary from true time; the grace times are therefore not guaranteed to apply from the perception of the user.

 

[Watershed]

It's worth noting that the time on the barriers can sometimes be slightly 'off' from the actual time. This once caused me to be charged a peak fare for a journey where I touched in at what the station clock showed as being 18:57. The 3-minute leeway is provided both to accommodate this, as well as the fact you need time to get from the barriers to the platform.