Travelcards
Need to hop on and off London’s underground – for work, pleasure and anything and everything in between? Travelcards, which can be easily added to your Season ticket or used as an add-on to your usual rail ticket, allow you to do just that – and you can make regular savings by buying one. They’re as suited to regular commuters to London as they are for those heading to the capital for a day out.
Your trusty Travelcard is the perfect partner for weekend or weekday trips. Use yours in London in Zones 1-6, whether as part of your commute or during a fun-filled day out in the capital.
Add a Travelcard to your c2c journey and you’ll enjoy unlimited use of the London Underground, London Overground and almost all National Rail services in Greater London. That’s not all; you can also hop on and off scheduled London buses, the Tramlink system in South London and the DLR.
Ready to get your mitts on your Travelcard? Simply purchase a rail ticket to include a Travelcard online or at the station – the choice is all yours. Just set your destination station to ‘London Travelcard Zones 1-6’ when searching for tickets to ensure the Travelcard is included. You will only need to use one ticket which will cover the whole of your journey and if you load it onto a c2c Smartcard, you’ll be able to tap in and out as you would do with an Oyster card, even if you’re not on the c2c line. How handy is that?
How to travel
Paper ticket
Buy your Travelcards as paper tickets
Do I need Smartcard for this ticket?
No, you can use this ticket without Smartcard. But you can load a Travelcard onto a Smartcard and tap in and out on London Travel Zones 1 – 6, just as you would with an Oyster card.
Why travel with a Smartcard?
You’ll get more benefits for travelling with a c2c Smartcard, including Automatic Delay Repay and loyalty points. You’ll also spare yourself the station’s ticket queues, since you’ve planned ahead and bought online.
Get started with SmartcardTravelcard FAQs
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Adding a London Travelcard to a daily ticket
Travelcards allow you to travel to London and enjoy unlimited travel throughout London on National Rail, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink and London Bus services within London Zones 1-6. The Travelcard allows you to reach your final c2c destination within London, and then travel unlimited throughout London - using any of those services listed above. To add a Travelcard to a daily ticket set your destination station to ‘London Zones 1-6’. The c2c journey planner will return an Anytime Day Return. To add the Travelcard, click ‘other fares’ which will then give you the option to select the Travelcard.
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Adding a London Travelcard to a season ticket
Travelcards allow you to travel to London and enjoy unlimited travel throughout London on National Rail, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink and London Bus services within London Zones 1-6. The Travelcard allows you to reach your final destination within London, and then travel unlimited throughout London - using any of those services listed above. To add a Travelcard to a season ticket set your destination station to the London zone you require, eg ‘London Zones 2-6’ or ‘London Zones 1-6’. The planner will return the season ticket options with the Travelcard included in the price. If you're not sure which zone you need to travel to, use the London Rail and Tube services map to identify the Zone that you wish to travel within and enter it into the journey planner. E.g. London Zones 1 - 6, London Zones 2 - 3 etc.
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Buying single or return tickets to/from London Underground destinations
If you’re travelling to a London Underground station that does not share a connection with a UK rail station then you will need to select the zone your station is in when buying tickets. You can buy these paper tickets from our app, from our website, and from ticket vending machines at our stations.
Popular London Underground zone codes for c2c customers
- For travel to Zone 1 search for Zone U1234. For example, if you’re going to Westminster or Southwark.
- For travel to Zone 2 search for Zone U2356. For example if you’re going to Canary Wharf or Canada Water.
- For travel to Zone 3 search for Zone U3456. For example if you’re going to London City Airport or Custom House for ExCel.
- For travel to Zone 4 search for Zone U456. For example if you’re going to Gospel Oak or Wanstead Park via Barking and not going through Zone 3, eg West Ham or Stratford.
How to buy a ticket to a London Underground station when travelling from outside London zones 1 - 6
- First, check which zone the station you require is in. You can check the zones for TfL stations here.
- In the buy tickets panel, type in “Zone” and a drop down list will appear for you to select the option which covers all the zones you need to travel through
- Select an option with a U before the zone you require. For example "Zone U1256" is a single/return through train and tube ticket to zones 1-6
Would you prefer a Travelcard?
If you’re buying an Anytime or Off-Peak rail ticket to London, it may be cheaper to buy a Peak or Off-Peak Travelcard for travel within London. This will allow you to travel on the Tube, DLR, Tramlink and buses, as well as local trains. A London Zone 1 - 6 Travelcard has the added benefit of being available on a Smartcard. Find out how to add a Travelcard to your train ticket here.Travelling solely inside the London Zone area? Use Contactless/Oyster instead
We recommend that you travel with contactless or Oyster if you are travelling solely within zones 1 - 6 and extended Oyster PAYG area. -
What kind of perks am I entitled to with a London Day Travelcard?
London Day TravelCards can’t be booked independently, but will be offered as an add-on to any journey that terminates at a London station. Travelcards are valid for travel on: the Tube, Docklands Light Railway and buses 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 Please note: your Travelcard must be valid for all the zones through which you are travelling. Trains to Heathrow Airport go to terminals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The approximate journey times are 15 minutes to terminals 1, 2 and 3 and 25 minutes to terminal 4.
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At what times can I use the Peak and Off-Peak Day Travelcards?
The Day Travelcard (peak) can be used all day, Monday to Friday, on the day of validity and for any journey that starts before 04.30 the following day. On public holidays, it is cheaper to buy an Off–Peak Day Travelcard. Our Day Travelcard (off-peak) can be used from 09.30, Monday to Friday, all day Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, on the day of validity and for any journey that starts before 04.30 the following day. Off-Peak Day Travelcards are valid during the evening (16:00 - 19:00) peak. For further information, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk
