Continuation Exits
There are a number of stations where it isn’t always obvious whether you should touch out or not using platform validators. Usually these validators were intended to start or end Oyster journeys without leaving the station because the overall journey continued using paper tickets on National Rail. In order to avoid problems at the station gatelines and/or the deduction of maximum fares due to unresolved journeys, the validators at these stations are set to continuation exit. Note that this does not apply to readers attached to a gateline.
How it works
When you touch out at a standalone validator at one of these stations your fare is adjusted correctly as if you were leaving the Oyster system. Any further touches at that station (including at a gateline) will replicate the exit with no further deduction, as long as the second touch is within the maximum journey time from the station where you started your journey. If you continue on from that station by a different mode then when you exit at your final destination the balance is readjusted for the new end point.
The drawbacks
There are two drawbacks to be aware of. Firstly, if there are no gates at the station then you must touch out using a validator if that is the end of your journey. However, it is impossible to touch in until the maximum journey time from the start of the first journey has elapsed. If you did not want to stay very long at one of these places then this could cause a problem.
Secondly there may be a problem with National Rail RPIs. The exit touch removes the maximum fare which is what the RPIs are lookimg for when they check the card using a hand-held reader. If at all possible you should only touch out and back in again at an interchange station if it is absolutely necessary, usually because one or both parts of the station are protected by gates.
The stations
These are the stations where standalone validators are set to continuation exit:
- Barking
- Chalfont & Latimer
- Ealing Broadway
- Elmers End
- Farringdon
- Harrow Wealdstone
- Harrow-on-the-Hill
- Highbury
- Kensington Olympia
- Kentish Town
- Moorgate
- Old Street
- Paddington LU
- Seven Sisters
- South Ruislip
- Stratford
- Watford Junction
- West Croydon
- West Ham
- West Ruislip
- Wimbledon
Note: Finsbury Park was included on the list given by TfL in a FOI response, but it is no longer set this way because the NR platforms are now gated.
This page updated 21 May 2011.
19 Responses
You indicate above that “it is impossible to touch in [to start a second journey] until the maximum journey time from the start of the first journey has elapsed.” Does this issue potentially arise every time a single journey from A to B is closely followed by another from B to C? Or does it apply only when the mid-point station of the two journeys has Continuation Exit readers?
For example, if I do this…
(1) travel from Kings Cross LU to Moor Park (journey time 45 mins; max journey time 120 mins);
(2) leave Moor Park station for 60 mins (ie. until 105 mins after starting);
(3) travel from Moor Park to Waterloo LU (50 mins; 155 mins since start)
…does the short stay at Moor Park create any complications? Or are these two separate, straightforward journeys, without any potential pitfalls?
Thanks for maintaining this excellent site, which I’ve only just discovered. It’s just what an irregular Oyster PAYG-er like me (mainly one-off, unfamiliar journeys) needs to make sure I don’t get caught out.
It really depends on whether Moor Park has gates as well as validators. I suspect it might have. If it does then you should be ok, because the gate clears the continuation exit marker. I’ve never been to Moor Park, so I don’t know.
Until they changed the programming, there was a problem at Finsbury Park as it only has validators at the moment.
Sorry, tried to make my question simple but forgot about the Chiltern NR interchange at Moor Park! But NR shares the Met Line “fast” platforms there and I don’t believe there are any validators, just normal gates. I should have used as an example a simple station with gates only.
So just to clarify, is it the case that the only way that one completed journey can inadvertently be “continued” into another would be if there are continuation exit validators at the “middle” station? In other words, if you exit a gate, that journey is always completed?
I’d guess there might be validators on the platforms then if NR and LU share them. My understanding is that gates always close a journey except in the case of an out of station interchange. That is slightly different, but can lead to problems. Say you travel from Slade Green to Lewisham by NR and DLR via Greenwich. On arrival at Lewisham you touch out of the DLR station and go and do what you went there for. 15 minutes later you get back and find that there’s a direct train to Slade Green from the NR station so you touch in there. Because that is within the 20 minutes allowed for the out of station interchange it joins the two journeys into one. When you touch out at Slade Green you will have two unresolved journey charges.
First posting after joining a great site.
Can I clear up some confusion about Moor Park in that it is gated and only Metropolitan Line train serve the station now.
National Rail services ceased to call in the early 1990′s at or around the time of the turbo trains introduction.
Thanks Malcolm, and welcome.
Hi there,
First of all an interesting site to clear some common confusions over the ticketing system.
I am wondering if you could help me with my question. I have Z1-3 monthly paper ticket and if I travel to Harrow & Wealdstone, how can I touch in & out my Oyster PAYG in Zone 5 to deduct just the Zone 5 charge of 1.30?
Just to add bit of more information, I would need to travel from Seven Sister to Euston and then take Midlands train to Harrow (Euston – Zone 5)
Regards,
Prad
Firstly, I’ve combined your two comments into one, even though I’m not quite sure what this has to do with continuation exits.
Secondly, you appear to be trying to evade paying for zone 4. That is something that this site will never condone.
However, when you next buy your season, put it on your Oyster card instead of getting a paper ticket. That way you will only be charged for a zone 4-5 journey when making this sort of trip.
Mike,
You misunderstood me. I am not trying to evade paying for Zone 4. If you take London Midlands train to Harrow & Wealdstone from Euston its just Zone 1 & 5. I have once used my monthly season in Oyster & PAYG to Harrow & Wealdstone, the ticket barrier just charged me 1.30 for Zone 5 alone. However, now I have now started using the paper ticket and wondering how can I combine paper ticket & Oyster PAYG from Euston – Harrow.
PS:- Please check the below TFL site where they have specially mentioned Euston – Zone 5 and thats the reason I particularly mentioned about the London Midlands Train.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx
Regards,
Prad
Prad,
There’s misunderstanding on both sides then. According to that page the fare of £1.30 applies to zones 4-5 as well as zone 5 only. The special Euston fares are only applicable when travelling on the line from Euston to Watford Junction only. Your journey combines Underground and National Rail.
That said, my advice still remains the same. You need to put your season ticket on your Oyster card so that it only charges you for zones 4 and 5. As there is no station on the boundary between zones 3 and 4 you cannot combine Oyster PAYG and a paper season ticket without paying for zone 3 twice (or risking a penalty fare on the section between the last station in zone 3 and the first station in zone 4.
I hope that helps.
Hi,
Just trying to clarify something (after seeing on my oyster PAYG journey history that I have a couple of incomplete journeys).
I read here that the validators I had touched in at were Ealing Broadway Central line platform and District Line platforms.
My journeys were as follows:
Hayes & Harlington to Ealing B’way (FGW)
Ealing B’way to Victoria (District line)
and
Hayes & Harlington to Ealing B’way (FGW)
Ealing B’way to Marble Arch (Central Line)
Am I right in thinking that I do not need to touch in on the Central Line or District Line platforms before getting the Central/District Line tube as it is a continuation of my journey?
In both cases I was charged 50p for the ‘incomplete’ journey.
Any clarification would be useful.
Thanks for a very useful site
S
Yes, you don’t need to touch in the middle of your journey at Ealing Broadway. I’m not sure about the 50p bit – I’d expect this to be the difference between Hayes to Ealing and Hayes to zone 1, but I can’t seem to find a fare scale that makes that 50p. For instance, if you are an adult travelling off-peak I would expect to see £1.40 charged for Hayes to Ealing and £1.30 added on for Ealing to Victoria making £2.70 in total. If you have a railcard, or some other discount, then the fares would be different.
In any case, it isn’t a true incomplete journey because the system has corrected itself at the end. It’s just that journey history doesn’t know what to do with the extra validation. Also, if you do this then some RPIs get confused because your card appears to be un-validated on the second leg and you might be issued with a penalty fare. So the best advice is not to touch in the middle at Ealing Broadway.
Sab,
I’ve just twigged what you are doing. It’s between 1600 and 1900 so the charge is peak Hayes to Ealing at £2.20, but because the total journey ends in zone 1 it is converted to off-peak making £2.70.
Thanks for the super quick reply, this was really bugging me but I thought next time I would try not touching in at Ealing if going onto the tube and see what happens. I guess the 50p is just making up the rest of the journey into Zone 1 from Hayes.
This is what the actual charges were for one of the journeys (for both of them I was charged the same as travelling similar times):
???? – 18:51 [No touch-in] to Marble Arch £0.50
17:55 – 18:14 Hayes & Harlington [National Rail] to Ealing Broadway £2.20
Thanks again, keep up the great work!
Could you explain how it works ate elephant and castle.
Lets say you are traveling from Baker street to elephant and castle, and then catching the over-rail to say balham. Do you touch out at the tube station ( I guess yes since it has barriers) and then touch in again at elephant and castle over-rail (if so where, there are no barrier per se). Or do you not touch in at elephant and castle over-rail
John
Hi John,
I’m guessing that you’re really talking about the out-of-station-interchange rather than a continuation exit.
If there are no barriers at the National Rail station then you should touch in at the platform validators. These are usually positioned near the entrance/exit or sometimes on an overbridge. I’m not familiar with Elephant and Castle so I’m not sure.
Hope that helps.
Hi,
I have to travel from heathrow to Stratford. I plan to buy a Heathrow connect ticket to Earling Broadway. After that I have my Oyster PAYG card. My question is: Can I touch in on the validator on the Central line platform and then touch out at the validator on the platform of Stratford. I then need to catch a train to Norwich. Please do help. thanks
Hi Sudhir,
Yes, that’s exactly what those validators are designed for.
thanks….
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