London: Oyster Card & British Rail
 

On Apr 7, 4:22*am, Mizter T wrote:
On Apr 7, 11:46*am, Abigail Brady wrote:





On Apr 7, 11:27*am, Ben Birkner wrote:

I'm a bit confused on the information received through the TfL
website: On the one side they state that the 7-Day Oyster Card can be
used on British Rail, provided you'll keep within the zones you've
paid for. "My" station would be Lewisham, zone 2, so this station
should be covered by my Travelcard which covers zone 1-2.

On the other side, their map of the railway stations covered by Oyster
Card excludes this station. After checking various websites on this
subject, my assumption is that Lewisham station is included in my
Oyster Travelcard, but I can't use the card for any pay-as-you-go
movements on Southeastern, e.g. to Blackheath.

Am I right? Thanks for any background information.

You are dead on.

Just to back up what Abigail has said, you've got it right.

This TfL webpage lists what National Rail [1] routes "where pay as you
go is valid":http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/oysteronline/5823.aspx

That page also links to a map that is titled "Oyster Pay-as-you-go
(PAYG) on National Rail", which illustrates what routes Oyster PAYG
can be used on.

The validity of Travelcards loaded on Oyster is meanwhile no different
whatsoever from that of a paper (printed) Travelcard.
(However it is more useful to have a Travelcard loaded on Oyster
because if you want to travel outside your zones on routes where PAYG
is accepted - i.e. the Underground, DLR and some National Rail routes
- it automatically combines the Travelcard with the PAYG facility so
you don't need to buy a paper ticket extension. On National Rail
routes where PAYG is not accepted, which basically includes all routes
south of the river, you will however need to buy a paper ticket
extension.)

Oyster PAYG will eventually be valid on all National Rail routes in
London, hopefully either later this year or early next year, the
result of almighty, epic and complex negotiations between TfL and the
TOCs (train companies) that have been going on in one form or the
other for years! The Mayor and TfL do not have the power to impose
acceptance of Oyster on the TOCs, so instead it's been a case of
having to reach an agreement.

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[1] National Rail being the contemporary collective term for what we
used to call British Rail.


Great answer, and, nice as it was, I am glad we are out of the time
warp! :-)