On 23/02/2012 22:59, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:21:08 +0000, "
wrote:

On 23/02/2012 11:13, Clive Page wrote:
On 20/02/2012 10:38, David Cantrell wrote:
Blackfriars underground station has re-opened a week early.

It's still a pretty unpleasant place to change from tube to NR, as I
found out yesterday.

The tube station is indeed much improved and has a new set of escalators
up to ground level, replacing the old ones. But then to get to the
Thameslink platforms, instead of the old staircase of half-a-dozen short
flights, there is a new staircase. I suppose the only advantage is that
the new one is a straight run, so you can see how long it is (equivalent
to going up to the 3rd floor, I'd guess). There is a lift, but I didn't
consider it as I was in a hurry to catch a train. I suppose there may be
escalators planned, but I couldn't work out where they might be located.


I was just there this evening. Blackfriars NR and Blackfriars tube
station are completely separate in terms of fares. This means that, if
you wish to walk the length of the station from the South Bank entrance,
you have to tap in. Once you get to the other side, you have to tap out
again. Then you have to tap in again to enter Blackfriars tube station.
These will all be charged as separate fares. There is no grace time from
tapping out at Brackfriars NR to Blackfriars tube station.

You would have at least thought that they would have thought of this
earlier.

Earlier in the thread Mizter T confirmed there was no charge for
walking through the NR station provided you continued on a LU journey.
A blog article has also confirmed this situation.

I can assure you that NR to LU at Blackfriars is an OSI and has been
since PAYG was extended to NR. I have seen the official paperwork that
says this.

What happened on your exploration that means you were charged for
crossing the NR station and then changing to LU? What were you
charged on your Oyster card or are you just speculating?

I had to go to the ticket window and ask what happened as all of a
sudden the £3 that I just charged on the South Bank side onto my card,
which I used to enter the station, was gone.