Oyster to Hertford North

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The latest Oyster and contactess extension started today and brings Cuffley, Bayford and Hertford North into the Oyster system.  Cuffley is in zone 9 while Bayford and Hertford North are in the same pseudo zone as the Broxbourne to Hertford East line.  Fares to London Terminals will be cheaper than currently, and holders of zip 16+ cards will also enjoy half adult rate fares.

The fares have been set by GTR.  An initial analysis has revealed some unfortunate scenarios between Hertford North and Southeastern stations.  The default fare assumes travel via London Bridge and St Pancras and is National Rail only.  Avoiding zone 1 fares have been set up via Stratford and Highbury & Islington but these cost more than the default because they include Undergorund and/or DLR travel.  They also require you to touch the pink readers at both stations, but if you ignore this you’ll be charged the default fare (ie less).  It’s a bit of a mess.

Another anomaly is that zip 5-10 holders travel free from Hertford East, but they are charged child fares from Hertford North.

30 thoughts on “Oyster to Hertford North”

  1. The fares from the two Hertford stations however are slightly different, so not sure that they are in the same zone.

    • Hi Keith,

      While the single fares are slightly different, the same travelcard price applies from both branches.

  2. Do you know if there’s any grace period or exceptions for the peak time fares?

    • Hi Liam,

      The same general rules apply, so off-peak in the afternoon peak if finishing in zone 1 and the usual few minutes of grace at each end of the peak periods.

  3. Thanks for the confirmation Mike, very much appreciated. The few minutes just before 9:30 will be very useful as I’d like the catch the 9:30 train from Hertford North but don’t want to be paying the full fare!

    • Hi Graham,

      I agree with Bayford and Hertford North being zone 11, but Cuffley is zone 9. As with Epsom the weekly travelcard to zones 1-6 is a lot cheaper than the zone 1-9 travelcard, but the daily zone 1-9 caps are cheaper than the existing one-day travelcards.

  5. Hi Mike

    Any idea if an OSI is / is planned to be provided between the Hertfords?

    • Hi Metheth,

      Extremely unlikely. It’s a longer distance than Ickenham and South Ruislip and would need to be requested by both TOCS.

  6. One for Liam who mentioned the 09:30 train:

    Oyster actually starts off peak at 09:27, so if you can leave touching in right to the last minute you should make it. I frequently take advantage of this as my first “off peak” train at my local station is at 09:29!

  7. London’s Rail & Tube services map has still not been updated to show stations to Hertford North in the Pay as you go area. It only took a day for a new map to be issued when Epsom joined.

    • Hi Marc,

      Adding Epsom was a relatively easy change. The two lines already existed together so all they had to do was extend the PAYG area border, add the station blob and remove Epsom from the direction arrow below. I think to be sensible the Hertford North extension will warrant moving the Hertford East line nearer to it, so there will be quite a bit of adjustment in the North East corner.

  8. Hi Mike,
    If I am using an 11-15 zip card between Crews Hill (zone 6) and Hertford North, will the fare count towards a cap? If so, which one and how much would the cap cost?
    Thank you very much.

    • Hi Miles,

      Yes, the cap is the zone 1 to Hertford North cap which is £12.30 all day or £9.40 off-peak.

  10. Can anyone tell me what the daily cap would be from Hertford North to Canary Wharf (zone 2), travelling through zone 1 please?

    Many thanks

  11. Hi Mike and Dan.
    If you only travel in z1&2 other than the return from Hertford N. to the z2 boundary and use contactless rather than Oyster, the all day cap will be £18.80 as you will be charged the z1&2 cap plus 2x peak extension z3-zB.
    By the way, Mike: do you have access to extension fares? I have asked tfl for them but they refuse to understand what I’m asking for and just refer me to the website which doesn’t list them. It’s a shame they don’t make this transparent to people, especially the more that the PAYG zone is extended. Contactless offers significant savings over Oyster and paper travelcards.

    • Hi Adam,

      Thanks for that info. I don’t yet have access to extension fares, but I do know that it’s a very complex table. Thanks also for news about missing fares being added in.

  12. Hi Mike
    There are still some gaps on fares from Hertford N. but things are improving. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the route to Canary Wharf via Finsbury Park, Tottenham Hale and Stratford is now included at the “avoiding z2 rate”. Bizarrely this route is not shown if you only go to Stratford so it’s cheaper to Canary Wharf via Stratford than Stratford alone!
    TfL rang me yesterday to advise that fares to Waterloo East and Charing Cross NR via Finsbury Park and London Bridge (Thameslink) will be added in the coming weeks.

  13. Hi Mike, i travel from hertford north to zone 1 every morning(6am) and evening (5.30pm)using my oyster card. Oyster card being £99 and travel card being £100.40 isn’t much of a saving. Is there any other option to reduce the price? Thanks

    • Hi Keiran,

      I’m not quite seeing how you pay £99 on an Oyster card. You should be paying £8.50 in the morning (touch in before 0630) and £10.90 in the evening which is £19.40 per day or £97.00 for five days. You might find that using contactless finds a slightly cheaper version of caps and extension fares. Or, if you can tell me where you go to in zone 1, I might be able to suggest an alternative.

  14. Hi mike, im paying £6.00 from hertford north- finsbury park. Then £2.90 from finsbury park – knightsbridge.

    On the way back it cost £10.90 which coat a total of £99 a week. Can you please advise me on any cheaper options as oyster and weekly travel card is basically the same price.

    Thanks

    • Hi Kieran,

      Can you copy a sample day of journey history? Your morning journey should be only £8.50 at the end.

    • Hi Kieran,

      Thanks for that. Can you describe what happens between touching out at Finsbury Park at 0651 and touching back in at 0656? Can you describe what gates you use for each activity? Platform numbers and/or where the gates are.

      It looks like there is an issue with the OSI there, unless you are using the same gate both times. The two parts of your journey should be combined so it costs £8.50 which would save you £2 a week.

  16. I tap out at gate number 81 which is just off platform 1 at finsbury park and then have to walk around the station to the brand new entrance and tap in at gate 61 or 62 to get the piccadilly line to knightsbridge.

    • Hi Kieran,

      Thanks for that. I’ve forwarded it onto a contact at TfL. Two things for you to do: (1) save a statement of your journey history to prove as many overcharged journeys as you can. If you have any emailed statements going back further than the current 8 weeks then all the better. As far as I can tell you are due 40p per journey where it has been split at Finsbury Park. (2) Try and use a different entrance to the Underground station. I’m aware of issues with the new gateline which I’ve asked TfL to look into and explain.

  17. Further update. I’ve been to Finsbury Park and seen the one-way system currently in operation. TfL are aware. To get the cheaper fare at the moment you should change to the Victoria line at Highbury & Islington (cross platform interchange) and then to the Piccadilly line at Kings Cross St Pancras.

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