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

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

In message . 145, David
Jackman writes
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).

Brentwood: A train every 10 minutes off peak (until past 9pm in both
directions), depending on the direction), and a more frequent service
during the peak, "dire"? Also, given that it is the first station to
just have an all stopping train in the London-bound direction, I
strongly suspect (though do not know) that the chances of getting a seat
are quite or very good. 40 minutes into London with around 10 stops.

--
Paul G
Typing from Barking

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

Paul G wrote in
news
In message . 145,
David Jackman writes
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).

Brentwood: A train every 10 minutes off peak (until past 9pm in both
directions), depending on the direction), and a more frequent service
during the peak, "dire"? Also, given that it is the first station to
just have an all stopping train in the London-bound direction, I
strongly suspect (though do not know) that the chances of getting a
seat are quite or very good. 40 minutes into London with around 10
stops.


The problem with Brentwood is that it is in the wrong place :-)

Despite being on a fast main line to London every train is pretty much
all stations so it will always take 35-40 minutes and it's one stop
beyond boundary zone six, which makes an annual travelcard £2,500
instead of £1,784. The service isn't terribly reliable - in the event
of disruption trains are turned round before they reach Brentwood - and
the 315s are known for often having no heating in Winter and for a few
years had windows that barely opened so it got very hot in summer.
(This was to stop the yobs throwing the seat cushions out of the
windows; the recent "refurbishment" saw a redesign to allow more
ventilation).

Crossrail - if it ever happens - will improve matters but the all
stations nature will always make it a slow and tendious journey.

It just isn't a railhead I would ever suggest for long distance
commuting.

David

In message . 145, at
14:32:05 on Mon, 7 Jul 2008, David Jackman
remarked:

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).

Brentwood: A train every 10 minutes off peak (until past 9pm in both
directions), depending on the direction), and a more frequent service
during the peak, "dire"? Also, given that it is the first station to
just have an all stopping train in the London-bound direction, I
strongly suspect (though do not know) that the chances of getting a
seat are quite or very good. 40 minutes into London with around 10
stops.

The problem with Brentwood is that it is in the wrong place :-)

Despite being on a fast main line to London every train is pretty much
all stations so it will always take 35-40 minutes and it's one stop
beyond boundary zone six, which makes an annual travelcard £2,500
instead of £1,784.

And a Brentwood-Harold Wood season is more than £716? Makes the
Travelcard look like absurdly good value for money.

The service isn't terribly reliable - in the event of disruption
trains are turned round before they reach Brentwood - and the 315s

I remember when the 321's were brand new. I suppose they aren't used on
stoppers any more.

It just isn't a railhead I would ever suggest for long distance
commuting.

I wouldn't call London 'long distance' from Brentwood But my
travelling experience dates from when it was 27 minutes on a semifast.
But that was the same time as from Chelmsford, so the choice of where to
live was more about house prices vs residential ambience.
--
Roland Perry

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

In message
, at
05:58:30 on Tue, 8 Jul 2008, Paul Oter
remarked:
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.

The train I was referring to (2nd most crowded, not most crowded) is the
7.18 from Cambridge in 2007, and it would be extraordinary for the ToC
to trot out the same excuse two years running.
--
Roland Perry

Paul Oter wrote:
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.


Another relevant point seems to be that of all the routes around London,
there seems reasonable evidence of serious increases in rolling stock during
the next timetable year for the Lea Valley. Cascaded 321s ex LM, and an
order for new units for the Stansted Express (although that has gone a
little quiet).

Paul S

In message , at 14:31:28 on Tue, 8 Jul
2008, Paul Scott remarked:
and an order for new units for the Stansted Express (although that has
gone a little quiet).

East Midlands news today crowing about a Bombardier order for South
Africa that they've just started to deliver; also mentioned they were
building new trains for London "for the Olympics". What line are they
for (not Crossrail or Javelin, obviously).
--
Roland Perry