On 7 Jul, 10:07, Richard Dixon wrote:
Paul Oter wrote :

I have been catching peak trains between Cambridge and Liverpool
Street about two or three times a week for the past seven years. They
all stop at Broxbourne. Since I always get a seat at Cambridge I tend
not to pay too much attention to how crowded they get in the morning,
but my general impression is that although it is almost certain you
would need to stand from Broxbourne, the trains are not "heaving" and
only have a few people standing per carriage. A lot of people get off
at Tottenham Hale, so you may be able to get a seat from there to
Liverpool Street (which is about half the journey time).

Paul - thanks for the feedback - good to hear from someone who actually
uses that line. I hadn't realised that half the journey was the section
post-Tottenham Hale, so that would make things more bearable (I currently
have generally a 20-minute stand with my current commute).

What time are you typically getting on at Cambridge?


Typically 0748 or later, which arrives at Liverpool Street at 0905 or
so (and to my desk at 0915). Just to be clear: this is a busy train,
with all seats taken and people standing by the time it calls at
Broxbourne. It's 15 minutes from there to Tottenham Hale, where a lot
of people get off, then a further 15 mins to Liverpool Street. I still
see people standing after Tottenham but the turnover of seats means
you probably have a chance of being able to grab a seat there if you
need to.

As other have mentioned, in 2006 a DfT report once named the 0802
Cambridge to Liverpool Street train (which no longer runs) as the
busest in the country. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4830370.stm
However I used to travel on that exact train on numerous occasions and
so know that this was nonsense. Apparently the researchers visited on
an unusual day when a preceding service had been cancelled.

On the way home the 1758 Liverpool Street to King's Lynn usually has
free seats in the front carriage of this eight-car train (despite
people standing at the back) , though I would recommend not leaving it
until the very last minute to board. The reason why this train is
rarely full is that it doesn't stop at Harlow Town and is immediately
preceded by a Stansted Express which calls at Harlow Town and Bishop's
Stortford.

PaulO