Ticketing on London Overground uses a mix of paper and the Oyster Card electronic smart card. As with existing National Rail services in London, passengers may use a Travelcard (daily, three-day, seven-day, monthly and annual) as well as paper single, return and cheap day return tickets priced under the zonal scheme.



In addition, TfL permits the use of Oyster pay-as-you-go (PAYG), which allows passengers to load a cash value onto their Oyster card, and have the relevant fare deducted at the end of their journey. As part of an effort to improve safety and revenue protection, TfL has announced that it will introduce ticket barriers at a number of stations. The remaining stations have been fitted with standalone Oyster Card readers similar to those at ungated London Underground and DLR stations.

In addition to holding Travelcards and bus passes, Oyster cards can also be used as stored-value cards, holding electronic funds of money. Amounts are deducted from the card each time it is used, and the funds can be rechargedwhen required. The maximum value that an Oyster card may hold is 90. This system is known as pay as you go (abbreviated to PAYG), because instead of holding a season ticket, the user only pays at the point of use.

National Rail is a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). ATOC is an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train companies of Great Britain which now run the passenger services previously provided by British Railways (BR)(latterly trading as British Rail), a statutory corporation which has since been abolished.

Paper tickets are charged at the old Silverlink prices, which are generally lower than National Rail London zonal fares and London Underground fares. For example, the ticket above shows that the adult single fare between Harrow and Wealdstone (Zone 5) and Hatch End (Zone 6) is 1.50. This would be 1.90 under the National Rail zonal fare system and 3.00 under the London Underground fares. The British Rail double arrow logo (see right) which represents direction of travel on a double track is now employed as a generic denoter of a railway station on public (non-operating company) street signs.

It is therefore incorrect to claim that where this logo is seen it is a relic from the past. The logo is still being used in new signs and is used by the train operating companies jointly as part of their National Rail brand; it is still also used on railway tickets. The earlier lines of the present London Underground network, which were built by various private companies, became part of an integrated transport system (which excluded the main line railways) in 1933 with the creation of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), more commonly known by its shortened name.

London Transport-The underground network became a single entity when London Underground Limited (LUL) was formed by the UK government in 1985. Since 2003 LUL has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), the statutory corporation responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, which is run by a board and a commissioner appointed by the Mayor of London.

The Underground uses TfLs Travelcard zones to calculate fares. Greater London is divided into 6 zones; Zone 1 is the most central, with a boundary just beyond the Circle line, and Zone 6 is the outermost and includes London Heathrow Airport. Stations on the Metropolitan line outside Greater London are in Zones 7-9 Travelcard zones 7 to 9 also apply on the Euston-Watford Junction line (part of the London Overground) as far as Watford High Street. Watford Junction is outside these zones and special fares apply.

There are staffed ticket offices, some open for limited periods only, and ticket machines usable at any time. Some machines that sell a limited range of tickets accept coins only, other touch-screen machines accept coins and banknotes, and usually give change. These machines also accept major credit and debit cards: some newer machines accept cards only.