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I am considering a journey to Harold Wood the coming Sunday, but unfortunately West Croydon is closed for engineering work on that day, with no trains calling at Anerley and Penge West.
TfL’s official advice is basically pissing us off to tell us to use local buses (which will incur an extra bus fare if I am using Oyster), or Southern services between East Croydon and Crystal Palace (which does not run on a Sunday).
If I force my journey planner to pass through Surrey Quays, it will tell me to take a fast train from East Croydon to London Bridge, a train back to New Cross or New Cross Gate, then the Windrush line to Whitechapel for the Elizabeth line to Harold Wood. This will also be more expensive than the fare from West Croydon because I am entering the system at East Croydon, and the need to double back between London Bridge and New Cross Gate is putting me off as well.
What will the best way for me to travel with a single TfL Zone 2-6 Oyster fare from Croydon to Harold Wood on that day?
P.S. It seems unfair that “engineering works” nearly always mean “extra fare”, has this issue been discussed in the London Assembly?
What will the best way for me to travel with a single TfL Zone 2-6 Oyster fare from Croydon to Harold Wood on that day?
Unfortunately that isn’t possible. However, if you do travel via London Bridge and New Cross Gate and do not touch out at London Bridge then you’ll be charged the slightly more expensive NR Zone 2-6 fare.
has this issue been discussed in the London Assembly?
I don’t know. You could always write to your assembly member and ask them.
“engineering works” nearly always mean “extra fare”
Whether it’s statutory or a gesture of goodwill, from my experience, TfL CS will virtually always refund any differences in cost incurred as a result of engineering works. I have even successfully received a refund of the differences (with no arguing needed) for making an illogical journey involving buses in the middle of what would sensibly be a single rail journey, as a result of an engineering works closure.
Edit to add: side note, you’re not going to Harold Wood for the B1 extension, are you?
I think it depends whose services are affected. When the Thameslink core used to be shut most weekends, there were absolutely no refunds of the mixed mode premium because the Underground had to be used from London Bridge to Kings Cross.
I have just contacted my MP about the issue of TfL inflation-busting fare increase and engineering work fares.
In the meantime, I have also received communication from Southeastern about the planned engineering works closing their London terminals, and they have mentioned that the will offer refund if I have to use Oyster / contactless to complete my journey which will result in being charged.
London Underground
You can travel on any reasonable route on the London Underground between London Bridge, Waterloo, Victoria, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Elephant and Castle and Embankment.Most paper tickets will be accepted at TfL ticket gates. However, eTickets, sTickets and Smartcards will not be recognised. To help with this, we’ll have additional staff at London Underground station entrances to manually check and validate tickets where needed. If you’re charged, you can claim a refund.
Unfortunately, it isn’t practical to have Southeastern staff at every London Underground station to check tickets. If your ticket isn’t accepted and you’re charged, you can claim a refund.
If your journey via a reasonable route isn’t covered by the ticket acceptance we have in place or you use Contactless or Oyster and you’ve been charged, you can claim a refund. See refund policy below.
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Refund
Refunds for all ticket types and for travel via reasonable alternative routes can be claimed using our dedicated form, which has been designed to make the process as straightforward as possible. The claim form will be available from Sunday 26 July.Please be aware that proof of travel will be needed, and you must show receipts.
If using Contactless or Oyster you need to register your card on the TfL Go app to receive receipts.
What I understand on the above text is that, if I use Oyster / contactless to travel to Charing Cross, I will have to switch to the Underground and I will be charged the corresponding fare as a result; however, a claim form will be available so that I can submit my receipt showing my Oyster journey to Charing Cross to receive a refund.
Your understanding is correct. Because the work is major, including midweeks, approval has been made to offer refunds. It can’t be done via the live system because that only gets updated every 4 months. You may remember that while London Bridge was being rebuilt a few years back there were changes to the live fares because the overall duration of the relevant phases was significant enough to make a change. Southeastern probably had to pay TfL to account for lost revenue on journeys that were not forced by the works.
Whilst I’d love to be proved wrong, I don’t see the fact that refunds are being considered for this work as an indicator that they might always be available. Indeed Charing Cross and Waterloo East were closed last Sunday in preparation and there were no refunds available then.
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