Elstree & Borehamwood to St Pancras is 23 minutes and £2,516 a year, the cheapest and quickest commute in Hertsmere. All four stations compared, with fares.
Hertsmere has four railway stations, three different London terminals and four different fare deals, and they do not line up the way the house prices do. The cheapest season ticket in the borough belongs to its cheapest town, and the dearest belongs to its dearest. This page sets out what each station actually offers: who runs it, where it goes, how long the fast train takes and what it costs to do it every day.
All times below were checked on the National Rail timetable for a Monday morning peak, and all fares against the current published rates in August 2026.
The four stations at a glance
| Station | Operator | London terminal | Fastest | Pay as you go single | Annual season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elstree & Borehamwood | Thameslink | St Pancras International | 23 min | £8.50 | £2,516 |
| Bushey | London Northwestern Railway, London Overground | Euston | 17 min | £8.70 | £3,112 |
| Potters Bar | Great Northern, Thameslink at peak | King's Cross | 23 min | £9.50 | £2,828 |
| Radlett | Thameslink | St Pancras International | 26 min | £10.60 | £3,544 |
Elstree & Borehamwood
Thameslink, to St Pancras International in 23 minutes.
Every train here is a Thameslink service, and the frequency is the real advantage. On a Monday morning there were five departures towards London between 08:01 and 08:31, so roughly one every seven minutes, arriving at St Pancras in 23 to 26 minutes. Off peak, the timetable runs six trains an hour north to St Albans City, two of them going on to Luton, and southbound splits four an hour to Sutton and two an hour to Rainham via Dartford.
Because these are Thameslink trains they do not stop at St Pancras. They carry straight on through the core to Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge, which is the practical reason this station beats a faster timetable elsewhere: for the City or Southwark there is no change and no Tube fare on top. London Bridge takes 38 minutes on the direct services.
Fares are the lowest in the borough. Pay as you go with a contactless card or Oyster is £8.50 for an anytime single, an Anytime Day Return is £18.50 and an Anytime Day Travelcard is £23.60. A season ticket is £62.90 a week, £241.60 a month or £2,516 a year.
The station has been entirely step free since October 2014, when a new footbridge and lifts opened under Network Rail’s Access for All programme.
Bushey
London Northwestern Railway and London Overground, to Euston in 17 minutes.
Bushey is the fastest station in Hertsmere and also the slowest, depending entirely on which train you get on. The London Northwestern services down the West Coast Main Line reach Euston in 17 minutes, quicker than anything else in the borough. The London Overground Lioness line services, which call at every station down the Watford DC line, take 47 or 48 minutes for the same journey. On the Monday morning we checked, both were running: 08:11 arrived at 08:28, 08:21 arrived at 09:09.
If you commute from Bushey, the departure you pick matters more than where you live. Check the board.
Bushey sits in London fare zone 8, which is why its Travelcard is sold as a Zone 7 to 9 add-on at £29.80 for the day. Pay as you go is £8.70 anytime, an Anytime Day Return £19.80. Seasons are £77.80 a week, £298.80 a month or £3,112 a year to Euston.
Potters Bar
Great Northern, to King’s Cross in 23 minutes.
Potters Bar is the only one of the four that faces east rather than towards the Midland or West Coast lines, and it has two useful London destinations rather than one. The semi-fast Great Northern services reach King’s Cross in 23 minutes, twice an hour off peak. The all-stations services run to Moorgate, which takes considerably longer at 36 to 39 minutes but drops you in the middle of the City without a change. Thameslink also serves the station at peak times, running direct to St Pancras in around 25 minutes.
Off peak the timetable is two trains an hour to King’s Cross, two an hour to Moorgate, two an hour to Welwyn Garden City and two an hour to Letchworth Garden City, one of which continues to Cambridge.
Potters Bar came inside the Oyster and contactless area in summer 2019. Pay as you go is £9.50 anytime, an Anytime Day Return £19.10 and an Anytime Day Travelcard £31.60.
Watch which season ticket you buy here, because the spread is unusually wide. The London Terminals season is £70.70 a week, £271.50 a month or £2,828 a year. A season routed via City Thameslink and Blackfriars is £3,148 a year, and a London Bridge season is £4,096 a year, £1,268 more than London Terminals for the same starting point. Buy the wrong one and it is an expensive mistake to live with for twelve months.
Radlett
Thameslink, to St Pancras International in 26 minutes.
Radlett is one stop up the Midland Main Line from Elstree & Borehamwood, on the same Thameslink service, and the journey is three minutes longer at 26 to 30 minutes. It is also the most expensive commute in the borough by a wide margin: pay as you go is £10.60 anytime, an Anytime Day Return £21.70, and an annual season is £3,544, which is £1,028 a year more than Elstree & Borehamwood for those three extra minutes.
Radlett is the northern limit of Oyster and contactless pay as you go on this line, a fact Thameslink states plainly on its own ticketing pages. Go one stop further to St Albans and you are outside it.
If you also travel around London, the Zones 1 to 6 Travelcard season from Radlett is £4,392 a year against £3,544 for the point-to-point, so the Tube and bus travel costs £848 a year on top. Work out how many days you actually use it before buying.
Which station should you use?
- For the City and Southwark, Elstree & Borehamwood or Radlett. Thameslink runs through Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and London Bridge without a change, and no Tube fare is added.
- For the West End and the north west, Bushey to Euston, provided you can time your day around the fast London Northwestern services rather than the Overground stoppers.
- For Moorgate and Old Street, Potters Bar, where the all-stations Great Northern service goes there directly.
- For the lowest cost, Elstree & Borehamwood, which is cheapest on every ticket type we checked.
One practical note: if you live in Bushey or Radlett and work in the City, it is worth pricing a walk or short drive to Elstree & Borehamwood against your own station. On the annual season alone the difference from Radlett is £1,028.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get from Borehamwood to London?
23 minutes from Elstree & Borehamwood to London St Pancras International on the fastest Thameslink services, with most trains taking 23 to 26 minutes. There are around five departures every half hour in the morning peak. London Bridge takes 38 minutes direct.
How much is a season ticket from Borehamwood to London?
£2,516 a year, or £241.60 a month and £62.90 a week, to London Thameslink stations. That is the cheapest of Hertsmere’s four stations.
Can you use contactless or Oyster at Borehamwood station?
Yes. Pay as you go with a contactless card, mobile device or Oyster is accepted at Elstree & Borehamwood at £8.50 for an anytime single to London. It works at all four Hertsmere stations, and Radlett is the northern limit of the pay as you go area on the Thameslink route.
Which Hertsmere station is fastest to London?
Bushey, at 17 minutes to Euston, but only on London Northwestern Railway services. The London Overground trains from the same platforms take 47 to 48 minutes to the same terminal.
Is Elstree & Borehamwood station step free?
Yes. A new footbridge and lifts opened on 1 October 2014 under Network Rail’s Access for All programme, making the station entirely step free.
What is the cheapest way to get from Potters Bar to London?
The London Terminals season at £2,828 a year, or pay as you go at £9.50 for an anytime single. Avoid buying the London Bridge season by mistake, which costs £4,096 a year for the same trip.
Related
- Borehamwood house prices: what a home costs in each of the four towns, which is the other half of the sum.
- Roadworks, parking and travel in Hertsmere: the car parks, the tariffs and who is responsible for what.
- Things to do in Borehamwood and the rest of Hertsmere.
Sources
- National Rail timetables and walk-up fares via traintimes.org.uk for journey times and single, return, Travelcard and pay as you go fares, checked for a Monday 08:00 departure from each station.
- Trainline season ticket pages for Elstree & Borehamwood, Bushey, Potters Bar and Radlett.
- Thameslink, Oyster and pay as you go for the extent of the pay as you go area.
Fares change every March and timetables change twice a year. Check the operator before you buy.
Have your say
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