Hi all,

I usually make my daily commute from East Croydon to Harrow and Wealdstone
using a zone 2-5 travelcard via Southern Trains. However, from time to time,
I find (either because I've missed a train or I have to travel at a time
earlier/later than my usual time) that I have to go through zone 1. What I
would like is a ticket that I can buy in advance and hold so that I can make
payment without having to wait at the ticket counters.

I was thinking of using carnet tickets, but apparently you can't use them
for ticket extensions into zones. I also considered Oyster, but I'm not sure
this would work either.

Does anyone have any further suggestions?

I usually make my daily commute from East Croydon to Harrow and Wealdstone
using a zone 2-5 travelcard via Southern Trains. However, from time to time,
I find (either because I've missed a train or I have to travel at a time
earlier/later than my usual time) that I have to go through zone 1. What I
would like is a ticket that I can buy in advance and hold so that I can make
payment without having to wait at the ticket counters.

I was thinking of using carnet tickets, but apparently you can't use them
for ticket extensions into zones. I also considered Oyster, but I'm not sure
this would work either.

Does anyone have any further suggestions?

Buy your next Z2-5 TC on Oyster, and add some pre-pay credit. Then you
can travel from East Croydon to Clapham Junction, to Vauxhall, then on
the Victoria line to Euston, then on Silverlink to Wealdstone, using
Oyster all the way. The cost of a Z1 ticket extension will
automatically be deducted from your pre-pay balance.

asdf wrote:
I usually make my daily commute from East Croydon to Harrow and
Wealdstone using a zone 2-5 travelcard via Southern Trains. However,
from time to time, I find (either because I've missed a train or I
have to travel at a time earlier/later than my usual time) that I
have to go through zone 1. What I would like is a ticket that I can
buy in advance and hold so that I can make payment without having to
wait at the ticket counters.

I was thinking of using carnet tickets, but apparently you can't use
them for ticket extensions into zones. I also considered Oyster, but
I'm not sure this would work either.

Does anyone have any further suggestions?

Buy your next Z2-5 TC on Oyster, and add some pre-pay credit. Then you
can travel from East Croydon to Clapham Junction, to Vauxhall, then on
the Victoria line to Euston, then on Silverlink to Wealdstone, using
Oyster all the way. The cost of a Z1 ticket extension will
automatically be deducted from your pre-pay balance.

Thanks a lot.

Would this still work if I had to go all the way to Watford Junction, and if
I had to go via Victoria instead of Vauxhall? I don't think that they do
Oyster up to Watford Junction, do they?

Would this still work if I had to go all the way to Watford Junction, and if
I had to go via Victoria instead of Vauxhall? I don't think that they do
Oyster up to Watford Junction, do they?

Nope, Oyster isn't valid to Watford Jn so you'd need a paper extension
ticket anyway. And it wouldn't work via Victoria either - you'll need
to enter Zone 1 using a route where Oyster pre-pay is valid, which
from South London basically restricts you to the Tube (or Thameslink
via Elephant & Castle, if you can find somewhere to touch in). It's
been mentioned here that Oyster pre-pay will be rolled out over all of
NR in London by 2007, so here's hoping.

Epetruk wrote:
I usually make my daily commute from East Croydon to Harrow and Wealdstone
using a zone 2-5 travelcard via Southern Trains. However, from time to time,
I find (either because I've missed a train or I have to travel at a time
earlier/later than my usual time) that I have to go through zone 1. What I
would like is a ticket that I can buy in advance and hold so that I can make
payment without having to wait at the ticket counters.
...
Does anyone have any further suggestions?

Do you ever use the Silverlink Clapham - Willesden Junction trains?
They give you extra options if you take the first available train to
the first junction, though it'll always be slower than one through train.

I think they're half-hourly.

Colin McKenzie