…and with the fares for the new Elizabeth line

Wanting to sample the Elizabeth line (EL) in its first week, I touched in at Waterloo at 1153 one day and used the Bakerloo Line to Paddington, then the new walkway that connects the Bakerloo and EL platforms.

The 1213 to Abbey Wood was waiting, and arrival at Abbey Wood was 1242. Touching out confirmed I had been charged the ludicrous amount of £2.05 (Oyster with railcard added) for the 18-mile journey from Waterloo.

I returned to Waterloo (East) on Southeastern. Transport for London tried to tell us EL is not a Tube, nor Overground (both true), but can’t admit that it’s a normal National Rail line.

It is, however, which is why it has a proper table (187) in the National Rail Timetable. Times also appear on journey planners.

So, the trains are excellent, and so too the information - but it all falls down with fares. Yes, it only costs pennies to travel end-toend, but beware booking from outside the TfL area.

I looked up Dartford to Acton Main Line off-peak on the National Rail planner. It has all the correct details: change at Abbey Wood onto the EL and again at Paddington onto another EL service. A 70-minute journey - for £20.40 single! No other options.

What it doesn’t say is that that’s “any permitted route”, which (although you won’t know) means it’s also valid on HS1 via St Pancras (which you can’t reach from Dartford anyway!). It also doesn’t mention that there is another single routed “not HS1” for £13.70.

Finally, what it also doesn’t say is that the whole journey may be made with contactless or Oyster for £6. This is shameful.

If you try Dartford to Paddington, it will even tell you to use split ticketing - a single to Abbey Wood, and then an EL single.

The problem is that although EL is National Rail, pricing is done by Transport for London, which treats it as a selfcontained Tube. That means there are no through fares beyond Abbey Wood, nor west of Paddington, other than contactless.

Dartford to Acton Main Line, above, is actually priced by Southeastern via London then Paddington to Acton ML, with free use of the Tube between termini as usual (or, in this case, free use of EL), but only contactless prices it properly (that is, zonally).

So, beware within Greater London and ignore any fares you’re told on journey planners. Use the excellent Oyster Central contactless fares finder at www.oysterfares.com/fare-finder.

The extraordinary thing is that before long, through EL trains will run west of Paddington, yet there will be no through (non-contactless) fares from (say) Reading to Abbey Wood, let alone Twyford to Bond Street. This is archaic - a wonderful new system with no fares structure to match.

Finally, several readers have told me they have had no difficulty passing through the ticket barriers to/from EL services at stations such as Tottenham Court Road with an AllLine Rover, so at least TfL staff have understood that the line really is National Rail!

I’ve a lot more to say on this subject (and the dreadful new Tube map!), but that must wait until the next Fare Dealer.