I have heard from a reliable source that pink route validators will shortly be installed at both Clapham Junction and Surrey Quays. I’ll add more info (like when) as soon as I hear it.
Update: September 7th
The new fares are included in the normal fares update from tomorrow (8th Sept). It’s not clear when the actual validators will be installed, but hopefully soon.
They’re also fixing some of the existing Pink validators, like the ones at Stratford have changed.
Hi T101,
Can I ask what you mean by fixing? I wasn’t aware of a problem at Stratford.
I noticed recently that the pink readers at Canada Water and Whitechapel now have signage recommending that you should use the readers if using PAYG or a non Zone 1 travelcard.
I’ve only just seen this and it is most welcome news – PROVIDED they make available the appropriate fares avoiding Zone 1 that currently don’t exist. For example, north of Highbury & Islington to south of CLJ currently only have fares via Zone 1. By contrast, I can travel from Oakwood to almost anywhere else in London avoiding Zone 1, but not via CLJ.
I do hope you’re right. But I’m surprised because this year they’ve REMOVED the yellow validators from CLJ Overground platforms 1 & 2. This is infuriating if you start & end SWT journeys at CLJ by changing from the Overground. Until 2012, I could touch out/in on the Oveground platform; now I have to exit and re-enter the station.
For some reason, there ARE still active yellow validators on P17, which is occasionally used for the Overground (platform changes and engineering work) but mainly the West London Southern trains. That makes it even more strange that the validators have gone from P1/2.
Hi Dave,
If you take a look at the response to my latest FOI request https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/new_oyster_route_validators_and#incoming-426794 you’ll see that the pink validators are to be located on platforms 1 and 2 at Clapham Junction. Perhaps this is why the yellow ones were removed, to avoid confusion. There are also a couple of spreadsheets listing new fares using these validators or the new ones at Surrey Quays.
They don’t appear to have altered any fares on the Underground lines north of Highbury. Most of the changes relate to stations south of Whitechapel and the Lewisham stretch of the DLR south of the Thames. Perhaps others may need to be looked at. A common complaint is being fixed in that Wimbledon to Whitechapel will no longer assume travel via the District Line with no alternatives.
Thank you for getting hold of the extra detail. I am very disappointed that TfL have not seen fit to offer fare options from north of Highbury or along the Gospel Oak to Barking line to points across Clapham Junction. I understand that many people will opt to cross Z1 and change at Victoria / Waterloo or Vauxhall on to SWT and Southern services. However having the option for non Z1 travel without having to break journeys at Clapham Junction would be useful. It is barmy that there are non Z1 fares routed via Overground and Richmond to the Windsor line (from NLL / Goblin / Vic line stations) but not to places like Wandsworth Town or Barnes via Clapham Junction. Once these fares are set to give people a choice there is not much cost involved in maintaining the data. Fares via Z1 are so high that there will be people who will trade journey time to save money – if only TfL would let them!
I agree, PC. Perhaps you should raise the issue with London Travelwatch.
Thanks for the FOI link, Mike. But what a disappointment. New fares (to the south of Clapham Junc) from the north only extend to Caledonian Rd & Barnsbury, not to Highbury or beyond. So there’s NO BENEFIT to Northern or Piccadilly line stations in the north, nor the Enfield/Barnet FCC routes.
From Oakwood or Enfield Chase, I can already travel on this diversity of lines on a non-Zone 1 fare:
– Amersham, Uxbridge, Watford Junc, Ealing Bdy, Wimbledon, Epping, Upminster, N Greenwich, Woolwich Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Grays and even Crayford!
– I can even go to Heathrow at the other end of my own line (Piccadilly) avoiding Zone 1 – by odd routes that double back from Gunnersbury or West Brompton!
– Most extreme of all, I can go MORE than halfway around east London and then right out to Caterham, Tattenham Cnr, Epsom Downs, Ewell East (but not Ewell West!) – that’s about 210 degrees on the compass and a 2hr journey!
But STILL there are no non-Zone 1 fares to anywhere beyond CLJ in S/W London – thats less than 180 degrees. I also CANNOT go to East Dulwich, which is just one stop away from the Overground in Zone 2? Another glaring inconsistency?
Let’s be clear. I only use the Overground to save money, at the expense of half an hour. That benefits TFL by relieving congestion in Zone 1. Isn’t that what they want? If there’s no fare advantage, then obviously I’ll go through Zone 1 and contribute to the congestion. They just don’t appear to have thought this through. Every change seems to bring more and more inconsistencies.
And the FOI didn’t send you a very up to date plan of CLJ – that’s the out of date one from the NR website! There’s a new layout for P1-2 now and a new platform has been cut into the old one.
Hi Dave,
Looks like we need to get a campaign up here. They are prepared to offer Oakwood to Wimbledon changing at Highbury and Islington, Willesden Junction and West Brompton. Substitute the last change to Clapham Junction and there really isn’t any reason why the whole of the SW suburban area is available.
Dave / Mike,
Surely there is a simple solution here. There should always be priced non Z1 routes between all origin / destination pairs where a practical interchange and use of non Z1 services is feasible. TfL seem to be just responding to the latest set of complaints and / or taking a limited and inconsistent view as to what routes to provide.
With the advent of pink validators at Clapham Junction then all destinations to the south and south west on Southern and SWT should be priced where Clapham Junction can be accessed via WLL services directly or via a previous interchange (e.g. Willesden J or Gospel Oak). Also FCC where validation at Wimbledon would demonstrate the route taken on to the Sutton loop. I struggle to see why any of this is complicated now the impasse over Clapham Junction pink validators seems to have been broken.
I’m inclined to agree in some ways, although obviously the viability of some alternative routes must be deemed unlikely. They added new routes at the next fare change after the ELLX opened so I believe they may well do the same for these new validators as well.
Hi – there were yellow (side) validators at the top of the escalators at Blackhorse Rd since ever. I think their function was exactly the same as the pink ones. I assume the coulpur change is to distinguish end of journey side validators from route validators – ?
A friend of mine has been reluctant to use the yellow validators on the NLL platforms at Stratford, but I think there is no technical difference – ?
Hi,
I’m confused. The validators on the NLL platforms at Stratford are pink as far as I am aware. There are a few yellow validators at Stratford (Jubilee line concourse and corridor to the DLR platforms for Pudding Mill Lane) but not on the NLL platforms. If it’s coloured yellow then it won’t work the same as one that’s coloured pink, so there is a technical difference.