From what I can gather, I cannot use an oyster card on the Thameslink train from Gatwick to St. Pancreas, but I can use it from St. Pancreas back to Gatwick. Am I correct? I would still need to buy tickets to get me into London, and then buy the Oyster card once there?
Warren
Gatwick is now - just now - reachable by contactless and Oyster Pay as you Go.
It has just changed.
See:=
http://www.thameslinkrailway.com/tickets-and-fares/oyster/gatwick-payg/
Be sure note that the website says "if you are making a return journey, it may be cheaper to buy a paper return ticket.".
I don't know if any Oysters are available to buy at Gatwick.
Btw, it's St Pancras, nothing to do with bodily organs. 😁
By the way, you're not planning on flying into Gatwick or out of it, in conjunction with a Eurostar trip to Pars, Lille, or Brussels are you?
That would be a waste of time and money, as there are very cheap flights available to and from Gatwick to both Paris and Brussels.
If you are already at the airport, why not use the airport?
Or do you have different plans?
Oops ! sorry about the spelling (late night).
Using Gatwick to fly to Seville after our stay in London.
Thanks for the link.
Warren
Link is confusing, is St Pancras included with paygo or only what is listed (tube zone 1, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, and London Bridge)?
Looked up the apocryphal name Pancras to find that there were actually two St Pancrases, a Roman one and a Sicilian one.
Tom, St Pancras station is in Zone 1. Oyster cards are valid not just to Zone one, but to (nearly) all stations in Greater London.
Useless fact of the day: The St Pancras district (and station, opened 1868) are named after St Pancras old church (AD 625 if not earlier), and is named after St Pancras of Rome (beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304).
Thank you for the "useless" fact. I have always wondered where the St Pancras name originated but was too lazy to look it up!
Another way to Get an Oyster card is announce to your friends you need one!
I got mine in Slovakia from an American college student who was flying home and said "here, have mine so you don't have the hassle of buying a new one"
This let me jump right onto the refill cue and not have to wait to buy one! Saved me time, as when i first got to the tube about 40 people were waiting to buy an oyster card!!
What isn't clear about the link is whether the Thameslink stop under St Pancras has an Oyster pad to check in or out. It says other (non tube) overground stations like Blackfriars and London Bridge have this capability but not specifically St Pancras Thameslink.
In the old days when there was a Thameslink Kings Cross station directly connected to the tube this wouldn't have been an issue-- maybe it isn't now but it isn't clear.
The Thameslink platforms at St Pancras have a full-scale gateline with Oyster sensors.
By the way, the best way to get an Oyster Card is not to get one. Oyster Cards are so 2014.
If you have a compatible Contactless credit or debit card (with the 3 wave logo or international equivalent) you can use it anywhere an Oyster Card is used. The same daily (and weekly) capping applies, no deposit to pay, no deposit and PAYE funds to collect at the end of your holiday, and be registered online so you can see all daily activity. Sharp, very sharp.
Nigel
That's a brilliant idea. Just need to figure out if my cards are contactless and how to use them.
Warren
My credit cards are not contactless.
However, I have 2 oyster-type contactless transit cards (Minneapolis & Washington). Wish these were all unified nationally/internationally.
"That's a brilliant idea. Just need to figure out if my cards are contactless and how to use them."
And if you will get charged foreign transaction fees.
