"Fig" wrote in message newsp.uw7k8eaom4iaeb@dell...
Hi Group,

I have to meet Mrs Fig at Gatwick (North) this evening.
This is not a common journey for me so, seeing as I've got a bit of time,
I thought I'd try and figure out my cheapest option. Wish I'd never
started!

The details:

From: Ruislip Gardens
To: Gatwick (North)
Flight arrives: 8pm
I need 1 return journey and 1 single.
We both have HMF railcards.
Neither of us have any season tickets but do have railcards loaded on to
Oyster for discounted caps.
I can buy an off-peak z1-6 day travelcard for £5 (if the ticket office is
open!)

What would be the cheapest option?

NR website is saying £11.20 for rtn from London Bridge, £14.50 for return
from Victoria and £19.00 for return Gatwick Exp.
I've got no idea about boundary zone 6 to Gatwick prices, but coupled with
a £5 travelcard that must be an option?
This looks like what you need - I reckon a CDR costs £6.50 as an ANY
PERMITTED fare (the NOT GATWICK EXP costs £6.90 more, go figure). At that
price I would just buy two of them, assuming you can also buy two z1-6
travelcards. If you're buying tix at Gatwick I would get them *before*
meeting the missus.

Bear in mind that on the return journey we'll probably just want to get on
the first London bound train and not want to hang around for a London
Bridge train (I'm not sure what the frequencies are.)
FCC run half hourly at that time of night, but there are complications due
to the central section of the Thameslink route being closed overnight. The
Boundary Zone 6 ANY PERMITTED ticket should work on any train without the
requirement for the train to stop at the point where you change from one
ticket to another.

Why are Victoria and London Bridge tickets priced differently?
Different train operators - if you're really sad read the 'Is Southern
Daysave valid on Gatwick Express?' thread.

Isn't there a London Terminals to Gatwick fare?

No - the closest fare available from Gatwick is the all-zones travelcard. It
looks like if you're travelling from London you have to do it as a
travelcard + Boundary Zones fare.

How does one get from the station to North Terminal?

There is an internal shuttle railway, next door to the main-line station.