Rounding up some old news I can confirm that contactless PAYG went live at Bourne End, Cookham, Furze Platt and Marlow on Sunday 22nd May.  The news wasn’t particularly broadcast by GWR at the time, and TfL were concentrating on the opening of the Elizabeth line two days later. The fares to these stations are … Read more

A problem that has been reported in several places is the lack of validators in a key place at Custom House. As part of the new Elizabeth line station, a set of escalators has been provided from the DLR platforms up to the side gate into the Elizabeth line station. The problem is that no-one … Read more

The Elizabeth line may be futuristic, fast and convenient, but it’s fare structure is anything but simple. Historically there are three sorts of lines: National Rail charging Underground fares (eg C2C, GWR, LO), National Rail late adopters (eg Southeastern, SWRailway) and Underground or DLR lines. The National Rail fare scale applies to journeys using late … Read more

One thing that has quickly been noted is that people are getting charged incomplete journeys because they have taken too long in the system.  This is hardly surprising when we are all being urged to stop and admire the architecture in each station.  Although the maximum for a zone 1 journey is enhanced from the … Read more

One thing I’ve always strived to do with the fare finder on this site is to simplify the number of duplicate station entries. The TfL single fare finder lists Harrow & Wealdstone twice, for example, once as an Underground station and once as an Overground and National Rail station.  There is only one station and … Read more

The opening of the new Elizabeth line on Tuesday introduces a host of new interchange options. Many are within the stations while others are new out-of-station interchanges (OSIs) with nearby stations. This is what’s coming: Paddington: The new station is accessed from the Eastbourne Terrace side of the main station near platform 1.  Escalators and … Read more

So, my prediction post wasn’t as far out as all that. The announcement came two days early (and apparently it has been referred to the Electoral Commission as breaking Purdah rules) and the date itself is eight days later than predicted. The first public trains will run on Tuesday 24th May. On that day the … Read more

So, the official line from TfL is still that the Elizabeth Line will open in the first half of 2022.  We’re 4 months in already, so that just leaves May or June.  I’m going to be bold and put my prediction out there (and probably fall flat on my face as a result).  I’m going … Read more

Contactless Pay-As-You-Go is being extended to the branchlines off the Great Western mainline between Reading and Paddington. Starting on Monday 28th March you can use PAYG from Windsor and Eton Central, Wargrave, Shiplake and Henley-on-Thames. The Bourne End and Marlow branch will follow later this year. The fares and caps follow the same pattern as … Read more

TfL have announced that from Wednesday March 30th there will be a new option of a £10 auto topup. The threshold for updating remains £20, but you will have the option of topping up by £10, £20 or £40. If you are happy with your current settings then there is nothing you need to do, … Read more