Apologies for the long delay since the last post, but I've got myself digs in London to avoid the daily commute. It was proving too much for me, taking too much time out of my life.
In all, I estimated that I was spending three and a half hours a day travelling, by the time I added in the waiting time caused by needing to get to the station early enough to ensure I got a seat, and the onward travel to my office from Victoria. None of this was helped by the fact that the rush-hour services are slower then the off-peak trains as they stop more, and the inbound trains seem to wait for several minutes outside Victoria in the mornings waiting for platforms.
Remarkably, I managed to find a room (courtesy of a former Brightonian) in London for less than my monthly season ticket so, even with the additional cost of Underground and bus fares, the arrangement breaks even financially.
All that has, of course, meant less time on the Brighton end of the blog. I will try to catch up in due course!
Showing posts with label commuting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commuting. Show all posts
Friday, 20 July 2012
Monday, 26 September 2011
Commuting...
Well, I've had a month so far of my new daily routine of commuting from Brighton to London in the rush hours.
It's been an interesting but often depressing experience. Until now, I've travelled for work mostly off-peak, when things have seem to have run pretty smoothly. But so far, my regular inbound trains (one of the extended Gatwick Expresses) have been unfailingly late. Sometimes only by 5 minutes, and other times up to 40 minutes. But not one has actually arrived at the stated time: and that is with the slower, peak-time services which all take over an hour from London to Brighton (though I realise they make a few more stops).
Of course, I realise the performance figures refer to trains being on time if they arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled time, but it seems the figures in the low 90s in percentage terms must be largely determined all those relatively empty trains running off-peak; peak services seem to be much more fragile.
And, is it my bad luck I've had four major incidents - roughly one a week - so far? These include a man who had climbed under a train (5 hour delay), a broken rail (3 hour delay), and the recent problem with Balcombe tunnel (where the lining needed emergency repairs). On that day I didn't even make it into work.
And of course this for well over £3,000 a year. I may rent a room up in town...
It's been an interesting but often depressing experience. Until now, I've travelled for work mostly off-peak, when things have seem to have run pretty smoothly. But so far, my regular inbound trains (one of the extended Gatwick Expresses) have been unfailingly late. Sometimes only by 5 minutes, and other times up to 40 minutes. But not one has actually arrived at the stated time: and that is with the slower, peak-time services which all take over an hour from London to Brighton (though I realise they make a few more stops).
Of course, I realise the performance figures refer to trains being on time if they arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled time, but it seems the figures in the low 90s in percentage terms must be largely determined all those relatively empty trains running off-peak; peak services seem to be much more fragile.
And, is it my bad luck I've had four major incidents - roughly one a week - so far? These include a man who had climbed under a train (5 hour delay), a broken rail (3 hour delay), and the recent problem with Balcombe tunnel (where the lining needed emergency repairs). On that day I didn't even make it into work.
And of course this for well over £3,000 a year. I may rent a room up in town...
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