Travel to London - which ticket will I need?

[Lockwood]

Hi all

I've had to alter my travel plans for the weekend and get the train to London.

I was going to be spending Saturday in East Croydon, which I usually do by driving to Merton Park and getting the tram. I was then tasked with some extra work the next day, so work were going to put me up Saturday/Sunday, so I would have driven to wherever the hotel is(*), and then driven to Leytonstone to start work Sunday morning.

Given that there are no petrol stations in a good radius of me that have fuel at the moment, I have decided that if they want me in London then can get me a train there! It's cheaper than mileage claims, so they like doing it.

So, as far as the work journey goes, I will be going from Liphook to Somewhere In London on Saturday, and on Sunday from Somewhere In London to Leytonstone and then from Leytonstone to Liphook.

My intention is to go from Liphook to East Croydon, from East Croydon to Somewhere In London on Saturday.

I don't know what ticket I would want for that - Is there some kind of open return with two day travel card? Would an open return to a Zone work? Would I have to buy a paper ticket myself from my local station for Clapham Junction to East Croydon to cover that bit of diversion?

I just need to tell my control room what to book and they will go off and book it, but I'm not sure exactly what I will need, and since I don't know what accommodation is booked I really don't know what is best to ask for. And London ticketing is a headache at the best of times.

Thanks!


(*) for hotels, work view London as London with little regard to getting from the hotel to where we're working out of. They have also been known to contact me as I'm about to get in my car to go to London to say "we have moved you to this hotel instead"

 

[alistairlees]

There are no two day Travelcards.

Assuming you want physical copies of things to expense, and that therefore Contactless is a bit of a hassle, your best bet would be:
- Liphook to London Terminals Off-Peak Return (£38.20)
- two Zones 1-6 paper Travelcards; one for each of Saturday and Sunday (£13.90 each)

Given your plans might change this will give you flexibility; though contactless would probably be cheaper.

 

[JonathanH]

I don't know what ticket I would want for that - Is there some kind of open return with two day travel card?

Separate one day travelcards from Liphook issued for Saturday and Sunday would be the most straightforward approach.

Edit - it does look like the option suggested by 'alistairlees' (£38.20 plus £13.90 x 2) is going to work out cheaper than the cost of an off-peak travelcard on Saturday (£40) and a Sunday travelcard on Sunday (£33). Having said that an off-peak return from Liphook to Croydon Stations routed 'Any Permitted +' priced at £36.60 is cheaper than one to London Terminals priced at £38.20.

 

[Watershed]

An Off-Peak Return from Liphook to Zone U123* (£45.00) would cover most of what you want. However, it wouldn't cover you to get from "Somewhere in London" to Leytonstone on the Sunday, and it also assumes that "Somewhere in London" is on the Underground (or on an interavailable route).

Really it depends a bit on where "Somewhere in London" is, as well as how difficult your work is about reimbursing Oyster/contactless fares (which may well be the cheaper option overall).

 

[Lockwood]

Work changed to prebooked tickets a while ago - I'm not sure if they get a booking discount through their system, but they greatly prefer you telling them a ticket and them getting it than you claiming afterwards.

I am cautious with contactless - after changing bank I've had some periods where the card stops being accepted after each journey and I need to call tfl and whine. Had it do that once after each leg of a journey and became a massive pita.

I think the official answer a while back on expensing contsctless/oyster was "umm, I dunno" or "get a separate oyster card for work journeys"

I'll see if I can just get 2 one day travel cards booked - since they haven't told me where my hotel is yet, I'll need tickets with the most flexibility. I just wanted to see if there was a smarter option than that if they push back at say "why do you want that ticket"

 

[JonathanH]

An Off-Peak Return from Liphook to Zone U123* (£45.00) would cover most of what you want

Presumably Croydon would need to be reached via Bookham?

 

[alistairlees]

Presumably Croydon would need to be reached via Bookham?

Well, it's not valid to East Croydon anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

 

[JonathanH]

Well, it's not valid to East Croydon anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

Yes, but West Croydon / East Croydon aren't the furthest distant stations.

 

[30907]

An Offpeak Return Liphook-ECR is slightly cheaper than the Any Permitted and would cover you via Clapham Jn (and back that far en route to your hotel). I would use Oyster to reach your hotel, and get a paper Travelcard for the Sunday to save you having to touch out at CLJ. All Sunday trains to LIP call at CLJ anyway.
On the other hand, if work are paying, you might as well get the Any Permitted version - that's assuming they will supply you with a ticket to ECR...

 

[Lockwood]

Thank you all for your help. I've got another curveball.


I'm now working out of Crystal Palace and the tickets have been ordered for me to collect with an itinerary Liphook to Waterloo (one ticket), Waterloo to Clapham Junction, Clapham Junction to Crystal Palace.

I looked at the journey planner earlier for times, and most of the route/tickets suggested were Anytime Day Single, but also only for use on that journey.

Last time I had a return to London Terminals booked via work, it had a specific service and a seat reservation for "Any seat", and the ticket office staff said that despite there being a reservation I was able to use any service (it was an anytime ticket on a route that doesn't do reservations) - I do get overruns at work, so having a specific service for the return journey is a pain.



What would be my best option now for doing a detour on Saturday to Croydon - I did see a route on the journey planner via Guildford/Epsom/West Croydon, but I'm guessing this route is not available with a Liphook - London Terminals, London Terminals - Crystal Palace ticket?
Would my best bet be to use the Terminals ticket to CLJ, then use contactless to get to Croydon myself, and then continue from there, or is there something smart I can do (legally) with these tickets?


Thanks again for your help

 

[30907]

I'm now working out of Crystal Palace and the tickets have been ordered for me to collect with an itinerary Liphook to Waterloo (one ticket), Waterloo to Clapham Junction, Clapham Junction to Crystal Palace.

I looked at the journey planner earlier for times, and most of the route/tickets suggested were Anytime Day Single, but also only for use on that journey.

An Anytime Day Single is, by definition, available to use on any train on that day, and permits break of journey (not specifically relevant here).

Last time I had a return to London Terminals booked via work, it had a specific service and a seat reservation for "Any seat", and the ticket office staff said that despite there being a reservation I was able to use any service (it was an anytime ticket on a route that doesn't do reservations) - I do get overruns at work, so having a specific service for the return journey is a pain.

Return tickets, if issued as such, are also always flexible (except for peak restrictions). I am surprised work haven't issued a return ticket Liphook-London Terminals

What would be my best option now for doing a detour on Saturday to Croydon - I did see a route on the journey planner via Guildford/Epsom/West Croydon, but I'm guessing this route is not available with a Liphook - London Terminals, London Terminals - Crystal Palace ticket?

Interesting question, but it would be tediously slow anyway!

Would my best bet be to use the Terminals ticket to CLJ, then use contactless to get to Croydon myself, and then continue from there, or is there something smart I can do (legally) with these tickets?

You could try getting the booking office at Liphook or Waterloo to issue an excess ticket, turning Waterloo-Crystal Palace into Waterloo-East Croydon. This should cost £2.20.
However, your suggestion would only cost £3.00 and is probably less hassle.
You would need to touch in at CLJ of course.
It's 30p cheaper from Balham (or Sydenham) and 50p cheaper from Crystal Palace - but that adds significantly to journey time.

Another option is to check in to your hotel (I hope it's not too far uphill from the station!) and then catch a bus down to Croydon.