David Jackman pleasereplytogroup wrote in
. 109.145:

Neither is distance a guarantee of a seat - I understand that people
are regularly standing between Waterloo and Winchester...

Which part of London do you have to get to (if you are planning a long
distance commuter that last thing you want is a long journey from your
London terminal)?

Thanks for the reply

Seeing as I work "in the city" then I was looking at commuting to Liverpool
Street or Fenchurch Street - purely overland with no second "stage" to my
commute post London terminal.

Broxbourne appealed as it is very close to some nice rural villages and yet
has an excellent train service (29 mins to Liv Street) but absolutely no
way of telling how full trains will be (coming from Stanstead Airport,
Cambridge or Kings Lynn).

Cheers
Richard

In message , at
18:16:32 on Sun, 6 Jul 2008, Richard Dixon
remarked:
Broxbourne appealed as it is very close to some nice rural villages and yet
has an excellent train service (29 mins to Liv Street) but absolutely no
way of telling how full trains will be (coming from Stanstead Airport,
Cambridge or Kings Lynn).

That line has the second most overcrowded train in the country (7.18
Cambridge to Liverpool St). 85% overcapacity. [2007 figures].
--
Roland Perry

On Sun, 6 Jul 2008 20:00:23 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:


That line has the second most overcrowded train in the country (7.18
Cambridge to Liverpool St). 85% overcapacity. [2007 figures].

I can't remember what, but there was something wrong with that
'statistic'. Train was only four cars that dfay, or something.

Trains from Cambridge are just about full by Broxbourne during the
meorning peak. Of course, getting a seat on the way home requires
turning up a few minutes before departure.

But I would imagine that trains from Hertford East have space, and
there are some peak hour services that start at Broxbourne.

In general trains from Stansted Airport (there's no second bloody A in
Stansted!) do not stop at Broxbourne other than the Stratford service.

Ken at Birchanger wrote in
:

But I would imagine that trains from Hertford East have space, and
there are some peak hour services that start at Broxbourne.

I presume you mean "have space" as in "have seats"? Standing space is all
very well, but not for 35 minutes every day - maybe I've led a charmed
commuter life so far.

Regarding the peak hour services, checking the Hertford East to Broxbourne
timetable, there are trains that "appear" to start at Broxbourne:

http://www.nationalexpresseastanglia...5/84230/file/T
able+4+Hertford+East+to+Liverpool+Street.pdf

For example at 0804, 0818 and 0835 - but checking other timetables, these
appear to start at Kings Lynn, Cambridge and Cambridge again, respectively,
so I can't seem to find these mystery ones that start at Broxbourne (that
would be like gold dust for a commute!!)

In general trains from Stansted Airport do not stop at Broxbourne other
than the Stratford service.

Good point, I'd not noticed this, thanks.

Richard

Richard Dixon wrote in
. 253:

Ken at Birchanger wrote in
:

But I would imagine that trains from Hertford East have space, and
there are some peak hour services that start at Broxbourne.

I presume you mean "have space" as in "have seats"? Standing space is
all very well, but not for 35 minutes every day - maybe I've led a
charmed commuter life so far.

Regarding the peak hour services, checking the Hertford East to
Broxbourne timetable, there are trains that "appear" to start at
Broxbourne:

http://www.nationalexpresseastanglia.../8985/84230/fi
le/T able+4+Hertford+East+to+Liverpool+Street.pdf

For example at 0804, 0818 and 0835 - but checking other timetables,
these appear to start at Kings Lynn, Cambridge and Cambridge again,
respectively, so I can't seem to find these mystery ones that start at
Broxbourne (that would be like gold dust for a commute!!)

In general trains from Stansted Airport do not stop at Broxbourne
other than the Stratford service.

Good point, I'd not noticed this, thanks.

Richard

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%
20documents/eNRT/May08/timetables/Table22.pdf

gives the full picture (the url will wrap and need sticking back together
again).

The only Broxbourne starters in the current timetable go to Stratford.

Incidentally the Stansted express has a long tradition of making extra
stops in the peaks - though I hadn't realized just how many extra stops the
07.00 and 07.30 from Stansted had gained!

David

David Jackman pleasereplytogroup wrote in
. 109.145:

The only Broxbourne starters in the current timetable go to Stratford.

Incidentally the Stansted express has a long tradition of making extra
stops in the peaks - though I hadn't realized just how many extra
stops the 07.00 and 07.30 from Stansted had gained!

Thank you Dave, looks like it's packed trains if I want a fast option in to
Liverpool Street, although maybe the 07.52 from Stansted (only stop Bishops
Stortford before Broxbourne) might be a less busy option - although I'm
sure many in Bishops Stortford will have cottoned on to this !

Regards
Richard

Richard Dixon wrote in
. 253:

David Jackman pleasereplytogroup wrote in
. 109.145:

Neither is distance a guarantee of a seat - I understand that people
are regularly standing between Waterloo and Winchester...

Which part of London do you have to get to (if you are planning a
long distance commuter that last thing you want is a long journey
from your London terminal)?

Thanks for the reply

Seeing as I work "in the city" then I was looking at commuting to
Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street - purely overland with no second
"stage" to my commute post London terminal.

Broxbourne appealed as it is very close to some nice rural villages
and yet has an excellent train service (29 mins to Liv Street) but
absolutely no way of telling how full trains will be (coming from
Stanstead Airport, Cambridge or Kings Lynn).

Cheers
Richard


Without any real knowledge whatsoever it's a fair bet to say that the
Cambridge and Kings Lynn starters will be heaving (at the height of the
peak the question is probably more "can I get on" rather than "can I get a
seat") - though many will alight at Tottenham Hale for the Victoria line.
The Hertford starters ought to offer something towards the back. (The best
advice here is of course to wait until September when everybody is back at
work, get up early, fork out £9.70 and find out for yourself!)

On the GE mainline I'm told Chelmsford is becoming an absolute nightmare -
so you would need to go further out than that (unless you fancy Brentwood
where the service is dire but you do, at least, get a seat).

Out towards Southend (on either line) would be another possibility but
isn't really "rural village" territory.

David

David Jackman pleasereplytogroup wrote in
. 109.145:

(The best advice here is of course to wait until September
when everybody is back at work, get up early, fork out £9.70 and find
out for yourself!)

Thanks for all the feedback. I plan to do just this in the next week or
two. If trains do indeed start at Broxbourne (not that I can find any on
the timetables) then that would be a boon !

Richard

On 6 Jul, 21:07, Richard Dixon wrote:
David Jackman pleasereplytogroup wrote 6.109.145:

(The best advice here is of course to wait until September
when everybody is back at work, get up early, fork out £9.70 and find
out for yourself!)

Thanks for all the feedback. I plan to do just this in the next week or
two. If trains do indeed start at Broxbourne (not that I can find any on
the timetables) then that would be a boon !


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).

In the evening, you have a good chance of getting a seat on a train to
Cambridge (e.g. the 1758). They normally only become crowded at
Tottenham Hale.

The West Anglia timetable was completely reorganised a couple of years
ago. The biggest change was to add extra stops to the Stansted Express
(many more of them now call at Harlow Town), which seems to have had a
big impact on reducing overcrowding on trains to and from Cambridge.
Another big change was to make every Cambridge train stop at
Broxbourne.

However if you're seriously planning moving to Broxbourne, the best
thing is to spend a few days there and try out the commute for
yourself.

PaulO

Paul Oter wrote in
:

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?

Many thanks,
Richard