Related Links
- Railcards
- Buy your railcard online and save at least 1/3 on most train fares
- Days Out Guide
- Buy One Get One Free offers at top London Attractions
- TrainTracker
- Up to the minute times for today's trains
- TrainTracker Text
- Live departure & arrival times direct to your mobile
- TextMe Journey Planner
- Journey details straight to your phone
- PlusBus
- Add unlimited bus travel around town to your train ticket
- Traintaxi
- Bridge those final few miles
- SailRail
- Great Value Sail & Rail Packages to Ireland
- Railway Children
- Make a donation today
- Trakkies
- The website for kids who love trains!
- Teaching Zone
- Free resources for teachers
Travelling to AND via london
With 12 major stations around the capital, London is well served by trains to and from all parts of the UK.
Travelling across London to connect with another National Rail service
If your journey involves travelling via London, you may find your ticket includes travel on London Underground, Docklands Light Railway or First Capital Connect's Thameslink route between London terminals at no additional cost.
You can 'break your journey' and leave the Underground service en route. However, you'll need to buy another ticket in order to continue your journey.
You can find out if travel across London is included in your ticket - simply look for a '†' symbol, which will be at the beginning of the tickets route information. e.g: [†Any Permitted].
Tickets displaying the 'cross-London' marker are valid for travel between any two stations shown in the Station List, as appropriate to the route of the through rail journey being made.
Making a Single or Return journey within London
If you're making just one single or return journey, you can buy inidividual tickets for your journeys. Simply ask when buying your National Rail ticket or at an Underground station ticket office.
The cost of your ticket will depend on which Zones you need to travel through.
View the London Connections Map
Visiting London and making several journeys?
If you are planning to make several journeys or to visit different places around London, you'll find you'll save money with a Travelcard.
You'll save money and you can use your Travelcard to use public transport when you want it, without having to buy separate tickets for each journey.
The cost of your ticket will depend on which Zones you need to travel through.
View the London Connections Map
Where can I use a Travelcard?
You can use your Travelcard on:
- Tube, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail services
- Bus services within the entire Greater London area (regardless of the zone the Travelcard actually covers)
- Trams where your Travelcard includes Zone 3, 4, 5 or 6
- National Rail (excluding Heathrow Connect between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow, and on Heathrow Express)
- Scheduled Riverboat services at 1/3 off the normal fare - just show your Travelcard or Oyster card with a Travelcard on it at the time of travel
When can I use my Travelcard?
Your Travelcard must be valid for all the zones you travel through:
Day Travelcards (Peak)
Can be used all day Mondays to Fridays, on the day of validity and for any journey that starts before 0430 the following day. On public holidays it is cheaper to buy an Off-Peak Day Travelcard.
Day Travelcards (Off-Peak)
Can be used from 0930 Mondays to Fridays, all day Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, on the day of validity and for any journey that starts before 0430 on the following day.
Oyster Cards

If you regularly visit London, or will be travelling for more than one day, you might want to get an 'Oyster Card'. You simply add money to your card, and it's deducted as you use it - this is called 'Pay as you Go' (PAYG).
Oyster Cards are just for £3 (which is refundable if you return the card to a ticket office if no longer required) with no credit preloaded. You simply add money to the card when you're ready.
Find out more about Oyster Cards
Where to buy your London Travel tickets
You can buy your tickets:
- At National Rail stations
- At London Travel Information Centres
- Underground, DLR and Tramlink station ticket offices
- Underground stations have self-service ticket machines in five languages
- Oystercards can be purchased from the TfL Website

