In message ,
at 13:17:50 on Sat, 27 Nov 2004, Tom Anderson
remarked:

Not all of Essex is 45min drive from Ebbsfleet at all times.
Not all trains in Essex are 'slow'

But you need to accept that those are the "normal" parameters.

I most certainly do not. Where i grew up, Colchester, a large town in
Essex, is not 45 min drive from Ebbsfleet, not by a long chalk, and is
well served by fast trains to London.

Yes, Colchester is outside the area I was describing.

My route planner says 54 miles, so it'll depend a lot on the traffic!

The trains are fast, somewhat at the expense of people living further
down the line :-(

I do take the point you're going nearly 'all the way' into London to
pick the train up at Stratford if you're setting off from somewhere
along the north Thames bank.

I was thinking anywhere bounded (roughly) by the A12 and M25, out as far
as Witham.

Ah, nothing that i'd count as actual Essex, then!

You don't think Brentwood, Chelmsford, Witham, Southend, Basildon and
Grays are in Essex ?!?!?

--
Roland Perry