[original thread on uk.transport.london]
[cross-posted to uk.railway]

"Manoonga85" wrote:
Hi all,

I'm new here but I hope someone can help me decide if this is a
ridiculous suggestion or not!

I currently live in NW London and have a job offer in Oxford. The job
would be better and I'm thinking I'd prefer the lifestyle over there. I
don't think I could hack the commute out to Oxford everyday, as it's not
like I live near Paddington anyway.

The bf has said he's happy to commute from Oxford (providing we live nr
the station) to the City everyday, but I'm not sure he's thought it
through!

Has anyone experience of this and how tiring/horrific it actually might
be??

Any advice really appreciated.

Thanks so much!!


I'm going to take the liberty of crossposting this to the uk.railway
newsgroup - I'm not sure if that's a sensible move or not on my part, but it
just might be a way of getting a bit more of an input with regards to the
Oxford-Paddington element.

First off I'll make the requisite reference to the two high-quality frequent
coach services that run between Oxford and London, the Oxford Tube
http://www.oxfordtube.com/ and the Oxford Espress
http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/main.php?page_id=27.

They're good, very popular, and have various arguable advantages over the
train - however as the Oxford Tube website states, "Approximate travel time
100 minutes - longer during rush hours" - and I do get the impression that
congestion is a problem at peak times. If I was thinking about this commute
(during 'normal' commuting times) I think like you (or rather your fella)
I'd be looking at the train. That said it's worth noting that people do
commute using these coach services (might even work ok if he has an early
start) - with some joining at Thornhill Park & Ride on the edge of Oxford
and also Lewknor, a village next to the M40 motorway (not sure about the
latest on parking issues at Lewknor, and it's possible that Thornhill P&R
might not be free forever, at least not for those travelling into London on
the coaches). Anyhow that's the coach option.

On the trains the service is provided by a mix of rather poxy 'Turbo' trains
and also more comfortable HSTs (which stands for high speed trains), which
you might recognise as 'Intercity 125s' (or might not!) - these are longer
trains so have more capacity. During peak commuting times HSTs provide the
bulk of the Oxford-Paddington fast service - you can see what type of train
is supposed to run a particular service by looking for the "H" symbol (in a
circle) in the timetable booklet - the timetable you want is number 16, and
it's available as a PDF he
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=5190

He'd be joining a large throng of people making the journey from Paddington
to the City - normal route would be via the Circle or H&C line towards
Moorgate or wherever, an alternative is walking around the corner from
Paddington to Lancaster Gate tube station and then catching the Central Line
eastwards, though that's going to be pretty busy too. Or else cycle - either
hire a 'Boris Bike' (though again they'll be in demand from docking stations
near Paddington), get a fold-up bike, or permanently station a bike at
Paddington (note that the bike racks there are pretty well patronised too).

Certainly worth giving it proper consideration. Don't think I could hack it,
but there are many people out there doing longer commutes. (I very vaguely
know someone who does the reverse commute - from London to Oxford - which
they do by coach, but it's a somewhat different kettle of fish as it's both
contra-peak flow and they only do it three days a week.)