Southall to Reading

[2019292]

Hi I just have a question, I’m going university today first time, I’m from Southall uk and I want to go to the university of reading.
I know it’s just the Elizabeth line but do I need to buy a ticket or something. I have a 16+ oyster and I just don’t know if that’s enough?

 

[Tw99]

Hi I just have a question, I’m going university today first time, I’m from Southall uk and I want to go to the university of reading.
I know it’s just the Elizabeth line but do I need to buy a ticket or something. I have a 16+ oyster and I just don’t know if that’s enough?

You can't use Oyster out to Reading, it only works as far as West Drayton.

Probably your best bet today is to use a contactless bank card.

Contactless and Oyster pay as you go | Great Western Railway

TfL Rail is now accepting Contactless pay as you go on its local stopping services from London Paddington to Reading.

www.gwr.com

Depending on your age and how often you'll be travelling, it might be worth looking at getting a 16-25 Railcard which would give you 1/3 off the ticket price, but you'd have to then buy a ticket rather than use contactless.

 

[2019292]

would it be okay if I used my oyster to get there but bank card to come back

 

[crablab]

Do you have a 16-25 Railcard? If not, you should get one. It costs £30 and will save you 30% on train tickets you buy for the next year.

If you do have a Railcard, you'll need to buy either a ticket at the station or an eTicket online (as Railcard discounts aren't available on contactless).

would it be okay if I used my oyster to get there but bank card to come back

No. Oyster is not valid to Reading.

You shouldn't mix Oyster/contactless anyway, as it'll mean you are contributing towards two journey caps.

 

[Haywain]

would it be okay if I used my oyster to get there but bank card to come back

No, Oyster cannot be used at, or to, Reading.

 

[2019292]

okay thank you so much

My railcard hasn’t come yet. So I’m just going to use contactless bank card.
Do you think a day pass is good also?

 

[Hadders]

I don't know what you mean by a Day Pass.

The options from Southall to Reading are:

Buy a traditional paper ticket this will cost £16.20 for an off peak day return (if you have a 16-25 Railcard you can get a 34% discount on this)
Use contactless which costs £8.10 each way

Note that off peak fares apply all day on Sundays. On weekdays the fares to travel in the morning and afternoon 'rush hour' periods cost more.

 

[2019292]

Okay thank you.
I don’t know anything about a day pass it’s just that my parents asked me so. I wasn’t sure.

 

[Taunton]

There's still considerable confusion about fares on the Elizabeth out to Reading. Beyond West Drayton, Oyster is not valid, but Contactless is. Zip Cards for the younger are not, but Freedom Passes for the older are. These London-scheme tickets are valid as far as West Drayton, but there's no easy way to then buy a fare for the additional distance beyond, or tap in/out your Oyster for a through journey.

 

[Hadders]

Okay thank you.
I don’t know anything about a day pass it’s just that my parents asked me so. I wasn’t sure.

They probably mean a Travelcard but that's not relevent for the journey you're making.

If you tell us how often you'll be travelling from Southall to Reading, and at roughly what times, we'll be able to offer advice on the best fares to buy.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

I don’t know anything about a day pass it’s just that my parents asked me so. I wasn’t sure.

If you're just going to Reading, you might as well use a contactless card to buy singles as they're half the price of an off-peak day return. If you get a 16-25 Railcard, the off-peak return will be the cheapest way to do return trips. Some day, let's hope before your time is up at Reading, you may be able to get that Railcard discount on a contactless fare so that would then be the easiest thing to do. If you need to travel around Reading by bus, you can add on a PlusBus day ticket for £3.70, or £2.40 if you had that Railcard. These are only available on paper at the moment

Second most important thing: Don't use the Oyster card, use a bank card

Most important thing: good luck

 

[2019292]

Okay thank you.
Yeah I’m getting a railway card it’s with the student satander card.
I’m going to be going reading Tuesday-Friday mostly in the mornings around 9am onwards and coming back around 3pm from there.

 

[alistairlees]

If you are 16 or 17, then a Southall to Reading weekly season ticket (allows unlimited travel between the two stations for 7 consecutive days) will be £55.25 with a 16-17 Saver (which gives 50% off; the child rate, effectively). This equates to £13.81 a day. This is valid on any train at any time - so you could travel in earlier, or come back later, if you wanted. The 16-17 Saver costs £30 (for a year).

 

[2019292]

yh im 18 turning 19 in november so thats not a option for me now. so what i did instead was apply for that railcard and just waiting now.


thank you for the help

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

yh im 18 turning 19 in november so thats not a option for me now. so what i did instead was apply for that railcard and just waiting now.


thank you for the help

If you haven't already applied for the railcard buy it over the counter at Southall station, it will take about 5 minutes to issue (I've bought mine there several times before).

Bear in mind minimum fares apply before 10:00

 

[Hadders]

If @Kd22 has a 16-25 railcard they will need to buy a discounted paper tickets rather becuase a railcard disciunt cannot be applied to contactless.

If departing Southall before 09:30 then a railcard discounted Southall to Reading Anytime Day Return costs £22.00
If departing Southall between 09:30 and 09:59 then a railcard discounted Southall to Reading Off Peak Day Return costs £12.00
If departing Southall at or after 10:00 (or anytime on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays) then a railcard discounted Off Peak Day Return costs £10.65

Don't be caught out my the minimum discounted fare rule which is £12 before 10:00 on Monday to Fridays (this doesn't apply in July and August but you're not likely to be travelling to Uni during those months)

 

[mangyiscute]

Worth noting you can use e-tickets on this route but you have to ask staff to open the gates for you at Southall every time, so it's not ideal but a decent back up if in a rush and ticket machines are busy

And also, if you ever happen to be going just one way, using contactless card (tapping in and out, but not with oyster) is cheaper than buying a paper ticket single, even with the railcard discount

 

[2019292]

Okay thank you so much for the information.
I’m going reading again today I’ll be at the train station at 8am. It is still okay to use contactless?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Okay thank you so much for the information.
I’m going reading again today I’ll be at the train station at 8am. It is still okay to use contactless?

For this journey, it’s always OK to use contactless. It’s just that it can be cheaper to have a railcard and buy paper tickets.

Just one point to bear in mind: if you’re going beyond Reading then you will have to get a paper ticket.

 

[2019292]

Okay thank you. I’m just going to reading and back.

 

[Non Multi]

Note that off peak fares apply all day on Sundays. On weekdays the fares to travel in the morning and afternoon 'rush hour' periods cost more.

N.B. There's no contactless peak fare in the PM peak when departing from Reading.