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Old May 5th 09, 11:17 PM posted to uk.transport.london,uk.railway
D DB 90001 D DB 90001 is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: May 2009
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Default Oyster on National Rail - Variable Minimum Journey Times

On May 3, 2:29*pm, asdf wrote:
On Fri, 1 May 2009 07:36:10 -0700 (PDT), Mizter T wrote:
One of those pesky "private and not for publication" type internal
documents, which gives no information as to *why* the stations in
question were chosen, it just says that journeys *ENDING* at said
stations will be subject to a variable maximum journey time, depending
on the zones passed through.


Thanks Barry. So it only applies to journeys ending at the
aforementioned stations, eh... I presume it would also inevitably
apply to people making out-of-station interchanges (OSIs) between
these two stations as well, as the Oyster reader on the gate obviously
can't mind read what the passenger's intentions are.


Yes, I think that would have to be the case - e.g. so someone exiting
at Hanger Lane for an OSI to Park Royal would get the time limit
adjusted (presumably adding extra time) for the *whole* journey, not
just the first leg. I can't see why else the list would consist mostly
of OSI stations.

The list also suggests that this will apply to intermediate
validators, as it includes stations that have no apparent significance
other than being interchanges at the tip of a 'V' (i.e. where you are
heading out of the zones and then can turn back so you are heading
inwards, or vice versa). This suggests that, for example:

- Travellers from Northwood to Heathrow will have to touch
inetrmediate validators (on the platform/footbridge) at Rayners Lane
and Acton Town, to extend their time limit and so avoid exceeding the
maximum time for a Z3456 journey

- Travellers from Upminster Bridge to Epping will have to touch at
West Ham or Mile End for a time extension to avoid overrunning the
Z(2)3456 limit

- Travellers from Heathrow to Wimbledon Park will have to touch at
Earls Court to avoid overrunning the Z23456 limit.

Similarly for Gospel Oak to Barons Court (Z23, touching at
Gunnersbury) and Upper Holloway to Bromley-By-Bow (Z234, touching at
Barking).


Surely they are not expecting passengers to validate oysters in the
middle of the journy?!!!! It's complicated enough at interchange
stations about whether you need to touch in or out, making it
compulsory to validate the oyster in the middle of a journey where
there are no barriers would be even more confusing. Surely if you
touch in at Wimbledon and out at Heathrow the system would be
configured so that a greater journey time was allowed to take account
of the doubling back. Why should it be up to the passenger to take
responsiblity for it when it could be automated. I seriously doubt
that there would be a mandatory oyster validation requirement for
passengers mid-journey. That's non-sensical.