"CJB" wrote in message
...
and Southern are NOT accepting FCC tickets.

There is not only a dispute withy drivers on the FCC Bedford -
Brighton route. There is also a dispute between Southern and FCC
about
accepting FCC tickets on Southern services.

Today I was at Gatwick having travelled down from Paddington via
Farringdon.
That seems like a bit of a sacrifice - it's far quicker to travel via
Victoria using the Bakerloo/Victoria lines.

I got there OK. However on the return journey in the
evening ALL of the FCC services northwards had been cancelled and my
only option was to travel on Southern to Victoria, and then get the
Circle Line to Paddington.
Uh? Victoria and Bakerloo lines are *much* faster. Even a 36 or 436 bus
would be faster.


But the b'stard Southern revenue protection officers wouldn't let me
travel on my FCC only ticket. I had to pay again.

I understand that the dispute about Southern accepting FCC tickets
has been going on for quite a while.
I don't think there's any dispute. Which part of FCC ONLY do you fail to
understand?

Its about time both management teams got together to sort this out once
and for all.

This will happen some time after Hell Freezes Over, or possibly if the
Southern and Thameslink franchises are ever in the same hands again.

OTOH it's quite difficult to buy a tix between London to Gatwick that give
you flexibility of operator and London Terminal. AFAIAA the only options
a

a) An all-zone travelcard, or some combination of travelcard and
boundary-zone extension ticket.
b) Buy an ANY PERMITTED or NOT GATWICK EXPRESS ticket to/from Three Bridges
instead.

One slight piece of relief is that Gatwick Express now accept Southern tix
from Victoria if there's a problem with services from there, e.g. a spate of
fatalities on recent evenings. However, this cannot be taken for granted and
you have to ask the train manager if the concession hasn't been announced.
On one particularly chaotic evening I sneaked a ride with FCC to Brighton
from Haywards Heath with a Southern only ticket, but I doubt I would have
got much sympathy had FCC been checking tix.

D A Stocks