Railcard Discounts
Holders of certain National Rail discount railcards can have their entitlement registered on their Oyster card. This then gives them 1/3 off the price of single off-peak rail fares and also the off-peak price cap. Remember that the off-peak cap applies during the evening peak between 1600-1900. Previously it only applied to rail journeys where at least one part involved a national rail service, but from January 2011 the discount has been extended to all rail journeys in the Oyster area, be they National Rail, Underground or DLR. There are no discounts for bus or tram journeys. The railcards which can be linked to an Oyster card are:
- 16-25 Railcard
- Disabled Railcard
- Gold Card
- HM Forces Railcard
- Senior Railcard
Note also that while the railcard will only discount the purchase of zone 1-6 and 1-9 paper travelacrds, on Oyster you also get reductions on the zone 1-2 and 1-4 caps as well.
How to get the discount
You need to take your Oyster card and your National Rail dicount card to an Underground ticket office, Overground ticket office or some National Rail ticket offices. You then ask the clerk to add your discount entitlement to your Oyster card. It will be valid until the expiry of the railcard. Once your Oyster has a discount attached to it you can no longer share it with other people as it is only valid with the associated discount card. We have had reports that some ticket office staff don’t understand how to set the discount, but I’ve managed to learn what the procedure is at an Underground ticket office, so if you get problems you can pass this to the clerk.
Press F12 (returns to main menu)
Press F7 (Oyster Administration)
Press F1 (Edit On Card/Off Card personal details)
If the card is not registered, enter the station NLC in the Photocard field
Otherwise
Tab down to the first empty discount field
Select “NR Railcard”
Enter expiration date
FinalizePlease print a mini-statement:
F12 Main Menu
F7 Oyster Administration
F4 Interrogate Oyster
Touch Card
F1 PrintCustomer, check top of mini-statement, should show “NR Railcard [expiry date]“
And that’s all there is to it. Logic says that if you buy an annual travelcard season the Gold card discount flag should automatically be set, but it won’t be. Just ask the clerk to ensure that it’s set.
This page updated 30 January 2012.
158 Responses
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Paul, Steve Chambers. Steve Chambers said: + don't take no for an answer! RT @bitoclass Great tips on getting the discount … actually loaded onto your Oyster: http://bit.ly/hwo34F [...]
If I do a mix of journies after 9.30am and also in the new peak hours of 4-7pm with a Gold card registered on my Oyster; Will it give me a third off the OFF-PEAK price cap or a third off the PEAK price cap.
I think its probably best to use the gold card to buy a paper Off-Peak one day travelcard (ODT).
Even with a Goldcard they will not sell paper ODT mon-Frid at my N.R station. They will issue you with a discounted ODT at a tube station though.
Does it effect single fares on the bus?
Thanks Terry
After seeing a news item on BBC London News about the avaiablility of adding a Gold Card railcard to an Oyster card I went to Clapham Common underground station to get my Gold Card Railcard loaded on to my Oyster card… and that’s were the fun began!
To cut a long story short all three members of staff in the ticket office, one whom was a staff trainer (!), all told me that Gold Cards cannot be loaded on to Oyster card. I even presented to them all a printed copy of the “Terms & Conditions of Issue for Reduced Price Tickets issued in conjunction with an Annual Gold Card and Annual Gold Card Travelcard – Effective 03 May 2010” document which I’d printed from the NR website. I was asked by the ticket clerk where had I got these terms & conditions from. I replied “from the National Rail website”… and the reply I got back was “Oh well then it’s nothing to do with us [TfL], it only applies to National Rail” !!!
After 15-20 minutes trying to convince Angelina, the ticket clerk at the window, to load my Gold Card railcard on to my Oyster card I gave up as I was getting know where!
Hi Terry,
I’ve made some small changes to the text to answer your queries. The railcard discount is not available during the morning peak which is when the peak cap applies. At all other times the off-peak cap applies and you do get discounts off that. There are no discounts on single fares on the bus.
Your other comment concerns me. Off-peak day travelcards should be available in paper form from all stations. Only shops (Oyster Ticket Stops) have stopped selling them. Can you tell me which station it is? Also remember that the cheapest discounted paper off-peak day travelcard is the zones 1-6 version. On Oyster you can also get discounts off the cheaper zone 1-2 and zone 1-4 off-peak caps.
Hi Paul,
Sorry to hear about this trouble. Sadly it doesn’t surprise me that much. Try taking the instructions above along and see if that does the trick.
Hi Mike,
In the end I went to London Bridge station where the ticket clerk knew exactly what I needed and loaded my Gold Card railcard straight on to my Oyster card in less than 10 seconds! Just have to try it now and see if it works…
Ah yes, London Bridge are good. They’ve sorted a few things out for me too. Pleased to hear it’s sorted.
On the TFL website the references to money off ‘ single off peak fares’ has gone. Has it been scrapped already?
Hi Alex,
I think some pages have been edited in error, possibly by reversing recent changes. What matters is that the discounts are still applied in the single fare finder, so I can confidently say that they haven’t been scrapped.
It is worth noting that railcard holders making National Rail journeys during the evening peak may save money by buying a paper ticket instead. This is because there is no Railcard discount off peak fares. For example, a ticket from Erith to London in the evening peak costs £5.20 on Oyster, but a paper ticket with Railcard discount is only £3.65.
I say “may” because if they will get a daily cap, then it’s better to use Oyster!
Does anyone know whether a Partner’s Network Card which has ‘Gold Network Card’ written on it, afford any more discounts than a normal Network Card? Thanks.
Hi Angie,
The Gold Card Partner’s Card is just a normal Network Card at a special reduced price. The price of the card is the only extra benefit above the standard Network Card benefits.
Thanks Mike. It’s a shame it doesn’t attract the same benefits, especially considering the cost of my husband’s annual season ticket!
[...] difficult conversations with ticket office workers. Instructions here for the ticket office man http://www.oyster-rail.org.uk/railcard-discounts/ "Fancy cheaper tube fares? They're yours if you have a Gold Card. That's the special [...]
Do you know whether a Network Railcard can still be used to purchase a discounted all-zones Travelcard? Until recently, this information was included in the TFL fares booklets, together with details of Gold Card benefits, but I cannot find that info in any TFL literature now.
Yes, you can buy a discounted all-zones travelcard with a Network Railcard on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday.
To Mike,
I have a 16-25 Railcard added onto my Oyster Card. I recently made 3 journeys in Z1 at off peak times (although I did make one in the evening peak) but I was charged £5.70 instead of the reduced Off peak cap of £4.40.
How can I get them to refund the money? How can I check whether my railcard is still on my Oyster Card/ get it re-added? I live 3 hours from London so I can’t go to a LU station – won’t be going to London again for months.
Many thanks in advance,
Will
Hi Will,
Assuming that all three journeys were on the Underground then I think it unlikely that your railcard is correctly logged against that card. The all day zone 1 fare is £1.90, so £5.70 is the total for 3 journeys. If you had a railcard and 2 of them were outside the peak then they would have been charged at £1.25 each.
Has the railcard recently been renewed? When you get a railcard added to an Oyster card it only lasts as long as the railcard itself. If you check online (if your card is associated with an online account) then it will tell you if you have a railcard added. Unfortunately you can only get a railcard added at a station selling Oyster products.
Where do you check online whether you have a railcard loaded to your card?
I believe that it will appear on the summary page when logged in to Oyster online. Your card would need to be linked to your online account to be able to see that.
Hello,
I have an annual Gold Card taking me from Wokingham to Waterloo and it includes tube travel zones 1-6. Do you know if its possible to get this onto an Oyster Card. Basically I just want to avoid taking the paper card out its wallet and inserting into machine. The oyster card is so much less hassle. So this is not about cost, I just want to avoid fiddling with the card and trying to avoid losing/dropping it etc.
Thanks, John
Unfortunately you can’t put an out-boundary travelcard on an Oyster unless it is one of the stations (like Watford Junction) included within the Oyster area. You can get the Gold Card discount registered, but as your season covers almost the whole Oyster area already there may not be much point.
Mike a question for you, as you seem very helpsful answering everyone’s questions. Or anyone else, please I need some help!
I live in Amersham (zone 9) and travel into London about twice a week. I buy my ticket a one day travelcard (offpeak) for £7.20, this would normally cost me £11.00 but I have a 16 – 25 railcard so it costs me £7.20 I travel around London but sometimes just go to lets say into Zone 1 and then to zone 3 and then back again. Would it be wroth getting one, I mean is it cheaper then a paper ticket.
Also yesturday I went to parsons green (zone 2) I just wanted a single it was peak I had to be there at 9.00am and it cost me £7.00 with an oyster would this have been cheaper?
Some help would be great thanks John
Hi John,
For the journeys you are talking about Oyster will be no more expensive than the appropriate travelcard. You’ll need to get your railcard added to your Oyster card if it isn’t already, but they can do that at Amersham. A simple return journey from zone 9 to zone 1 and back is likely to be cheaper than an off-peak travelcard unless one of the journeys is in the afternoon peak. If it is then you’ll simply cap at the travelcard rate. Obviously the railcard will not affect morning peak journeys, but a straightforward return journey will again be less than the anytime cap/travelcard.
The single fare finder on the TfL site is a great tool for working out how much journeys will cost.
Hello,
I am currently having problems with my oyster and rail cards. I went to Chesham station and had my railcard applied to my oyster card which was fine. I then made an off peak journey and the cap remained the same, no discount was applied. I then made two more journies a few days apart during the off peak hours and no cap was applied. I made sure to start all journies after 9:30am despite the off peak hours at Chesham beginning at 9am.
After three journies where the discount had failed to apply I went back to the ticket office and they told me that the railcard had definitely been applied and printed me off a ***Personal Details*** section on paper which shows that there is a student discount applied.
I have a 16-25 (Young Persons) Rail card.
Can you perhaps shed some light on this for me please? Your help/opinion would be most welcomed.
Thank you very much.
Alex.
Hi Alex,
Can you confirm what each journey was (start and finish) and how much was charged?
Hello again,
Very sorry for such a long time with out posting back to you. It turns out that the ticket office clerk had applied the wrong discount. He applied one which said “Student” rather than the one which said “NR Railcard”. The problem is now fixed fingers crossed.
This information was only found out after emailing oyster online four times and then calling the oyster helpline twice….. what a fantastic service. Hahahaha.
Thanks.
Thanks for letting us know, Alex. I should have guessed when you said that the printout said “Student Discount” rather than NR Railcard. Glad it’s sorted out now though.
I think I ought to have picked up on that myself but I have heard people refer to them at “Student” railcards so I didn’t question it. Although when three different members of Underground staff at Chesham didn’t notice it when I asked them what was wrong how are people such as me supposed to? Hahaha. Thank you.
Just tried to get the ticket clerk at Gants Hill to add the railcard discount (I have a Annunal Travelcard) to my Oyster. He tried to tell me it didn’t exist, he then phoned the oyster helpline, who also said it didn’t exist.
Guess I need to try a busier station who might have had other people ask for one, or one with better trained staff.
Hi Jacord,
If you can, please try giving the staff at Gants Hill the instructions above. If that fails then yes, perhaps a busier station might have better luck. I would definitely complain if Gants Hill still refuse. Please let us know how you get on.
Hi Mike,
How soon after having the Gold card discount loaded onto my Oyster should this appear on Oyster Online? I only had the discount loaded this morning (I hope!) so might I have to wait until tomorrow for Oyster online to be updated?
Thomas Ralph,
Did you manage to find it online?
thanks,
Kim
Hi Kim,
After checking my Mum’s card after putting her senior railcard on it, I don’t think it appears anywhere online. This is actually quite disappointing. You should be given a longish printout by the person who added it and that clearly shows it has been done.
Thanks Mike,
I wasn’t given any sort of print-out or receipt and it all happened so quickly that I’m doubting it was done correctly! I might try checking my Oyster card on a Oyster ticket machine to see if the discount shows.
Kim
In the hands of an experienced operator who knows what they are doing it probably takes about 10-15 seconds to do. They should provide the printout as well though. If you go to a tube station then just ask them for a printout at that time. Say you need to check that the railcard is loaded if they ask why.
Hello mike, I m going to work in Woking but I have never used train to travel regularly for work. I m bit worried about travelling cost so can u help me what is the best ticket to minimise my cost? Working hour9-5 m travelling Aldershot to Woking. M eligible for Hm force railcard if that help. I asked the counter woman in Aldershot station she was behaving so rude to me I feel she was making fun of me.
Hi Sasha,
This is a bit outside my area of expertise, but I’ll try to help. The forces railcard does not give you any discount on season tickets. It also has a £12 minimum fare when used before 10am apart from in July and August. Therefore I think that a season ticket will be your cheapest option most of the time. You might find that individual Anytime returns with the railcard are cheaper than a season ticket in July and August.
Hope that helps.
Hi Mike,
I did mean to update you earlier but didn’t get round to it. The next day I was close to Mile End so got them to add the Railcard discount. Which they did very quickly and without any questions. I also wasn’t given any kind of print out.
Hi Mike, many thanks for this amazing tip! Got it activated second go at East Putney (the ticket clerk at Wimbledon sort of knew what I wanted but said I had to go to a tube station). The guy at East Putney was beyond helpful – he was amazing, did it within 15 seconds, gave me the print out without me asking and even gave me a refund for a wrongly incomplete journey (the result of changing from tram to National Rail at Wimbledon and touching in at the wrong reader… another story). To my delight, not only do I get my off-peak discount on National Rail PAYG, I also now find that I get a discount on tube fares! Very happy indeed!
On a totally unrelated point, do you know if I can get a refund for a single cash fare I had to pay when I left my Oyster travelcard at home?
Thanks for a great site!
Hi George,
I’m not sure. With NR paper seasons of monthly or longer duration you can get a refund on two occasions in any one year. Take it to the station you purchased your travelcard at and see what they say.
Hi Mike,
This has been an incredibly helpful blog and I’ve picked up some good tips from it.
Just wondering if you can help explain something else to me though. I have been making a lot of journeys using Oyster on National Rail (I have a 16-25 railcard loaded). One such is Balham to Kingswood which according to NR website should cost £2.20 (with railcard) yet on my Oyster it comes to £2.90. On my return journey I went to London Bridge which should cost £3.20 but came to something like £5.10. On the other hand, I do Paddington to Hayes and NR website says that should cost £4.10 but comes to £1.90 on my Oyster!
Can you shed any light on this?!
Thanks,
David.
Hi David,
The NR website has not really cracked the interpretation of the Oyster fares. I always recommend using the TfL single fare finder instead. According to that site, Balham to Kingswood with Railcard is £2.90 in the peak (0630-0930 and 1600-1900 Mon-Fri) and £1.30 at other times. Remember that there is no discount on single fares in the afternoon peak, although the off-peak cap is still reduced and applies all day after 0930. Kingswood to London Bridge is £5.20 peak, £2.10 off-peak with Railcard, while Paddington to Hayes should be £4.10 peak and £1.80 off-peak with Railcard.
Hope that helps.
Today I tried to add my Senior Railcard to my Oystercard at two tube stations, even showing them the procedure at the top of this article with the F1 F7 etc.
At Balham they tried valiantly but they said the system would not let them get to the page where the station NLC is entered. I’d like to try again but am not sure what to say.
At London Bridge they told me that my Oystercard must first be registered before rail discounts can be added.
Is that correct? I can’t see why Oystercards need to be registered because the railcard itself identifies the holder. I don’t want to register the Oystercard if I don’t have to.
If not, could you suggest where Balham may have been going wrong in trying to carry out the procedure described above?
Hi Ian,
I had a search through the Oyster help pages and nowhere does it say that the card has to be registered. The person I got the information from certainly believes that it can be done. However, when I asked London Bridge to do my Mum’s card they did ask if it was registered. Fortunately hers is so there was no problem. It is possible that the system has been changed to require registration which might explain why Balham couldn’t do it. I’ll see if I can make enquiries.
I must admit that I always recommend registering the card anyway. It protects the balance if the card is lost or stolen. I appreciate that there is the big brother aspect of knowing where you are travelling, but they only keep the data for 8 weeks. Other than the police in exceptional circumstances, no-one else could get access to the information without knowing your security answer. The last 8 journeys are viewable on the card, but that is true of any card whether registered or not.
I agree that nowhere does it say that the card must be registered in order for railcards to be added, but I could not find a way for their system to add my railcard today. I never keep a large balance.
Thanks for responding and please do let me know if you can come up with a solution.
I hold an annual gold card from Albany Park to London. I want to travel to Sittingbourne from Cannon Street on Friday evening – single. Am I entitled to a discount to the off-peak fare?
Yes, definitely. Just show your season ticket at the booking office and ask for a single to Sittingbourne with Gold Card discount. If your season is actually a travelcard loaded onto your Oyster then you will need to show the Gold Record Card which would have been issued when you bought the travelcard. Assuming it would be a zone 1-5 travelcard then you only need to ask for a boundary zone 5 to Sittingbourne single.
Thanks
Hi Mike,
I have a 18+ student Oyster card with 30% discount of price when I top up monthly ticket. In case, If I buy a 16-25 railcard and link it to my Oyster card, can I have 1/3 off the monthly price of my Oyster card? It’s mean I can have about 50% off the undiscounted price.
Can you let me be clear?
thanks
Hi Mike,
What is the cost of Network card on Oyster? I believe I was charged 28 for the paper network card whereas same costs 26 on Oyster card? Can you pls confirm the same and how can I get the refund?
Also, Is Group discount not valid on Zone 1-6 travel card? Pls confirm.
Thanks,
Rahul
Hi Rahul,
I think there’s a little confusion here. The Network Card cannot be linked to an Oyster Card because there is a minimum fare restriction on Mondays to Fridays which renders the card useless in London. There is a reference to the Network Card on the TfL site, but unfortunately they haven’t updated the price since it increased in May this year. You don’t actually buy a railcard on Oyster, you just record the fact that you have one so that discounts can be applied to pay-as-you-go journeys. You still have to buy the railcard itself from NR.
See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx for details of group travelcards.
Hope that helps.
Hi Bui,
Sorry for the delay replying. The NR railcard discount only applies to off-peak single fares and the off-peak daily cap. It does not affect season tickets or peak fares.
Hi Mike
What a great web site! So helpful!
I have a Senior Railcard just registered on my Oyster Card. Worked straight away – no problem.
I also have a NR annual season ticket to London Liverpool Street from outside the Oyster zonal area (NOT a travelcard). It is an annual GOLD CARD. Angel Station siad it could not be registered on my Oyster Card but did do my Senior Railcard.
My question is should I be able to register my annual (NON travelcard) GOLD CARD or not? Also is there actually any advantage to this as I have the Senior Railcard?
ALSO!
My wife has an Oystercard which I registered on line as an additional card on my account for top-up purposes. To get her Senior Railcard registered on her Oystercard will she have to register the Oystercard on line on her own account first.
Thank you
Mike
Hi Mike,
The annual gold card is allowed to be added to an Oyster card, but there is no benefit if you already have a senior railcard on it. I would be inclined to send an email to TfL alerting them to the fact that Angel don’t know the rules.
For your wife, I don’t know. I have done the same, but I’ve not got any railcard that could be added. I think that the only thing that they will ask is what the security answer is. You could go along with her in case they query that the name is different. Please report back how you get on.
Mike
Thanks for the feed back – excellent ‘service’!!
I will let you know how I get on.
Mike
Hi Mike
I have a 16-25 railcard and want to purchase a paper ticket (i.e. non oyster) off peak day travelcard for zones 1-2 at a tube station. Would I get a discount on this jouney and if so how much?
Hi Catriona,
I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think tube station ticket offices can issue discounted travelcards. Even if they can, the cheapest discounted paper travelcard is the zones 1-6 at £5.30. The only way to get the discounted zone 1-2 rate is to use an Oyster card with the discount entitlement registered.
Hope that helps.
Hi Mike
Great effort on the blog. I have had my YP railcard on my oyster for some time. In the last month I have noticed some irregularities in my fares (all times are ‘entry’ times, as per TFL):
I have travelled zones 2-1 for 1.25 at 5.10pm, zones 1-1 at 5.30pm for 1.90. Also zones 1-1 at 4.20pm for 1.25 and zones 1-1 at 4.32pm for 1.90.
Usually I would trust the computer system absolutely, but I am sure there is some glitch here. Either the fares are discounted in the afternoon peak (still 4-7pm?) or they aren’t! But am slightly afraid that by telling TFL they’ll correct it and it’ll be back to full fare in the afternoon peak. Has anyone noticed a similar issue?
Thanks
Hi Will,
Three of those I agree with. When using TfL rail services to come into zone 1 from outside zone 1 in the afternoon peak, off peak fares apply. The one I’m not sure about is the 1-1 at 4.20pm for £1.25. Can you expand on the specifics of that journey, and whether there were any other journeys made during the day. I’m wondering whether you might actually have capped that day, or whether the start station was dual zoned.
Mike
You’re right, 4.20pm was my exit time. All makes sense after reading your (excellent) page on off-peak times. Still slightly bemused by the logic for a zones 2-1 being cheaper than zone 1 only (between 4-7) but never mind!
Thanks
Hi Will,
Thanks for clearing that up. Zone 2-1 is only cheaper in the evening peak because you have a railcard which discounts off-peak fares. Without the discount it’s the same price (£1.90).
Hi Mike
Can you clear something up for me. What is this evening peak period people keep mentioning but isn’t mentioned any where on the tfl site? It says off peak during the week is 0930 – 0429
Thanks
Hi Carl,
I’m not sure where you’re looking, but it is mentioned in several places. As far as Oyster is concerned it is between 1600 and 1900 on Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Although peak single fares are charged, the off-peak cap applies unless you trigger the peak cap with travel before 0930. See the peak or off-peak page on this site for more details.
Mike
Got you, I just revisited and yes I saw the peak times under the single fares. Thanks for pointing it out.
Thanks
Hi,
Does anybody know if you can use your Oyster card loaded with the national railcard to purchase a one week travelcard for Zones 1-4 (or whatever zone, it doesn’t matter)? If you can, does this mean you can get a third of the price?
Thanks.
Sadly not. Railcard discounts apply to PAYG only, off-peak single fares and the off-peak price caps.
heyyyy just got a question.. A £12 minimum fare applies for journeys made at or before 10am Monday to Friday… i dont get that ..for example if i travel before 10am from mitcham to hendon it will normally cost me 2.80 on my adult oyster card… so when will i be charged 12 pounds..?
thanks and have a great day
Hi Naina,
You won’t be charged that on Oyster. The 16-25 railcard has that restriction for paper tickets, but in reality, if the undiscounted fare is less than £12 then you would be sold the undiscounted fare. With Oyster there are no discounts before 0930 so you would be charged the full adult fare at that time. The Oyster system treats all National Railcards the same so in this case you benefit from the discount a little earlier than you would on paper tickets.
Hope that helps a bit.
thank u 4 the quick reply …
hey Mike sry but another stupid question do I have to link the rail card wiv my oyster card.? ..is it not possible to get discount on a paper ticket…for example if i just want a single ticket ..will i not get discount on the paper ticket or is it cheaper with an oyster card..??
Yes, you can get discounts on paper tickets without linking the railcard to your Oyster. Oyster will usually be far cheaper for single tickets when linked to a railcard. The only time when it isn’t is when touching in between 1600 and 1900 Monday to Friday. If you only travel at that time then discounted paper tickets may be cheaper.
Confused over the 1600-1900 peak with a senior railcard registered on my PAYG. If just using the tube in zones 1-2 do I need to use a paper ticket rather than oyster, if I use oyster will it affect my daily price cap
Hi Ken,
Firstly, I don’t think you can get discounts on Underground paper tickets so you don’t want to go down that route. In the afternoon peak you will pay full fare peak prices, but the discounted off-peak cap applies. For zones 1-2 that is £4.30. If you make two tube journeys in that time they would cost £2.50 each, but the second one will be capped at £1.80 and any further journeys will not charge, as long as you touch in and out correctly, of course.
Hope that helps.
Hi Mike, remarkably informative site, thanks for your efforts. I have a Gold Card annual season from Epsom to London terminals. Sometimes I want to go ‘off piste’: e.g. to Shoreditch High Street. My season is valid to New Cross Gate. If I get off at NXG and touch in, it seems an off peak journey would cost just £1.25 with Gold Card discount: very reasonable. Obviously, I don’t want to do that. But if I pre-book at Epsom a paper single ticket from NXG to Shoreditch HS, it’s £2.65 with Gold Card discount. So it’s either hop off at NXG and waste 10mins, or pay £1.50 more. Yet if I had an Oyster season ticket, I would always be charged just the £1.25? If so, that seems a bit harsh.
Hi Hugh,
It’s not even that simple, unfortunately. You cannot put point-to-point season tickets on Oyster, only travelcards. So if you had a season including zone 1 then you wouldn’t pay anything to get from New Cross Gate to Shoreditch High Street. However, with your Gold Card discount on your Oyster you can make zone 1 and 2 tube journeys off-peak for £1.25 as well. So you could take the fast train to London Bridge then the Jubilee line to Canada Water and the Overground from there. Just be wary of the evening peak where the full fare is charged on single journeys.
Mike, at the moment, I have a paper annual season only to London terminals, which is as much as I need. I know I can get to SHS via London Bridge and Canada Water, but that means two additional changes, vice one travelling via West Croydon (cross platform too). The problem is the excess fare: the journey from West Croydon is on my season ticket, but once the train leaves the main line at NXG I would be liable to a penalty fare. If I book an excess in advance at Epsom, it’s £2.65, but would be £1.25 if I were able to use my Oyster – that seems to mean getting out at NXG and finding a terminal to touch in to. That’s what seems unfair: book your excess fare in advance, and you’re financially penalised.
Hugh, I understand completely where you are coming from. The fault is the abolition of off-peak paper tickets within the Oyster area to encourage people to use Oyster. There is another way of looking at it though: you are paying more for the convenience of not having to change at New Cross Gate.
Hi Mike. I wonder if you can help. I’m confused as to what my daughter should be paying for her journeys. She travels to school from Grays to Upminster and pays £1.15 on the way there (gets the 7.55) and £1.00 on the ways home (gets the 3.45 which gets in at 3.57). She has an oyster card and a 16-25 railcard(which Upminster station assures me has been added to her oyster card). Am i correct in thinking she should be getting a third off her homeward bound journey because of having the railcard?(ie she should be paying 70p on the way home)
Hi Diana,
The fares that your daughter is paying are the TfL 16-17 discounted fares at all times. These are half the normal adult fares of £2.30 peak, £2.00 off-peak. I don’t think that the railcard has any effect on those fares. If you were to use National Rail services where they don’t use the TfL fare scale (ie south of the river mainly) then there would be no discount in the peak, but the third off would apply off-peak.
Thanks for that Mike and for the speedy reply!
Hi Mike,
I have a network railcard which I’m planning to tie up with my oyster card. Can the same netwrok Railcard be tied to a second persons oyster card (say my wife’s oyster)? Thanks for all your valuable advice in this fourm.
Hi Ibs,
Unfortunately the Network Railcard cannot be attached to any Oyster Card. This is mainly due to the minimum fare which applies on Monday to Friday and renders the card useless within the Oyster area.
Thanks Mike, but i have seen here (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx) that we can get Discounted Off-Peak Day Travelcards (also for Network Railcard and Family and Friends Railcard holders). My usage of Oyster card will only be on the weekends & Public holidays. Can you please advice.
Yes, you can get discounted paper travelcards at weekends. You cannot link either the Network Railcard or the Family and Friends Railcard to an Oyster card.
It’s bad enough not being able to link a Network Railcard with Oyster PAYG to get the discounted Day Travelcard rate cap at weekends & public holidays but even worse if you are not within walking distance of a station as you cannot buy paper Travelcards anywhere else. It’s crazy having to pay additionally for a bus journey that should be covered by the Travelcard, and reduces the saving.
Hi Christine,
I sympathise with your situation. The sad fact is that the Network Railcard is primarily designed for rail travel, so niceties like being able to use it on buses with a discounted travelcard are a bit of a bonus. There is a way around the problem if you know you will need the ticket in advance. You can order tickets online with any train operating company and a few other third party retailers. Some of them will post tickets by first class post free of charge, including southeasternrailway.co.uk. Alternatively if you are going to a station a day or more before you want to use the travelcard then you can order online and pick them up from a machine. Or you could buy from the ticket office and some ticket machines will sell tickets for the next day.
Hi Mike – fabulously useful and informative site – thank you.
Is it possible to buy tickets from zone boundaries (e.g. Boundary Zone 5) online in advance anywhere?
I have a Zone 1-5 annual travelcard on Oyster with a paper Gold Card. I’ve already learned that travelling from London to Norfolk is cheaper if I go from KGX and break the journey at Cambs. than if I go on the direct service from Liverpool Street. I also know that I need to buy a ticket from Boundary Zone 5 to Cambridge to get the Gold Card discount on that part of the journey, but it seems I can only do that at KGX on the day, which means I miss out on advance fares. Is that right?
Thanks,
C.
Hi Charlie,
You cannot buy Advance tickets (as opposed to tickets in advance) for boundary zone X flows. You may therefore find that an Advance ticket for the whole journey is cheaper than the walkup fare from the boundary. You can use railcards on Advance tickets as well, which is one reason why splitting at Cambridge is beneficial when you have a Network Gold Card.
The reason why you can’t buy boundary zone tickets online is because the booking office has to have sight of the travelcard which validates the travel to the boundary.
Hope that helps.
Hi Mike
If I make two underground journeys in zones 1&2 and two bus journeys will the daily price cap apply with the senior card discount?
Thanks
jeff
As long as the journeys are all after 0930 M-F (ie when the off-peak cap applies) then yes, the reduced off-peak price cap will apply.
thank you mike and all the people who have contributed to this site,nigh on answered any doubts i had about my senior railcard(i only recieved it yesterday 09/11/11)and oyster cardtravel in london.i will definately load them together to get the full discount benefits.however,being a realist i know that somewhere along the way there will be horror stories with unjustifiable monies being taken willy-nilly;but here goes,i’m about to take the plunge knowing that you guys are out there,who’ve done it and survived to tell the tale if only to pose another riddle for the oracle that goes by the name of mike.many thanks and keep on trucking.
Tried to get a Gold Card added at Highbury and Islington today. It they didn’t have a clue. Hopefully tomorrow mornings shift will have a better idea!
Let’s hope so. If not, try at an Underground station in zone 1, preferably attached to a national rail terminal. I’ve had experience of London Bridge and heard Kings Cross St Pancras is good too.
to continue where i left off;10.30am,decided to walk the 20 mins to clapham junction,wish i’d walked to tooting bec tube instead;the ticket clerk without a blink said”only the underground station can do it” to tell you the truth i use clapham junction a lot and they’ve got be the worst attitude you’ll ever get.so i took my well intentioned quest on the 219 bus to tooting bec(knew i should have walked straight there;will i ever learn?)ticket clerk at tooting bec had a bemused look on her face when i requested if she could load my senior rail card on to my oyster..bless her,took her a few minutes(tutting queue forming behind me..eeek)but it was done,believe you me she was as pleased as me that it’s been sorted,could have been her first too(got the print out too).now for the ultimate test,have already spent £2.60 for 2 bus journeys and £9.60 left on my oyster.dreading it really,will it cap as it should??off to angel around 5pm via clapham junction, willesden green and paddington;then return from angel to tooting bec on northern line,get 219 bus home.will let you know tomorrow.has been 6 hours card is on tfl system.keep on trucking good people
If she’s done it correctly then I’m sure it will cap as it should.
Hi Mike,
Very helpful website – thanks! I occasionally travel from Coulsdon into central London off-peak during the week and at weekends and have recently bought an Oyster Card.
My husband has an annual gold card and therefore I think we are can get a Network railcard for me for £1. From above I see that the Network railcard is useless in the Oyster area, but I don’t really understand why – surely I would still get the Network railcard discount if buying a paper travel card at weekends?
I have tried to work this out from the Oyster and National Rail websites, but it’s so confusing!
Thanks, Hilary
Good evening, is there any way I can tell if I have a railcard loaded onto my oyster card? I have a 16-25 railcard and this was added to my oyster card (I forget when unfortunately but I think it was less than a year ago) yet I’ve been charged £1.90 for a Zone 1 trip on Saturday 5th November 2011 instead of £1.25 the single fare finder quotes me.
Hi Hilary,
You can indeed buy paper travelcards at a discount with a Network Card at weekends and bank holidays. You can’t link an Oyster card and a Network card because the system can’t cope with only allowing discounts at weekends. So the Network card isn’t quite useless at weekends, but it is in the week within the Oyster area because of the minimum fare.
Hi Lee,
If you were charged £1.90 on a Saturday then I would say that you haven’t got a railcard linked. Have you recently renewed it? If yes, you’ll need to have the new ticket linked. Otherwise, take it to an Underground station and ask them to check.
I renewed it in July but I seldom visit London so the validity may have lapsed. I’ll check next time, cheers for the reply.
I’ll bet it has lapsed then. Just take it to an underground station next time you’re in London and get the new one added.
I have just bought a senior rail card. I make infrequent trips from Aldershot to London Waterloo for days out a mix of weekdays and weekends, in the past buying underground tickets as necessary. Will it pay me to get an oyster card? You notice I said a “senior rail card” and am I feeling a senior now as I find trying to work out the various fairs and best use of an oyster card completely baffling! All help appreciated.
PS. I find you your website very useful and full of info, good work.
Hi Jeffers,
Yes, an Oyster card will definitely help. Firstly, Oyster fares are much cheaper than cash fares on the Underground. Secondly, if you get your senior railcard linked to your Oyster you will save even more on off-peak fares. Just take your railcard and Oyster to the ticket office at Waterloo Underground station and the will sort it out for you.
hi,
Could you help? I have a diaabled persons rail card and a student oyster card. Can I link the two?
Thanks
Hi Jodie,
Yes, it looks like you can. See the Railcard tab on http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx for more details.
Hiya,
This is less of a can you do it question, as I thought I had successfully had my 16-25 linked to my card, but a pair of journeys I did the other day have me confused. The TFL history is as follows:
22:49 – 23:17 London Bridge [National Rail] to New Beckenham [National Rail] £1.60 £17.80
22:34 – 22:48 Kings Cross [London Underground / National Rail] to London Bridge [London Underground] £1.90 £19.40
15:12 – 15:29 London Bridge [London Underground] to Kings Cross [London Underground / National Rail] £1.20 £21.30
14:42 – 15:11 New Beckenham [National Rail] to London Bridge [National Rail] £2.30 £22.50
From single finder, a single from NBC to KGX should be £3.50, NBC to LBG £2.30 and LBG to KGX £1.90
I think that means that I have been charged the £3.50 for the whole journey in each direction and the system just shows it in a bit of a confusing way. But I also think it shows that my railcard hasn’t actually been applied.
Any Ideas?
Thanks
Should the senior railcard, that the man at the station said he had added for me, appear on my online account? I can’t find it. I’m wondering if was added correctly. Thanks!
Unfortunately it doesn’t appear anywhere online. The only way you can check is if your off-peak journeys start being charged at the discounted rate. If the ticket office gave you a printout when they added it, that should show the discount applied.
Hi Matt,
Yes, you are correct. In each case the second part of the journey charges you what is needed to raise the first part up to the charge for the whole journey. And unfortunately it looks like the railcard hasn’t been correctly added. I would take it to London Bridge Underground next time you are there as they have always seemed to know what they are doing for me.
Also, in the future if the Thameslink services are running through Central London then it is cheaper to go to St Pancras International rather than Kings Cross Underground. In fact, for that journey you wouldn’t pay any more above the fare for New Beckenham to London Bridge.
Hi mike
Why are train fares so expensive from Harpenden? I have recently moved there today I went to buy a travel card as I need to travel in and out of London this morning, I am then returning later this eve only to be told I can’t do this and will have to buy another ticket. I’m sorry but that is is the most rediculous thing I have heard of a travel card is a travel card!!! It’s now costing an absolute fortune. Why can’t stations like harpenden and st albans have oyster like Watford junction. It’s not exactly like its out in the sticks, the amount of people who use this line to travel to London and back I’m sure will agree.
Hi Natalie,
Unfortunately Harpenden is outside the London travelcard zones, so what you are offered is a return to the boundary of zone 6 plus an all zones travelcard. FCC are allowed to put restrictions on the off-peak version for the return from the boundary to Harpenden. Thus you cannot return on trains leaving St Pancras between 1630 and 1901 on the £17.50 off-peak travelcard. There are two ways to get round this. One is to buy the Anytime travelcard at £29.00 which allows travel at any time, even in the morning peak. The other way is to buy an anytime single from the boundary of zone 6 to Harpenden at £6.50 (total £24.00 with the off-peak travelcard). Because both tickets are zonal you can use the combination on trains that don’t stop at the last station in zone 6 (Elstree & Borehamwood).
Another place where there are quite a few fares experts is the Rail UK forum in their fares, tickets & routeing sub forum. They might have some other ideas. Beyond that, it seems likely that Oyster will be extended sometime next year on some lines to the north of London. I’m not quite sure how the fares will work though.
Hello Mike,
Could I ask you a question?
I registered my 16-25 Railcard onto my 18+Oster and now they say there is only Railcard on my oyster, no more student discount..Do you know what causes this problem? And also, do you know how to solve it?
Thank you,
Ana
Hi Ana,
There does seem to be a problem loading two discounts onto one card. Whether this is because whoever adds the railcard discount puts it in the wrong slot, or the system wipes one out when you add another, I don’t know. If you take the card to an Underground station and ask them to produce a full printout of the card details you should see where the discounts are logged.
I don’t know whether a station can add back the student discount though. You might have to get a fresh card for that. You’ll need to discuss the issue with the helpdesk, who hopefully will waive the fee for a replacement card.
Please let us know how you get on.
Hello again Mike.
A question about adding my senior rail card to my oyster card.
I have just received my oyster PAYG with credit added and need to add my senior rail card. As you suggested earlier on this needs to be done at the appropriate staion and as I am not a regular visitor to London would it be possible to give my rail and oyster card to my nephew to add for me as he commutes regularly to Waterloo, or do you have to apply in person? Just thinking this would save me a bit of time and hassle when I make my first journey with the oyster.
As long as your Oyster card is registered and your nephew knows the security answer then there shouldn’t be a problem. I did my Mum’s card for exactly the same reasons at London Bridge Underground ststaion.
Hi Mike, love the blog!
I will be in london in january. 2 adults + 1 child. Sat – Tues morning. I am a holder of a friends & family railcard. At Euston will I be able to get discounts off 1 day travelcards for all 3 of us? Or is it restricted to 1 child per adult? Im staying in Edmonton so I assume I can use the ticket office there (NXEA) to buy travelcards too? Also on the tuesday morning I assume to take a 7am train from Edmonton to Kings cross the cheapest option would be a single ticket using the F&F railcard?
thanks in advance!
Hi Brian,
Yes, you can get paper travelcards with a Family & Friend’s Railcard. Each Railcard can get discounts for up to four adults and four children as long as there is at least one child and one of the two cardholders. On a normal working day you cannot use the railcard at all in the morning peak. Generally that is after 9.30am in London but it varies by route from elsewhere in the South East.
Hi Mike,
Amazing website with lots of information. I also have something to ask.
I am travelling from Mitcham Eastfileds to Oxford Circus and planning to buy Annual Season Pass(Gold Card). I just want to know few things
1. Do i need to buy it from National Rail Station or Tube Station and what is the difference between both of them.
2. Can my wife gets any advantage on daily travel to her office. She use to travel from Mitcham Eastfields to Balham.
3. I am sure there are so much benefits of having gold card. Can you please highlight few of them as i have seen on so many websites everyone has different opinion.
Thanks in advance,
Kuldeep
Hi Kuldeep,
If it’s a travelcard season then you can buy at either. The NR station will issue it on paper whereas the tube station will issue it on Oyster. When you have a gold card your wife can purchase a Network Card for £1. This gives 1/3 off off-peak fares but there is a minimum fare on Monday to Friday so it probably won’t be much use for work. You get 1/3 off off-peak fares too, but without the minimum fare, and your wife can travel with you under your conditions. For the definitive list of benefits I suggest searching on the National Rail Enquiries website.
Hi Mike,
Excellent website, much more informative than TfL! I bought a zone 1-2 oyster annual travelcard and they posted me a gold card. However have just noticed when I go outside zones off peak I’m not getting 1/3 off. Is this not loaded automatically? What’s the chance of them refunding the “over charging”?
Thanks,
Laurence
Hi Laurence,
Unfortunately the discount is not applied automatically. You’ll need to take it to a tube station to have that done. I wouldn’t hold out much hope of them refunding the overcharging, but if you call the helpdesk there is a slight chance that they might consider anything in the last 8 weeks. They can tell when you added the travelcard and your history over the last 8 weeks. It just depends whether they are allowed to calculate how much you might have overpaid in that time.
Just wondering if you could add a disclaimer that London Overground ticket offices south of New Cross Gate are unable to add railcard information to Oyster as they use Shere SMART instead of FasTIS.
This is a legacy from inheriting those stations from Southern and LOROL have no plans to upgrade the equipment.
Thanks Martin,
I’m trying to compile a list of exceptions to the general rules about what stations can do what at the moment. I’m waiting on a delayed response to a FOI request at present.
My partner renewed their Annual travelcard (plus Goldcard) today. When he requested that the Railcard discount be set, the ticket office staff requested that he provide full address and password. My partner has had an annual travelcard for many years on this oystercard, so the card is clearly registered, but has never had the railcard discount before.
I renewed my annual travelcard last week and wasn’t asked to provide address and password – I’m not even sure what my password is.
Does anyone know why he’s been asked for this information, when I wasn’t, or whether the ticket office staff was doing something wrong? It seems wrong that he can buy a ticket at any national rail station now and be given the appropriate discount, but to get the discount added to the oystercard he needs to provide further information (which I did not have to provide for my ticket).
We will try another station tomorrow – interestingly, having read the procedures at the top of this page there’s a note that says that if the card is not registered, to enter the station NLC code in the Photocard field – for my partner, that field still contained the old photocard number.
I have a couple of questions-
I have just got an annual Zone 2-4 Gold Card season ticket from my local station, but had to get a paper one as it is National Rail. Can this be loaded onto my Oyster retrospectively at a tube station? If not, what do I do if I want to go beyond my zones? Do I have pay the complete fare or break my journey to using my Pay as You Go Oyster?
Also, I did not get a Partner Network card when I got my travelcard- if I get this say in 6 months, will it still be valid for a year beyond the validity of my Gold Card?
Hi Rachel,
I’m not sure whether a paper travelcard can be converted to an Oyster one. Your best bet is to ask the TOC who runs the station you bought it at. If they have any other stations with Oyster facilities then they may be able to.
If you want to mix a paper season with PAYG then unfortunately you will need to get off to touch in/out. If you are going out of London then a paper ticket from boundary zone 4 might be better value, but they can only be bought at a station, or possibly over the phone. For zone 1 you’ll just have to pay from the last zone 2 station unless it’s Vauxhall or Elephant & Castle or another dual zoned 1+2 station. Do take your gold card to a tube station to get it logged on your Oyster so you will at least get the 1/3 off off-peak fares.
Finally, yes, the partner card is valid for one year from purchase regardless of when the season is bought. You can only get one partner card per gold card.
I’m not sure Bruno. I think if the card is registered then you might well have to provide the password. I’ve never been asked for the address though when I’ve added my Mum’s senior card for her. There does seem to be a lot of confusion amongst ticket office staff over National Rail discount cards.
Hi Bruno, My cynical side says that they asked for the password and address as they had no idea how to add the discount and didn’t want to admit it. Hoping you would not remember the password or want to give your address out at a busy station.
It took me three goes each at different stations before I found someone who would
a, admit that a gold card discount was possible
b, Knew how to do it.
My advice is go to a major tube or NR station as the staff at big stations seem to have more idea than small ones.
Hi Mike
thanks for this blog, excellent information.
I have recently added my Network Railcard to my oyster card and I get discounts on my off peak PAYG fares and a discount on the off peak price cap. I notice on the TFL website that the Network Card should only allow the purchase of off peak travelcards at weekends and bank holidays at a discount. Is the website wrong or have I been incorrectly set up at the ticket office? (not that I am complaining if I have been!)
You’ve been very lucky. The Network Card cannot be added to an Oyster card. The minimum fare on Mondays to Fridays means it is useless within the Oyster area.
Alright, regarding this minimum-fare business, am I right in understanding that it doesn’t apply to any oyster card travel before 10am, so the railcarrd is not used and I’m charged the normal zone 2-3 charge of £1.40 when I travel to work.
However, when I leave work, if I take the tube after 7pm (off-peak travel), I get the 1/3 off discount?
And this discount applies to any weekend or other off-peak travel granted it is after 10am, and any other rail travel after 10am?
Might have to pick up the 3 year 16-25 card.
(Leytonstone-Bethnal Green travel)
With the 16-25 card the restrictions are slightly different when used with an Oyster. Rather than 10am, the card gives you the discount whenever off-peak fares are charged. It also discounts the off-peak cap which applies throughout the afternoon peak, even though full price singles are charged. The discount also applies to all rail journeys, be they NR, tube or DLR.
Hi Mike,
Firstly, like so many of your correspondents, can I congratulate and thank you for such an informative site. Your no-nonsense coverage of what is a minefield for so many of us is a great public service.
May I ask a question of my own? It’s so straightforward that I must be missing something fundamental but I’ll risk the ridicule(!) and ask it anyway!
I have just had a Gold Card discount added to my PAYG Oyster. Had no idea this was possible without your advice and pleased to report no problems at Liverpool St underground ticket office.
Today I travelled in the evening peak from Sherpherds Bush to Liverpool Street. I expected this to be at the full Oyster fare of £2.70 but the gate showed I was charged £1.30
I checked the TFL Single Fare Finder this evening and was surprised to see that this journey has no evening peak restriction. However, the reverse journey of Liv St to Shep Bush is full Oyster fare 1600-1900.
Why is this? Is the zone of the originating station the key factor?
Would be grateful if you could explain the anomaly (and apologies if you already have).
Hi Anthony,
Any TfL rail journey from outside zone 1 ending in zone 1 is off-peak in the afternoon peak. I think it’s on the peak or off-peak page.
The cheapest Gold card costs £148 (Annual season rail ticket for travel for Ryde Explanade to Ryde St Johns on the Isle of Wight).
This means that £148 buys you 1/3 all off-peak travel on trains, tube and DRL in the Network SE every day of the week. Is this correct?
So people who regularly travel off-peak should consider the Ryde Gold card rather than buying the season ticket for their journey (unless less they are 16-25, seniors, HM forces, or disabled when there are other cheaper discount cards).
Hi Mike,
An excellent site, very useful and well designed.
I have a question, which I’m hoping you will able to help me with.
I’ve just bought an Annual Z1-3 Travelcard on my Oyster, which includes a network Gold Record Card.
I regularly travel from Z1 to network railway stations outside of Zone 6. My Gold Card allows me to buy a discounted paper ticket from Boundry Zone 3 to or from my destination station.
My question is how do I get through the Oyster barriers in Z1? If I tap in (but am unable to tap out), won’t I get charged for an incomplete journey?. My Gold Card states “NOT VALID FOR TRAVEL” and has no magnetic stripe, so can’t be used as a travelcard in the ticket machine.
Is it a case of having to explain the situation to a member of staff everytime I encounter an Oyster barrier?
I’d be grateful for your advice on this scenario.
Many thanks
Hi pinktim,
Within the zones covered by your travelcard there is no need to worry about incomplete journeys. Just touch in or out with your Oyster card at the zone 1 end of the journey and use the boundary zone 3 ticket at the other end.
Also, did you get the railcard discount attached to your Oyster card? That gives you 1/3 off all off-peak rail journeys (inc tube and dlr) and the off-peak cap. If you touch in in zone 1 and touch out in zone 5 it will only charge you for zones 4-5.
Hi Penny,
Otherwise known as the “Ticket to Ryde”. Yes, as an alternative to the Network Card, if you make lots of off-peak journeys below the weekday minimum fare this can be worthwhile. To get the discount on tube and DLR only journeys you will need to get the discount added to your Oyster card.
Remember there is no discount in the peak, so most commuters won’t benefit from this idea, but if you can commute off-peak then it’s good.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your quick response (and, yes, I got the discount).
Just to clarify that I have understand correctly how it works:
1) Providing I am within my travelcard Zones, tapping in (without later tapping out) or tapping out (without having earlier tapped in) will not charge me for an incomplete journey
2) Incomplete journey charges only occur when a completed journey consists of only one tap, and that tap is outside of my travelcard zones
Thanks
Mike,
If you have a network card and use it on the weekend, I thought it would still give you 1/3 on paper tickets on national rail trains within the zones. However if you go to the TFL single fare finder, the network card discount doesn’t show, but I assumed this was because the Network card cannot be registered with Oyster. However if you go to the National Rail fare finder, it does allow you to add discount cards, but if you add a network card and specify a weekend date, it still doesn’t give you 1/3 off. It just gives you the off peak price ie the same price as the TLF website. I used the example of Stratford to Romford and it was £2.10 on both systems despite adding the network card, but if you add a different discount card on the national rail fare finder you do get 1/3 off.
Does this mean that the only benefits of getting a Network Card are for discounted paper zone 1-6 travel cards on the weekend and long distance travel in network SE? The discounted rail travel within the zones on weekends and public holidays no longer exists?
Yes pinktim, that’s correct.
Hi Penny,
It looks like you’ve found a bug in the fare finder on NRE. If you use the journey planner it will work properly.
Mike,
you kindly assisted me several months ago. I eventually had the goldcard loaded at Liverpool Street NR (having unsuccessfully tried at the following tube stations: St Paul’s, Liverpool Street and Hammersmith). CHX NR staff also didn’t have a clue.
My annual travelcard expires soon and I’m not looking forward to being branded a liar/idiot by NR and TfL staff again. It’s going to be fun!!!
Hmmm,
Most NR stations won’t be able to do it, but I’m surprised you had problems with Liverpool Street tube. It might be easier if you pay for your new travelcard at a tube station and ask them to load the discount at the same time. Failing that, I’ve not heard of any problems at London Bridge tube and I’ve used it twice myself.
Hi Mike,
Can you help me. Am i able to use my network rail card mon to fri off peak to get a day travelcard at £5.30? 5.80?, or is only weekends that I can use that card? If so that would be cheaper than using an oyster card. I’m a bit confused with info on this page http://www.railcard.co.uk/network/tickets-types-min-fares.
Thanks
An update to my previous comment (31 December 2011 5:38pm).
Today we tried registering the NR discount at one of the LU ticket offices at Stratford, and it was completed with no fuss, and without us having to provide address and password. So, thumbs up to Stratford, but a large raspberry to St Pauls (where we tried previously).
Worryingly though, it highlights the ignorance that exists amongst *some* ticket office staff. The fact that this thread currently has 144 messages shows that the system for registering these discounts is a mess. I just wish that the ‘powers that be’ were reading the comments on this website and taking action to improve the experience for passengers.
Thanks for the update Bruno, and I agree about the issue.
Hi Kevin,
The Network card has a minimum fare of £13 Monday to Fridays which means that it is uneconomic to use it within the Oyster area.
Hi Mike
Thanks for putting together this great source of advice!
I hadn’t realised before that I needed to specifically ask for my Gold Card discount to be registered on my Oyster, but having seen your advice I went along to both West Bromptom and Earls Court tubes back in October and was told that it couldn’t be done. I then e-mailed tfl and used the Freedom of Information act to get confirmation that the staff there were wrong and that they would be sent a reminder (full details of their reply are posted below in case people are interested). I also asked how I could get a refund for the extra I was having to pay until I managed to find a tube station that knew how to set the discount. I was told to contact the Oyster help desk for the refund but I don’t know how much I should be claiming. I have a zone 2-5 annual card so is it the case that I should have been getting a third off the oyster fare every time I’ve been into zone 1 either by rail, tube or both?
Many thanks.
TFL reply:
1. What training has been given to TfL staff in respect of registering gold card discounts?
Setting Discount Entitlements on Oyster cards is included in the ticket office training course and in the staff handbook issued to ticket offices. Reminders are also included on occasion in the weekly news bulletin issued to ticket offices.
2. Whether there is a deliberate policy of not programming the oyster system so that gold card discounts are automatically loaded, not advising customers about how to register for discounts on the literature which is sent out with gold cards, and not training staff adequately in order to make it more difficult for customers to get the discounts.
TfL does not provide any printed literature in conjunction with the issue of a Gold Card. Detailed information is provided on our website which can be viewed using the following link: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets . There is no deliberate policy to not set the Discount Entitlement on an Oyster card where the holder is eligible. On the contrary, the instructions in the staff handbook issued to ticket offices include the statement “When issuing an adult rate Annual Travelcard on an Oyster card, you must also add a Railcard discount entitlement with the same expiry date as the ticket” (it should be added automatically when the annual Travelcard is added to the Oyster card).
Holders of 16-25, Senior, Disabled and HM Forces Railcards and Gold Cards are eligible for a National Railcard Discount Entitlement on Oyster, which provides a 34% discount on off-peak Oyster single fares on Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail services (within the National Rail Pay As You Go Area). Individual Discount Entitlements for each type of Railcard/Gold Card do not exist.
3. What plans you have to improve staff training in this respect?
Further reminders will be included in the future weekly news bulletin issued to ticket offices.
4. Where I can go where the staff do know the rules so that I can get the discount loaded?
All Tube station ticket office staff should know the rules and should be able to set the discount on an Oyster card where the customer is eligible. Details of this specific complaint have been sent to West Brompton and Earl’s Court with a reminder on the rules.
5. How I can claim back the excess fares that I’m paying until I do manage to get the discount loaded?
Please contact the Oyster helpline for advice. You can call them on 0845 330 9876 or contact them usingthe following link: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/contact/4417.aspx
Thanks for that response, Dav. Let’s hope that the situation improves rapidly as it’s currently a joke.
[...] out my Oyster Card, I was able to add my Disabled Persons Railcard so I’d get further reductions on travel. Games visitors are given a one day Games Travelcard for London transport. However for further [...]
I have a 3-6 annual travelcard and after a lot of arguing finally got my local tube station to load the discount when I handed them an email from tfl. Went back this morning a year later asking for same as last year and was told they’d never heard of it!! I even mentioned last years email from tfl and was told I would have to go back to tfl then. Great. It is like they really don’t want to give you this discount.
Hi Stuart,
Can you name the station? Try printing out the top of the Railcard tab of http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14414.aspx and also the instructions provided on this page and see if that convinces them. If it doesn’t then you could consider sending TfL a FOI request asking why this station refuses to do it’s job properly.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your reply, after all the hassle I had with this last year I have just replied to TFL’s email from then explaining the issue. The problem I think is that the ticket offices fon’t think you are entitled to a discount. I tried showing them the TFL website last year only to be told it was wrong. This was at Elm Park but last year I also tried Leytonstone and a couple in London.
Really interesting to see how many people have thus issue!
Stuart.
Alright, just educated the friendly TfL employee at St Paul’s and it seems I’ve got the NR discount now. He kindly pointed out that the third step in your mini-statement guide should be: F4 Interrogate Oyster.
Thanks for the feedback, Jeff. I’ve updated the page.
I (and my wife) have the new “Two-Together” railcard. This is a trial and only for sale in the West Midlands, but can be used nationally. It can’t be put on to Oyster cards. For rail only journeys it is chaper to use paper tickets, but the oyster is cheaper if using the underground. Of course paper tickets don’t count towards the price cap so you may need to do the maths before setting out.
Thanks Peter,
Unfortunately the two together railcard will never be compatible with Oyster for the same reasons as the family and friends railcard isn’t.
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