Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

"81F" wrote in message
...
On Feb 3, 12:01 pm, Bruce wrote:
"Paul Scott" wrote:
"Mortimer" wrote in message
When the Bicester curve opens, how will the journey time from Oxford to
Marylebone compare with that from Oxford to Paddington via Didcot? How
do
the distances compare, too?

The Chiltern route is expected to be 1h 6m, vs about 58/59m from Oxford
to
Paddington. Haven't got the distances.

Trains from Oxford to Paddington are only 58/59 minutes in the daytime
weekdays; evening and weekend services are markedly slower [not
relevant to Mon-Fri commuters, but significant to Oxonians who want to
visit London at the weekend]. Sunday "fasts" take 68/69 minutes, only
run hourly, and the first up train is scheduled to leave Oxford at
0950, arriving Paddington at 1058. Engineering works often mean you
don't get to London before lunchtime.

Chiltern won't be able to run long trains from Oxford -- I think their
platform will be 5 cars max -- but they will get a fair load of
commuters from the Park'n'ride on weekdays, and have potential to get
a lot of weekend leisure passngers who have long been disenchanted
with FGW's poor schedules and ageing turbos.

====

Mention of Park and Ride prompts another question. My other half has heard
somewhere that if a station is advertised as Park and Ride (Haddenham,
Warwick Parkway), as opposed to Parkway (Didcot, Bristol) car parking is
required to be free. Is this the case?

What rolling stock is likely to be used on the Chiltern route from Oxford? I
thought this too would be 165/6 or (if you were lucky) 168 - so the same as
or similar to FGW's stopping services that are not HSTs.

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

In message , Mortimer
writes

Mention of Park and Ride prompts another question. My other half has
heard somewhere that if a station is advertised as Park and Ride
(Haddenham, Warwick Parkway), as opposed to Parkway (Didcot, Bristol)
car parking is required to be free. Is this the case?

No. Some are free, some charge.

--
Paul Terry

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

On Thu, 3 Feb 2011, 81F wrote:

Chiltern won't be able to run long trains from Oxford -- I think their
platform will be 5 cars max

Is there any scope for elongating that in the future?

tom

--
build the roof with holes in

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

"Mortimer" wrote in message
o.uk...

Mention of Park and Ride prompts another question. My other half has heard
somewhere that if a station is advertised as Park and Ride (Haddenham,
Warwick Parkway), as opposed to Parkway (Didcot, Bristol) car parking is
required to be free. Is this the case?

Not sure, but you'll find that Warwick Parkway is advertised as...
"Parkway".

What rolling stock is likely to be used on the Chiltern route from Oxford?
I thought this too would be 165/6 or (if you were lucky) 168 - so the same
as or similar to FGW's stopping services that are not HSTs.

The idea seems to be to use the 168s. This is why the Class 67+ Mk III + DVT
push-pull sets are being fettled up. They will be used on (some of) the
Birmingham trains, freeing the 168s for the Oxfords.

Regards

Jonathan

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

"Mortimer" wrote:

Mention of Park and Ride prompts another question. My other half has heard
somewhere that if a station is advertised as Park and Ride (Haddenham,
Warwick Parkway), as opposed to Parkway (Didcot, Bristol) car parking is
required to be free. Is this the case?


Mon-Fri prices:

Haddenham £6.00 peak, £4.00 off-peak per day.

Warwick £6.50 peak, £4.00 off-peak per day.


Sat-Sun prices:

Both stations £4.00 per day.


Parking is free if your car is carrying three people who travel
onwards by train, and you arrive between 06:00 and 09:00 Mon-Fri. Just
ask the attendant for a "Car Share" voucher.

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

"Bruce" wrote in message
...
"Mortimer" wrote:

Mention of Park and Ride prompts another question. My other half has heard
somewhere that if a station is advertised as Park and Ride (Haddenham,
Warwick Parkway), as opposed to Parkway (Didcot, Bristol) car parking is
required to be free. Is this the case?


Mon-Fri prices:

Haddenham £6.00 peak, £4.00 off-peak per day.

Warwick £6.50 peak, £4.00 off-peak per day.


Sat-Sun prices:

Both stations £4.00 per day.


Parking is free if your car is carrying three people who travel
onwards by train, and you arrive between 06:00 and 09:00 Mon-Fri. Just
ask the attendant for a "Car Share" voucher.

Right, so that knocks the "park and ride stations have free parking" theory
on the head :-)

£4/day or £6.50/day is bloody expensive on top of a train fare. Or maybe I'm
just a skinflint. Paying to park is something I try my best to avoid, even
if it means walking further - not only because I resent paying but even more
because I resent someone else deriving an income and making a profit from
it.

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

"Mortimer" wrote:
"Bruce" wrote:
"Mortimer" wrote:
Mention of Park and Ride prompts another question. My other half has heard
somewhere that if a station is advertised as Park and Ride (Haddenham,
Warwick Parkway), as opposed to Parkway (Didcot, Bristol) car parking is
required to be free. Is this the case?

Mon-Fri prices:
Haddenham £6.00 peak, £4.00 off-peak per day.
Warwick £6.50 peak, £4.00 off-peak per day.

Sat-Sun prices:
Both stations £4.00 per day.

Parking is free if your car is carrying three people who travel
onwards by train, and you arrive between 06:00 and 09:00 Mon-Fri. Just
ask the attendant for a "Car Share" voucher.

Right, so that knocks the "park and ride stations have free parking" theory
on the head :-)


Indeed, but your posting was the first time I had heard that theory.


£4/day or £6.50/day is bloody expensive on top of a train fare. Or maybe I'm
just a skinflint. Paying to park is something I try my best to avoid, even
if it means walking further - not only because I resent paying but even more
because I resent someone else deriving an income and making a profit from
it.


Totally agree. But that's the way of the privatised railway - screw
every last penny (and pound) out of the passenger, and then some more.

I avoid parking at Chiltern stations and drive to Amersham, park in a
council car park and buy a Travelcard at Underground prices. Then I
usually get on a Chiltern train to Marylebone ... it saves me a lot of
money.

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

On Feb 3, 8:24*pm, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Thu, 3 Feb 2011, 81F wrote:
Chiltern won't be able to run long trains from Oxford -- I think their
platform will be 5 cars max

Is there any scope for elongating that in the future?


No. There is a pinchpoint north of Oxford station where the railway
crosses the Sheepwash Channel [where the ex-LNWR line had a
swingbridge over that channel]. Houses have been built on the former
railway land.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...04104&t=h&z=18

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

On 03/02/2011 22:00, Mortimer wrote:

avoid, even if it means walking further - not only because I resent
paying but even more because I resent someone else deriving an income
and making a profit from it.

You use a service, and you pay for it. What's so strange about that?

Cheers

mark-r

Oxford to London commute - ridiculous??
 

In article ,
Mark Robinson wrote:

On 03/02/2011 22:00, Mortimer wrote:

avoid, even if it means walking further - not only because I resent
paying but even more because I resent someone else deriving an income
and making a profit from it.

You use a service, and you pay for it. What's so strange about that?

In my brother's village there is a small, free car park. The Parish
Council have to pay VAT on the notional value of the parking service
they provide.

Use a free service and someone else may have to pay for it.

Sam