On Apr 30, 12:11*pm, EE507 wrote:

On Apr 29, 2:36*pm, Barry Salter wrote:
Hi folks,

As has been reported in the past, the extension of Oyster PAYG to
National Rail will see an end to the current fixed maximum journey time
of 2.5 hours for certain journeys. Instead, a *variable* maximum will be
applied when you touch out, based on the zones travelled through.

The latest list of stations affected by this has now appeared, and reads
as follows:

[snip list of stations]

Note, however, that the definition of the variable maximums isn't given..

How does Oyster handle break-of-journey of 15 minutes today, and
will there be future changes?

It handles it in the same way that it handles breaks of journey under
15 minutes - basically if you 'break your journey' then it becomes two
separate journeys. (At stations without gates, the situation is
potentially more complicated if the standalone Oyster readers are
configured in 'interchange mode' - if so then your original journey
may merely be extended if you recommence it within a relatively short
period of time. See my reply to David Stocks for more on this.)

I can't see it offering the flexibility
to, say, break my journey at every station between Victoria and Purley
for no additional cost, as I can today with any walk-up ticket.

No, it won't offer that flexibility and it's not designed or intended
to offer that flexibility either - 'break of journey' is not a concept
that's part of the Oyster PAYG system.

If you want that flexibility then the answer is simple - buy a paper
ticket! Also, it seems quite possible that NR fares on Oyster PAYG
won't actually be any cheaper than normal paper fares - if so, then
you obviously wouldn't be any worse off for buying a paper ticket
either.