[x-posted to uk.transport.london]

On Sep 20, 11:48*pm, "Alan" wrote:

"Railist" wrote:

So here's a new one for me... a simple ticket purchase. This happened
last Friday.

BOUNDARY ZONE 5 to GATWICK AIRPORT. 17 SEPTEMBER,
returning 19 SEPTEMBER. Gold Card.
Purchase Location: East Midlands Trains ticket office, St. Pancras.

How much do you think they wanted to charge me?

Assuming you wanted Standard Class, the correct fare appears to be £14.40,
but I'm going to guess at £28.70 - they'll have entered the name of a Z5
station on the north side of Thameslink.

Hold on, £14.40 can't be right either - can it?!

I haven't got access to the NFM/ Avantix Traveller right now but
looking at the fare from East Croydon (which is in zone 5) to Gatwick
it's only £5.00 for an Anytime single (that's undiscounted - so it's
£3.30 with the Gold Card discount).

Now I understand that the Boundary Zone 5 to Gatwick extension ticket
may well be valid on the non-stop and premium Gatwick Express service
(unless it's specifically 'Route: Not GatEx' ?), but even that
wouldn't really explain the price - after all, a single ticket on
GatEx costs £16.90 as it is!

(Of course, if starting from St P one wouldn't normally have any
involvement with Gatwick Express if the Thameslink service is running
normally.)

Also, I wonder if the FCC ticket office might have possibly done a
better job of it than the EMT ticket office...