Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Oct 2004
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- 9,086
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- Berkland
The station might be going in, but no trains will be stopping for a long time yet. They need to electrify the lone to make it viable, and that's not being done for ages yet.
London commute from West (M4)
- Thread starter Kemik
- Start date
Caporegime
- Joined
- 13 May 2003
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- 34,593
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- Warwickshire
Motorbike or don't bother, imo. A motorbike is a fun, relaxing, quick, low stress way to get to work. For the same equivalent money I'd have to be incredibly confident of the opportunities this would open up down the line.
100 minutes each way of commuting is all but out of the question for me. Get a closer job and enjoy your life.
100 minutes each way of commuting is all but out of the question for me. Get a closer job and enjoy your life.
Low stress? I don't think it would be low stress for my dad! haha. He had a motorbike when he was younger. Everyone he knows who has had a motorbike, including himself has come off at some point.
They do seem like a great way to beat traffic but I would be bricking it around London.
Low stress? I don't think it would be low stress for my dad! haha. He had a motorbike when he was younger. Everyone he knows who has had a motorbike, including himself has come off at some point.
They do seem like a great way to beat traffic but I would be bricking it around London.
Motorbikes are funny things, the first 10 miles you do are a mix of terror and joy - but then , even though you know its dangerous, you just stop caring
Once you are in London, you barely move fast enough to have a proper accident - just the odd emergency stop, drop or wobble.
That being said, its not for everyone - and totally respect that if you aren't comfortable - but if you have any interest at all, grab a 125 and a CBT and see if you enjoy it
Definitely doesn't take 25 minutes to get to Twyford (unless stuck behind a tractor or something), I've done it in 15.. There are a few road closures at the moment which may mean the routes wrong. You've also then got to take into account delays on the trains which is pretty notorious around here, I'd much rather just have to get on one train and get straight into Paddington than deal with changing at Reading station.
That being said you'd have to pay me to commute into work on the trains now, having done it into Reading and then to Burnham/Slough and on occasion London for a few years, there is absolutely no way I would do it by choice, no matter the money involved. I'd rather sit on the M4 in rush hour every day.
That being said you'd have to pay me to commute into work on the trains now, having done it into Reading and then to Burnham/Slough and on occasion London for a few years, there is absolutely no way I would do it by choice, no matter the money involved. I'd rather sit on the M4 in rush hour every day.
I used to commute into Soho from Newbury. I think I factored in about 2hrs each way to account for the terrible train service, tube delays etc. I had about a 20min walk to the station, then through Paddington, Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus.
Reading probably is a lot better as the trains are a lot more frequent (and obviously faster). It's still a horrendous journey though.
This is always my beef with our privatised rail network. Not-only is it crap, but it almost forces people that work in London to move into London, further exacerbating the housing issues. A season ticket from Reading is over £4,000/yr, for what, 40 odd miles? It's madness. No wonder people pay more on rent to live closer and have a bit of sanity. They say renting is throwing money away but that's nothing compared to giving it to FGW every year
To the OP, is this in any way related to working in the film/tv industry in Post Production? If so I wouldn't expect to get out of the office on time, ever
Reading probably is a lot better as the trains are a lot more frequent (and obviously faster). It's still a horrendous journey though.
This is always my beef with our privatised rail network. Not-only is it crap, but it almost forces people that work in London to move into London, further exacerbating the housing issues. A season ticket from Reading is over £4,000/yr, for what, 40 odd miles? It's madness. No wonder people pay more on rent to live closer and have a bit of sanity. They say renting is throwing money away but that's nothing compared to giving it to FGW every year
To the OP, is this in any way related to working in the film/tv industry in Post Production? If so I wouldn't expect to get out of the office on time, ever
Just to throw my 2 cents in, as i commute at the other end of the line (Swindon -> Bristol), but would be on the same train service if you were catching from Reading.
I've been commuting around 5 years now, and whilst GWR aren't too bad, there are occasional times where they fail spectacularly. The commuter services are rarely bang on time, you eventually learn to accept a 5-10 min delay is deemed acceptable. The signals just outside of London (Twyford/Maidenhead) seem to fail at least once a fortnight. The price of the tickets have increased every year without fail for the last 5 years, but the service has not improved.
I would say that i rarely have problems getting a seat - even two to myself (at least at my end of the track). Also the GWR trains are much nicer than some other TOC's i've travelled regularly on.
If you're only planning on doing this for 4-6 months as in one of your posts, then this probably won't be so bad. The reliability of the service tends to decline over the winter months!
I've been commuting around 5 years now, and whilst GWR aren't too bad, there are occasional times where they fail spectacularly. The commuter services are rarely bang on time, you eventually learn to accept a 5-10 min delay is deemed acceptable. The signals just outside of London (Twyford/Maidenhead) seem to fail at least once a fortnight. The price of the tickets have increased every year without fail for the last 5 years, but the service has not improved.
I would say that i rarely have problems getting a seat - even two to myself (at least at my end of the track). Also the GWR trains are much nicer than some other TOC's i've travelled regularly on.
If you're only planning on doing this for 4-6 months as in one of your posts, then this probably won't be so bad. The reliability of the service tends to decline over the winter months!