Places to Go: Rail Services for Gerrards Cross

Rail Services for Gerrards Cross

have never used Gerrards Cross (code GER) station personally, but it is known as the place where the tunnel collapsed, designed to cover over the railway line to allow the construction of a new Tesco car park. At 1915 on 30 June 2015, there was a loud noise as the structure fell in and trains had to be rapidly rescheduled either side of the disaster site.

Nobody was hurt, but services were not restored until 20th August. I once met the member of Chiltern Railways staff who drew up the contract for the works with Tesco who added a clause putting full liability on Tesco if train services were disrupted for any reason. He reckoned that had ensured compensation to Chiltern of around £8.5m.

And so now for something equally cataclysmic for those Gerrards Cross season ticket holders paying for an annual season ticket “Gold Card” to London Marylebone (MYB) which is £2,800, rising to £3,720 if you want to include travel in Greater London on bus and rail. Perhaps you only want to travel two or three times a week now you have got used to working from home. The daily charge Is £19.60 for an anytime ticket, or £16.00 for an off peak day return, valid on the 0950 from GER to MYB and later trains Monday to Friday, with no evening peak restrictions. Your Gold Card entitles you to unlimited travel on your chosen route, but also one third off the other lines in the South East, which includes the other side of Birmingham.

You can get a third off all off-peak tickets, including on the Underground (which does not apply to the Network Card which also has a minimum fare). So the question is: where can you buy a cheaper Annual Gold Card to get a third off, assuming you don’t have a railcard which involves travelling with children, being over 60, being under 30, being disabled and not

Gravelly Hill Erdington ERD Chester Road CRD Perry Barr PRY Witton (Birmingham) WTT Hamstead (Birmingham) HSD TAB Wylde Green WYL Coldfield SUT Jewellery Quarter JEQ Polesworth Tamworth R PSW TAM SIL Sileby MMO Melton Mowbray Syston SYS Barrow-upon-Soar BWS OKM Oakham SMD Stamford (Lincs) PLACES TO GO

T Birmingham Snow Hill Duddeston DUD Aston AST GVH Wilnecote (Staffs) WNE Nuneaton NUN Atherstone ATH will recoup savings on off-peak travel Leicester LEI COR Corby Peterborough PBO Birmingham International BHI Hampton-in-Arden Adderley Park ADD Water Orton WTO Coleshill Parkway CEH Stechford SCF Lea Hall LEH Marston Green MGN Bermuda Park BEP Hinckley (Leics) HNK Narborough NBR South Wigston SWS MHR after just 32 days, with your GER MYB off peak return reduced from £16 to £10.55 as often as you like for an investment of £172. KET Kettering Market Harborough hulltrains.co.uk Sandy St Neots Huntingdon HIA Acocks Green ACG Berkswell BKW Tile Hill THL Bedworth BEH Coventry Arena CAA westmidlandsrailway.co.uk You get a third off all off-peak journeys in the south east, plus when you add the WEL Wellingborough Arlesey Biggleswade

SOL Solihull OLT Olton WMR Widney Manor Canley CNL Coventry COV Annual Gold Card to an Oyster card, you get reduced rate Underground travel too. BDM Bedford thameslinkrailway.com Hitchin LPW Lapworth DDG Dorridge londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk BSJ Bedford St Johns Flitwick FLT Claverdon CLV LMS Leamington Spa Northampton NMP Long Buckby LBK Rugby RUG WRW Warwick Warwick Parkway WRP Hatton HTN MLB Kenilworth KNW travelling with a named someone else? The answer follows... it’s not a season from GER to Seer Green one stop down the line Now if this useful piece of information was splashed over the front of the Evening Standard, the concession would probably be withdrawn. But in a small circulation magazine in one Buckinghamshire village, WMG Welham Green HAT Hatfield (Herts) WGC Welwyn Garden City WLW Welwyn North KBW Knebworth Aspley Guise APG RID Ridgmont LID Lidlington Millbrook (Bedfordshire) SWR Stewartby KMH Kempston Hardwick Harpenden HPD Leagrave LEA Harlington (Beds) HLN LTN Luton Airport Parkway LUT Luton Bus link Luton Airport LUA Watton-at-Stone Stevenage Ascott-under-Wychwood SIP Shipton KGM Kingham KGS Kings Sutton MKC Milton Keynes Central BAN Banbury WOL Wolverton (all trains run up to London) for £752, or in the up direction to Denham Golf Club for £584. well, nobody is going to take much notice. So if you’re only commuting a few days a week to London, don’t shout about it, but this might well be the ticket for you. NSG New Southgate OKL Oakleigh Park NBA New Barnet HDW Hadley Wood PBR Potters Bar BPK Brookmans Park Bletchley BLY BWO Bricket Wood Fenny Stratford FEN Bow Brickhill BWB Woburn Sands WOB HWW How Wood (Herts) PKT Park Street SAA St Albans Abbey Mill Hill Broadway MIL Elstree & Borehamwood ELS Radlett RDT St Albans City SAC Nationalrail.com Harrow-on-the-Hill HOH DGC Denham Golf Club GER Gerrards Cross SRG Seer Green BCF Beaconsfield APF Appleford Cholsey CHO Goring & Streatley GOR RAD Radley CUM Culham HND Hanborough CME Combe (Oxon) FIN RFinstock CBY Charlbury Bicester Village BIT OXP Oxford Parkway Bicester North BCS Haddenham & Thame Parkway HDM MRS Monks Risborough Little Kimble LTK Islip ISP HYD Heyford TAC Tackley HWY High Wycombe OXF Oxford Didcot Parkway DID SDR Saunderton PRR Princes Risborough RIC Rickmansworth CLW Chorleywood AMR Amersham GMN Great Missenden Wendover WND Stoke Mandeville SKM Aylesbury AYS Aylesbury Vale Parkway AVP Chalfont & Latimer CFO HDN Harlesden SBP Stonebridge Park WMB Wembley Central NWB Wembley SOK South Kenton KNT Kenton HRW Harrow & Wealdstone HDL Headstone Lane HTE Hatch End CPK Carpenders Park BSH Bushey WFH Watford High Street KNL Kensal Green Kensal Rise KNR Brondesbury Park BSP Brondesbury BSY Kentish Town KTN KBN Kilburn High Road Camden Road CMD Kentish Town West KTW Hendon HEN FNY Finchley Road & Frognal Hampstead Heath HDH West Hampstead WHD GPO Gospel Oak UHL Upper Holloway CRH Crouch Hill Cricklewood CRI Watford North WFN KGL Kings Langley APS Apsley HML Hemel Hempstead BKM Berkhamsted TRI Tring Cheddington CED LBZ Leighton Buzzard Garston (Hertfordshire) GSN Watford Junction WFJ STP London St Pancras International London Euston EUS Rail users of Gerrards Cross! Rail users of Gerrards Cross! The cheapest Annual Gold Card is on Chiltern’s own services: Lapworth to Hatton, two rural stations in Warwickshire, for £172 a year. Buy the season and you Alex Nelson Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Finsbury Park Harringay Hornsey Alexandra Palace London Kings Cross KGX Pangbourne PAN DNM Denham SUD Willesden Junction Queens Park (London) South Hampstead

Bedwyn BDW Kintbury KIT NRC Newbury Racecourse MDG Midgham Theale THE RDW Reading West Tilehurst TLH Reading RDG Shiplake SHI Wargrave WGV Henley-onThames HOT SRU South Ruislip WRU West Ruislip Sudbury Hill Harrow SDH NLT Northolt Park Sudbury & Harrow Road Wembley Stadium WIJ London Mar QPW ylebone MYB LONDON SOH Bond Street Farringdon ZFD

Hungerford HGD PEW Newbury NBY EAR Earley Reading Green Park Aldermaston AMT Thatcham THA WNS Winnersh WTI Winnersh Triangle WKM Wokingham CRN Crowthorne Mortimer MOR London Paddington PAD CHX London Charing Cross VIC London Victoria Shepherd’s Bush SPB Bracknell BCE Martins Heron MAO Longcross LNG Sunningdale SNG Tottenham Court Road GFD Greenford SGN South Greenford CBP Castle Bar Park Virginia Water VIR Egham EGH WRY Wraysbury SNY Sunnymeads DAT Datchet DRG Drayton Green IVR Iver WDT West Drayton BNM Burnham (Bucks) Twyford TWY Marlow MLW Bourne End BNE Cookham COO Furze Platt FZP Langley (Berks) LYY TAP Taplow HAN Hanwell STL Southall HAY Hayes & Harlington Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3 HXX Heathrow Terminal 5 HWV WNC Windsor & Eton Central Ascot (Berks) ACT SLO Slough MAI Maidenhead WNR Windsor & Eton Riverside Heathrow Terminal 4 HAF AML Acton Main Line W est Ealing WEA Ealing Broadway EAL Kensington (Olympia) KPA Battersea Park BAK Queenstown Road (Battersea) QRB Wandsworth Road West Brompton WBP Acton Central ACC South Acton SAT Barnes Bridge BNI Chiswick CHK Gunnersbury GUN Bagshot BAG Twickenham TWI Hounslow HOU Staines SNS Ashford (Surrey) AFS Feltham FEL Syon Lane SYL Kew Bridge KWB Kew Gardens KWG Brentford BFD Isleworth ISL Whitton (London) WTN Strawberry Hill STW St Margarets North Sheen NSH Putney PUT Imperial Wharf IMW WCX You don’t have to pay the inflated prices of Trainline, and can get Chiltern tickets for less than the price at Chiltern Railways. Split ticketing just requires a bit of planning and a bit of flexibility. We do all the work, and you can pick up the tickets at your local station, or download them to your phone. BMY Bramley (Hants) SND Sandhurst (Berks) BAW Blackwater Alex Nelson (Ticket Guru) T Richmond (London) RMD Wimbledon WIM Wandsworth Town WNT Barnes BNS Mortlake MTL Teddington TED Hampton (London) HMP Kempton Park KMP Sunbury SUU Chertsey CHY Camberley CAM Hampton Wick HMW Earlsfield EAD (London) SMG Fulwell FLW heathrowexpress.com National Rail Bishop Auckland Ltd, The Railway Station, Bob Hardisty Drive, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7TL. Clapham Junction CLJ Wandsworth Common To advertise please call 0779 229 0931 FNN Farnborough North Basingstoke or email Frimley FML info@gclocal.co.uk HMC Hampton Court Thames Ditton THD Shepperton SHP Addlestone ASN Upper Halliford UPH 33 September 2020 Tooting TOO Haydons Road HYR Morden South MDS South Merton SMO Wimbledon Chase WBO Motspur Park MOT Worcester BRS Berrylands Kingston KNG Norbiton NBT New Malden NEM Raynes Park RAY Mitcham