Day Return and London Travelcard

martindow

In an other thread it was suggested that you could could save money by getting a return to the zone boundary and then a travelcard.

I occasionally travel from Reading to London on off peak day return with a zone 1-6 travelcard using a Senior Railcard. Would there be saving buying a return to West Drayton (zone 6) or Southall (zone 4) and a separate travelcard?

If so would the train need to stop at the boundary station?

Could both tickets be bought at Reading?

I've been trying to work this out on FGW's web site but can't see prices for travel cards there.


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dzug1

You cannot buy or price boundary zone x tickets online - only at the station or by phone. Whether it's cheaper or not - no idea. The train would not need to stop at the boundary station if one of the tickets is a travelcard, but those that do not stop have greater off peak restrictions than those that do.

You can buy both tickets at Reading

totallybored

An off peak 1-6 travelcard with a senior railcard is only £5.90, slightly cheaper on Oyster. I have no idea how much the train to Reading costs but my OH visits his sister there and it's cheaper for him to get the long train that goes via Clapham than from Paddington.

thelawnet

You can price boundary tickets online on brfares.com

The destination would be 'Boundary Zone 6', or 'Boundary Zone 4', not Southall or West Drayton - the latter tickets would only be valid if the trains started there.

Travelcard fares are on the tfl website.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx

z1-4 £8 off-peak £11 anytime
z1-6 £8.90 off-peak £16.40 anytime

Fares from Reading:

London Terminals: £17.20 off-peak, £21.70 with inclusive travelcard
BZ6: £10.90 off-peak, £19.80 with separate travelcard
BZ4: £11.70 off-peak, £19.70 with separate travelcard

A Boundary Zone fare is not valid without a separate travelcard so you'd need to buy both at the ticket office.

martindow

Thank you everyone.

Will my railcard discount still apply to a travelcard if it is bought separately?

martindow

[QUOTE=martindow;58421811
Will my railcard discount still apply to a travelcard if it is bought separately?[/QUOTE]
Just answering my own question it seems that it does for zone 1-6 cards but not others

http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/eligibility-benefits/tickets-travel-times/