National Rail -- Service Disruptions
Dec 3rd 2003, 7:30 pm
#1
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Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Birmingham, USA
Posts: 802
National Rail -- Service Disruptions
Watch for this at the National Rail website http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/realtime/fs_realtime.htm. There are many upcoming engineering works days in which they shut down major stations in London and you must use an alternate route. Don't count on using the same route you used to make your return trip. Interestingly, they don't tell you this when buying your ticket, you are just supposed to find the route on your way.
Also, use the Virgin Atlantic train if possible instead of the silverlink. For instance, they might both go to Euston, but the Silverlink is slow and stops at every stop while the Virgin Train is an express. The same ticket can work for both.
Here is my sample trip:
Coventry to Hastings:
Coventry > Euston, London by silverlink train (oops, add 1 hour to travel time), Euston > Charing Cross by London Underground, Charing Cross Station (wait time 45 min) > Hastings
Return trip (Hastings to Coventry):
Engineering Work Day!
Hastings > London Bridge, London Bridge > Waterloo, Waterloo > Charing Cross, Charing Cross CLOSED (all platforms closed, re-route), Undergound to Euston, Euston, London > Coventry by Virgin Train (much faster)
Also, use the Virgin Atlantic train if possible instead of the silverlink. For instance, they might both go to Euston, but the Silverlink is slow and stops at every stop while the Virgin Train is an express. The same ticket can work for both.
Here is my sample trip:
Coventry to Hastings:
Coventry > Euston, London by silverlink train (oops, add 1 hour to travel time), Euston > Charing Cross by London Underground, Charing Cross Station (wait time 45 min) > Hastings
Return trip (Hastings to Coventry):
Engineering Work Day!
Hastings > London Bridge, London Bridge > Waterloo, Waterloo > Charing Cross, Charing Cross CLOSED (all platforms closed, re-route), Undergound to Euston, Euston, London > Coventry by Virgin Train (much faster)
Last edited by jaytee; Dec 3rd 2003 at 7:43 pm.
Dec 3rd 2003, 9:00 pm
#2
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Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,807
One thing I don't miss at all is those interminable engineering works, made worse by the fact that because the trains are now run by so many different companies, once you get on one train they can't tell you half the time whether the connection is still running!
You have my sympathy with that journey to/from Coventry. Before I left the UK in October I travelled up to Keynsham (Bristol) - outward trip was Worthing - Keynsham, direct train, took 3 hrs 25 mins.
Return trip was hit by engineering works and turned out to be - Keynsham, change at Bath, change at Salisbury, get off at Southampton as instructed by on-train staff, find out should have stayed on train, get put on train to Clapham Junction, change at Clapham, change at Haywards Heath, change at Brighton. Arrive Worthing after 7 hours!!!!
Anyone who has a mpa or knows southern England will realise that is the most convoluted route!!!
Had I stayed on the train in Southampton, it would have still taken 6 and half hrs as it meant change at Fratton, change at Chichester, get bus to Littlehampton, train to Barnham, change at Barnham for Worthing!
AARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
You have my sympathy with that journey to/from Coventry. Before I left the UK in October I travelled up to Keynsham (Bristol) - outward trip was Worthing - Keynsham, direct train, took 3 hrs 25 mins.
Return trip was hit by engineering works and turned out to be - Keynsham, change at Bath, change at Salisbury, get off at Southampton as instructed by on-train staff, find out should have stayed on train, get put on train to Clapham Junction, change at Clapham, change at Haywards Heath, change at Brighton. Arrive Worthing after 7 hours!!!!
Anyone who has a mpa or knows southern England will realise that is the most convoluted route!!!
Had I stayed on the train in Southampton, it would have still taken 6 and half hrs as it meant change at Fratton, change at Chichester, get bus to Littlehampton, train to Barnham, change at Barnham for Worthing!
AARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
Dec 3rd 2003, 9:55 pm
#3
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Birmingham, USA
Posts: 802
Originally posted by Pollyana
One thing I don't miss at all is those interminable engineering works, made worse by the fact that because the trains are now run by so many different companies, once you get on one train they can't tell you half the time whether the connection is still running!
You have my sympathy with that journey to/from Coventry. Before I left the UK in October I travelled up to Keynsham (Bristol) - outward trip was Worthing - Keynsham, direct train, took 3 hrs 25 mins.
Return trip was hit by engineering works and turned out to be - Keynsham, change at Bath, change at Salisbury, get off at Southampton as instructed by on-train staff, find out should have stayed on train, get put on train to Clapham Junction, change at Clapham, change at Haywards Heath, change at Brighton. Arrive Worthing after 7 hours!!!!
Anyone who has a mpa or knows southern England will realise that is the most convoluted route!!!
Had I stayed on the train in Southampton, it would have still taken 6 and half hrs as it meant change at Fratton, change at Chichester, get bus to Littlehampton, train to Barnham, change at Barnham for Worthing!
AARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
One thing I don't miss at all is those interminable engineering works, made worse by the fact that because the trains are now run by so many different companies, once you get on one train they can't tell you half the time whether the connection is still running!
You have my sympathy with that journey to/from Coventry. Before I left the UK in October I travelled up to Keynsham (Bristol) - outward trip was Worthing - Keynsham, direct train, took 3 hrs 25 mins.
Return trip was hit by engineering works and turned out to be - Keynsham, change at Bath, change at Salisbury, get off at Southampton as instructed by on-train staff, find out should have stayed on train, get put on train to Clapham Junction, change at Clapham, change at Haywards Heath, change at Brighton. Arrive Worthing after 7 hours!!!!
Anyone who has a mpa or knows southern England will realise that is the most convoluted route!!!
Had I stayed on the train in Southampton, it would have still taken 6 and half hrs as it meant change at Fratton, change at Chichester, get bus to Littlehampton, train to Barnham, change at Barnham for Worthing!
AARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
I am a big fan of the Virgin Trains now. There are 25 new trains at a cost of 8 million (pounds) each which are going to run at up to 145mph at full tilt by September 2004. Just having ridden in one, I was really impressed with it. There are large spacious toilets, touch button doors, a full snack bar and the ride is smooth like a monorail. Now if they could just make the whole journey to/from destinations as smooth..
BTW sitting here now with the interactive maps of the London Underground and National Rail websites is really helpful and makes sense, but unfortunately none of the relatives I visited have internet at home and the maps at the various platforms are simplistic.
