Expert: Michael - 4/26/2009

Question
I have recently purchased train tickets from Taunton in Somerset to Retford, Notts and the route includes using the underground from Paddington to Kings Cross.  Do you know if an advance single includes the price of the tube fair to complete this journey, or if I have to pay separately for that?  If it is included I'm assuming I just insert the ticket in the ticket barrier as with TFLs one day passes??

Answer
Hello Richard,

Thank you for your question.
Your ticket should indicate which routes are acceptable for travel between your start and destination. If it indicates that travel via London is acceptable (often by saying under the 'Route' option at the bottom of the ticket "Any Permitted" or "Via London") then it should include the relevant tube access between the relevant mainline stations.

In this case, you should see the symbol † next to the route description. That dagger-link symbol means that single tube journey between two central London mainline stations is included. In that case you can use the ticket in the same way as a London Travelcard or similar, but it will only work to let you into and out of the Underground network at the mainline stations - Paddington and Kings Cross/St Pancras International in your case.

I hope that clarifies things for you. Should you need further information, you can find it at
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/london/

Regards
Michael