I just want to make sure I have this right. If I have a zone 1-2 travelcard on an Oyster card and I want to go from Waterloo station to Hampton Court on a Sunday, I will only be charged pay-as-you-go fares from zones 3-6 at a current rate of £1.50 each direction. Additionally, the Transport for London website says to take South West trains to Surbiton Rail Station then a bus to Hampton Court. The Historic Royal Palaces site says "South West Trains run services direct from London Waterloo to Hampton Court. The journey only takes 35 minutes and the palace is a 200 metre walk across the bridge from the station." Can anyone clarify? Thanks!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32745 posts
When there is no engineering work on the line it is normally 30 minutes with a change at Surbiton or 36 straight through. Which Sunday are you intending to go? Weekends are normally when the engineering (repair) work gets done and often buses replace trains for all or part of a journey. If you share the date I can check the planning calendar. If that is the case it is often a 53 minute journey on a Sunday with a change at Surbiton onto the bus. That is the case, for example, on 10 March 2013. Or you can check on http://nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/currentAndFuture.html Southwest trains is the Train Operating Company fior that route and it shows buses on that day until 1550. You may be looking at old prices. Hampton Court is on a red route, zones 3 to 6 are £2.20 each way at off peak times including Sunday. Look at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14414.aspx remember that you must have sufficient Pay As You Go credit on your Oyster and you must "tap in" at the beginning of your journey and "tap out" at the end of your journey or you will be charged the maximum possible fare.
Posted by
OP
Kansas City
132 posts
It is not until May 19th, so I can check as it gets closer. Your explanation makes sense. There is also the option to take the bus the entire way, or to take the district line to Richmond, then a bus, correct? So there are a few options in case there are engineering works. At any rate, if the train goes straight through or part of the route is replaced by bus, or if I took just the bus, I still end up at Hampton Court Station and walk the 200 metres?
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2622 posts
We took the train from Waterloo on our last trip to London. It was easy and there were no service disruptions, but we certainly did encounter a few on some of our other London-area travel. It was a quick ride from Waterloo and when we got off at Hampton Court, we just followed everyone else on the very short walk to the palace. You can't miss it.