please empty your brain below
One effect of this is that it means the Network Railcard will no longer have any validity on LNER (it will of course continue to be valid on GN & Thameslink services at Stevenage)
Another hidden price rise is morning restrictions from stations further out of London. Many current restrictions are based on an arrival time into London from 10:00 meaning the first off peak train can be quite early - a little after 09:00 in some cases. The blanket 09:30 start to off peak restrictions means that the first off peak train you can catch might not be until after 10:00. To be fair some stations impacted by this are seeing an earlier start to their off peak daily cap but this hasn’t been publicised.
Notionally paper tickets are available at the same price but beware those pesky afternoon restrictions - it’s actually four and a half hours in some places: Watton at Stone to Reading using contactless - you can touch in and catch the 15:39 (you could even touch in at 15:59 and catch the 16:09 train) and be charged an off peak fare even though you’re using a train out of Paddington in the evening peak. This is because contactless fares are based on the initial touch-in time, subsequent touches en-route join the journey into one.
With a paper ticket the off peak restriction says you cannot board a train between 16:00 - 19:00. This includes changes en-route, so the last departure from Watton at Stone that gets you to Paddington for a departure before 16:00 is at 13:39.
I’ve not seen any publicity at stations about any of this. All I’ve seen at my local station is a poster saying that you cannot board use contactless and fares are ‘being simplified’. Nothing warning passengers about evening peak restrictions, nothing about cheaper tickets at the weekend being withdrawn.
As I see it the ONLY advantage of these changes is that singles are half the price of returns. Virtually everything else is a disadvantage to the passenger.
dg writes: correct
St Albans has had half price contactless singles for years, but if you knew you are going to return between 4-7 or if you are using a railcard, paper/etickets have always been cheaper.
Yet another layer of complexity.
Thank you!!
I live near Stevenage now.
I am a low paid worker
We already pay the highest fares in Europe
Completely disproportionate and unfair
Rush-hour travelcard £47
After 9.30? £24, with railcard
Effectively we are being charged double for the privilege of travelling in the "Rush-hour"
Whether thats 4am, 5am or up to 9.29am
Going to hospital? Visiting elderly relatives? Tough. Cough up!!
I see ticket inspector's all the time now
10 people alone on a 12 xar train with the wrong ticket? £100 each = £1000
Its daylight robbery
At least Dick Turpin wore a mask
Without this post, l would innocently run the risk of a hefty fine, made worse by the fact l cannot pay in time.
Infuriating as if l have suddenly travel home on a cheap travelcard what do l do? Visit the ticket office at London Bridge and purchase an extension?
What a betrayal this government has proved to be, following economic models reinforced since Thatcher's time.
a) Evening peak times will not apply to Day Travelcards.
b) These fare 'simplications' were first introduced in December 2023.
Much appreciated
Sorry if l missed the detail!
dg writes: only contactless stations are affected
Purchaseable as a paper ticket from a machine, or in advance.
There are similar quirks on the ECML, London to Edinburgh: at 10am going north, Advance single £88.10, Anytime single £204.80. But London to Falkirk (beyond Edinburgh) Super Off-peak £97.50 without the Advance restrictions.
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