The curious case of 'moving' Shoreditch station

Quiz question: Where in London do you pay a Zone 1 fare when you're actually in Zone 2?

Answer: Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction, Whitechapel, Shadwell, and Wapping when you start your journey at Shoreditch. (One point for each correct answer .....)

Many thanks to HenryW and FJFlos' comments for pointing out that the new Shoreditch overground station on the East London Line has been moved from Zone 2 to Zone 1.

A Mind the Gap exclusive: It has indeed moved as you can see here in this PDF map.

Transport for London says it was part of the condition of a Department for Transport funding agreement.

TfL say the East London Extension will still reduce fares as TfL fares are cheaper than using the existing train network.

But they do concede it would have been even cheaper if the line was still in Zone 2 - a Zone 2 single is £1.30 on Oyster.

So not sure commuters will like that one - basically moving the station in many cases will cost you 50p more each single trip.

TfL sent me this:

"The new station is physically located within the Zone 1 boundary, whereas the old LU Shoreditch station was further east. The East London Line extension will actually reduce fares to some destinations with Oyster pay as you go fares set on the TfL tariff (i.e. not charged for a combination of national rail and Tube), for example:

From Crystal Palace, which is in Zone 3, the Peak Oyster pay as you go fare to LU stations in Zone 1 via the East London Line extension and LU will be £2.70 using Oyster pay as you go versus £3.70 at the moment; the fare to Canary Wharf will fall to £1.30 using pay as you go versus £3.70 at the moment."

Also, as the quiz question at the top shows, if you start your journey at Shoreditch and get off at Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction in the north and Whitechapel, Shadwell, and Wapping stations in the south, TfL will only count it as a Zone 1 fare.... i.e £1.80.. so you don't pay the Zone 1 £2.30 peak fare.

However, if it was still in Zone 2 it'd be £1.30 ... so again you're paying 50p more. And what about New Cross? Surrey Quays? They're also in Zone 2 so why doesn't this ticketing anomaly apply to them?

So why did the DfT allegedly request to "move" the station into Zone 1? All they have said to me so far is:

"The zoning of Shoreditch High Street Station was agreed by both DfT and TfL."

But it does look very much like revenue raising. I have asked for more information so watch this space.

There are other anomalies in london's ticketing system - please do get involved on the blog and post them. Or let me know what you think about this curious case...

UPDATE: 15:51 PM

Jo De Bank at London Travelwatch says they think the move to put Shoreditch in Zone 1 was made to protect revenues as it deters people from using Shoreditch instead of London Bridge. They're unhappy with the decision and would have much rather Shoreditch had stayed in Zone 2.

Also in way of clarification from the Department for transport, they say they didn't "impose" the conditions on Transport for London it was part of an agreement agreed by all sides:

"As part of the funding agreement for the East London Line, DfT and TfL agreed to re-zone Shoreditch High Street to help ensure that the scheme would have a robust and viable funding package."

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Reddit
• - What's this?