Problems with booking rail -> tube -> DLR tickets

John_Gray

I am trying to book single "advance" tickers from Gloucester to Cutty Sark DLR and return in early November. Yes, advance tickets are available from First Great Western for the days I want - see http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/44703.aspx

Of the online ticketing websites only National Rail Enquiries recognises stations on the DLR, so I am working with that.

This website happily allows me to choose the through journey from Gloucester all the way to Cutty Sark (near Greenwich) [Train to Paddington, tube to Canary Wharf, walk to Heron Quays, DLR to Cutty Sark.] The website also allows me to add a Senior Railcard to the mix. All well and good, so far.

I then click on "Buy Now" and get taken to the First Great Western website, but this comes up with the message "No fares have been found for your selected service." If I change my journey to just be the train section from Gloucester to Paddington (and return), it all works correctly.

Does anyone have an idea of how I can book a "straight through" ticket from Gloucester to Cutty Sark, without having to buy a "Visitor Oystercard" to do the tube and DLR sections?

(An email to First Great Western gives the cheery response that they hope to give a proper answer within five working days, but that they are very busy and it might take longer! What a way to run a railway?)

wealdroam

Cutty Sark is in zone 2/3.

Try buying a ticket to London zones 1-6.

For example, a Super Off Peak Day Travelcard zones 1-6 from Gloucester is £53.50.

This is £5 more than a similar ticket to Paddington, but it does include any travel within the travelcard zones.

A single tube ticket each way from Paddington to Cutty Sark costs £4.50 each way when paying with cash.

John_Gray

wealdroam wrote: »

Cutty Sark is in zone 2/3. Try buying a ticket to London zones 1-6.

I've tried putting London Zones... into both the National Rail Enquiries website and the FGW website but it gets rejected as No Such Station.

I'm travelling OUT on Thu 7 Nov and RET Sunday 10 Nov.

wealdroam

Because you are returning on a different day, then the travelcard ticket from Gloucester isn't available.

Also, there is no Advance Single ticket that will get you nearer to Cutty Sark than Paddington.

Probably best to the get Advance Singles to/from Paddington and get an Oyster card for the tube/dlr bit.

Don't buy a visitors oyster, they are non-refundable.

Get an ordinary oyster at Paddington. They cost £5 but that is refundable together with any unused funds remaining on the card when you decide you no longer need it.

John_Gray

Thanks very much! It seems, therefore, that the National Rail Enquiries website is wrong in offering me a "through" ticket for two different days.

Is is possible to have the Senior Railcard 'discount' feature added to either the Oyster or the Visitor Oyster cards?

zerog

John_Gray wrote: »

Is is possible to have the Senior Railcard 'discount' feature added to either the Oyster or the Visitor Oyster cards?

Yes, just ask at the tube ticket office. They will ask you to fill in a form to register it. Possibly not for the visitor card, but there is no reason to get a visitor card.

Note that if you want your Oyster refunded you will need to bring a utility bill.

mrschaucer

You can definitely add the SR discount to your Oyster at, say, Paddington by asking at the ticket office. However I might be wrong on this, but you might have to "register" your Oyster first before you can add your discount to it, and that registration would usually be done online. So maybe you COULD do it all in one go when you get to Paddington, but you could instead buy your Oyster online, load it up with some credit and register it in readiness before you travel, so that all you have to do is get the SR discount loaded on the day.

Edit - sorry, written as zerog was posing!
Edit again - sorry, POSTING! Too much wine at lunchtime ...

dzug1

My - recent - experience is that you need to fill in a form and hand it in at the ticket office to register your senior railcard. Some form of ID may be needed as well.

This was despite the card already being registered online.

John_Gray

Thanks to all for their comments!

If it is possible to get an 'ordinary' Oystercard for £5 and have this charge refunded when the card's no longer needed, and a Visitor Oystercard for a non-refundable £3, and both can have a Senior Railcard discount applied to them, then what is the point of the Visitor Oystercard?

Am I missing something obvious?

dzug1

The visitor card is there to ensure that the hundreds of visitor cards that never get returned get paid for in some measure or other. Or slightly more cynically to make money out of gullible lazy disorganised tourists.

But no - there's not a lot of point in them

yorkie2

wealdroam wrote: »

Because you are returning on a different day, then the travelcard ticket from Gloucester isn't available.

Also, there is no Advance Single ticket that will get you nearer to Cutty Sark than Paddington.

If you're talking named stations, Greenwich is the closest.

However, it should be possible to purchase a through Advance ticket to Zone U12* Londn.

I have looked this up, and there are plenty of tickets priced at £8.80 to London Terminals (ie Paddington), if you were to extend this to Greenwich the cost is £9.50, alternatively to Zone U12* Londn the fare is £10.75.

The Greenwich ticket would be valid for a cross-London transfer, and you would have to use Southeastern to get to Greenwich.

The Zone U12* Londn ticket would allow a route entirely on LU/DLR , such as Lancaster Gate - Bank on the Central Line; Bank - Cutty Sark, or you could avoid the 5 min walk to Lancaster Gate and take the Bakerloo, interchanging at Oxford Circus, for example.

wealdroam wrote: »

Probably best to the get Advance Singles to/from Paddington and get an Oyster card for the tube/dlr bit.

Possibly, but bear in mind that on the return journey, it may be advantageous to have a through ticket from either Greenwich or Zone U12* Londn, as that would ensure that a later train could be caught from Paddington, in the event of disruption on the DLR or London Underground services.

Technically speaking, if you combine Oyster PAYG and start your journey on LU/DLR, then if you are delayed into Paddington, you may be asked to purchase a new ticket.

On the other hand, if you start your journey with National Rail (e.g. from Greenwich) and adhere to the minimum interchange times, then you are covered in the event of delays, but you need to visit the ticket office at Paddington.

For these reasons, a ticket from Zone U12* Londn to Gloucester is what I would recommend, at least for the return journey, for the peace of mind.