Ang Gilham wrote:

On Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:50:51 +0100, "Nigel Pendse"
wrote:

"Mizter T" wrote:
*Very important point*
Oyster Pre-Pay is not valid on National Rail (i.e. overground trains)
apart from a few exceptions [1]. This is set to change but not for
another couple of years at least.

I wonder if Oyster can be used on Thameslink (aka FCC) between Wimbledon
and Farringdon? It's obviously allowed on the Tube between the same
stations, and the same Oyster card readers/barriers apply regardless of
which train is taken, so the system won't know which route was followed.
But would a ticket inspector on the FCC train regard it as a non-valid
fare?

Judging by what happened to me on the North London Line last week,
you'd be judged a non-valid fare. I was on my way back from Lord's to
Kew via the Bakerloo and NLL, and there was a huge Silverlink and
British Transport Police presence at Willesden Junction; when my
prepay Oyster was read, I was made to go out through the barriers, get
a single ticket and then come back in. Given that TfL will deduct a
price equivalent to that of a one-day travelcard from the Oyster card,
the fact that I can't use the bloody thing as a travelcard on a route
that I'm extremely likely to use is becoming more and more of a pain.

Angela

It might be annoying, but the fact is that Oyster Pre-Pay is, as I
said, only valid on a very limited number of National Rail routes - see
the link below for the full list [1].

This is not TfL's fault - they have been pushing to get Oyster Pre-Pay
valid on National Rail routes for a long time - it's because the
intransigence of the Train Operating Companies (TOCs), and the
SRA/Department for Transports lack of willingness to change this.

However TfL's lobbying has paid off - if you read this press release
[2] you'll see that in a couple of years we should have Pre-Pay
acceptance across the National Rail network in London.

And the good news for users of the North London Line is that this may
well be implemented even sooner, as TfL is taking control of the NLL in
2007 (it's a bit more complicated than that - see the press release
[3]) and they plan to make Oyster Pre-Pay available on that route.

So whilst you'll just have to put up with it being a pain in the
proverbial for the moment things are changing.


[1] Oyster help answer - Limited Oyster Pre-Pay acceptance on National
Rail
http://snipurl.com/Oyster_Pre_Pay_on_NR

[2] TfL press release - Transport Secretary and Mayor of London
announce new Oyster deal
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-cent...t.asp?prID=776

[3] TfL press release - Mayor welcomes Tfl control of first London
passenger rail services
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-cent...t.asp?prID=690