Anyone commute from Sevenoaks area to Canary Wharf?

[williaa68]

Hello,

With the latest increase in season ticket prices I am considering driving rather than train / tube. Anyone do it? What time do you have to set off to avoid the worst of the traffic? And what do you pay for car parking, please? I'll need a new car but that's a good excuse!

All thoughts / experiences welcome.

Thanks in advance

[bqf]

williaa68 said:

Hello,

With the latest increase in season ticket prices I am considering driving rather than train / tube. Anyone do it? What time do you have to set off to avoid the worst of the traffic? And what do you pay for car parking, please? I'll need a new car but that's a good excuse!

All thoughts / experiences welcome.

Thanks in advance

I go from West Malling to CW every day. So, from J4 of the M20. Set off at 7am ish and usually at my desk for 8.20, if not earlier. Park in West India Quay (Hertsmere Road) - £10 a day.

Sooooo much better than the car, train, tube, walk I'd do otherwise. And cheaper - a lot cheaper.

[theaxe]

I used to drive (4 years ago) from near Tonbridge to CW. I used to be able to get from home up to the queue for the Blackwall Tunnel in maybe 40 mins but it'd be another 40 mins to do the last couple of miles. Sometimes less, sometimes a LOT more. In the end it was just too variable but generally I'd leave around 06:00 and get to my desk for about 07:30. Getting home could be a battle too, if I left any time after 16:30 or before 18:30 it was very busy.

The train ticket is now £4,300 and another £900 or so for parking, but adding up CW parking (260 * £10 = £2,600) and fuel (I was doing 90 miles a day, so about £4,000 in fuel) it's still cheaper to get the train, I get in at a more consistent time and I can read/sleep on the way.

I would prefer to drive if the traffic and cost were more attractive though.

Edit to add: I assumed 260 working days a year, should add that I do get some holiday so the driving figures can be reduced accordingly. Should also factor in wear & tear on the car though.

Edited by theaxe on Wednesday 2nd January 11:42

[williaa68]

Thanks both. I didnt renew the season ticket so i think i have crossed some sort of mental threshold. Will try it for a couple of weeks and see how I go - am guessing Dartford / A13 may be better in the morning?

[theaxe]

williaa68 said:

Thanks both. I didnt renew the season ticket so i think i have crossed some sort of mental threshold. Will try it for a couple of weeks and see how I go - am guessing Dartford / A13 may be better in the morning?

I tried this a few times (this was years ago so things may have changed) and it was about evens except that it cost you an extra quid. That said the A13 is a lot better these days so it may be an option.

Let us know how you get on!

[Grey Ghost]

williaa68 said:

Thanks both. I didnt renew the season ticket so i think i have crossed some sort of mental threshold. Will try it for a couple of weeks and see how I go - am guessing Dartford / A13 may be better in the morning?

Just as a guide I go under the A13 at Dagenham every morning on the train and after 7am that is where the queue starts London bound, sometimes a lot nearer the Dartford Crossing if there has been an accident.

[williaa68]

theaxe said:

Let us know how you get on!

Will give it a go tomorrow morning - although i am guessing it may still be fairly quiet as dont seem to be many people around today!

[bqf]

The best route is to join the A2 at the M25 and go straight through, rather than Dartford or the M20 way....

[Stuart Thompson]

Avoid a13. It queues from the old ford plant onwards every morning.

[strattonkillick]

Sounds like a job for a motorbike. Predictable journey time, no delays at the Blackwall Tunnell. Can't you park a bike at CW for £2 a day?

[Gixer]

A13 would be good if it wasn't for the traffic lights to the East side of Barking flyover. They cause huge queues in the morning. As others have said, I would avoid that route at peak times.

Motorbike is how I would do it, although a friend used to work at CW once said there were so many bikes now commuting that finding a bike space was sometimes difficult.

My wife has always gone in by coach. Picks her up right outside the house, same people on the coach everyday, most of which are now friends and tbh our train service is so bad it's no slower when you factor in the travelling to/from the station at each end.

Edited by Gixer on Sunday 6th January 14:08

[Hol]

I'm paying about £7k annually for a first class ticket, which I justify as its my 'commute' so I spend my money on that seat experience - rather than the extra money on the daily driver, so I'd be interested to see how you get on.

[road_rager]

I can confirm its a quick journey on a bike. Takes me generally less than an hour from near Tonbridge (I work that way now and again). Looks to be nasty if you are in a car

[bqf]

Last couple of days 1h10m tops both ways, leaving at 7am in the morning and 6pm at night. Quicker than the train, and cheaper.

[williaa68]

bqf said:

Last couple of days 1h10m tops both ways, leaving at 7am in the morning and 6pm at night. Quicker than the train, and cheaper.

I have done it now for a week and quite varied. I think the preferred route is m25 / A2 leaving around 715, usually in the office by 830. However yesterday there was something broken down in the blackwall tunnel and so went A13 which was also v busy. Took about 20 mins longer.

The real difference is coming home. Leaving around 730 I have been home in 45 mins every night.

Looking forward to the snow on Monday!

[Speed monkey 1]

Hi. I have been driving in from Sevenoaks to CW for a year. Time wise I leave at approx 5.40am and am usually at the car park in Greenwich (O2) by 6.20am and then take jubilee line one stop as that works out about half the cost of parking in CW. If you leave later then 6.30am same journey at least one third longer and is usually a lot more hassle. Getting home there is no real pattern. Can take 30 or 40 mins or when bad 1.5 hrs. Probably a nightmare about one n twenty journeys but for me better then train. Costs about double though when you factor in fuel depreciatiion tyres etc etc..... Run two cars (family car and a commuter rocket!) and would only have the family wagon if on train.

[btsidi]

Gixer said:

My wife has always gone in by coach. Picks her up right outside the house, same people on the coach everyday, most of which are now friends and tbh our train service is so bad it's no slower when you factor in the travelling to/from the station at each end.

http://www.centaurcommute.com/sevenoaks
£2217 a year is less than the £10 a day cost of parking

[Carl_Docklands]

williaa68 said:

Hello,

With the latest increase in season ticket prices I am considering driving rather than train / tube. Anyone do it? What time do you have to set off to avoid the worst of the traffic? And what do you pay for car parking, please? I'll need a new car but that's a good excuse!

All thoughts / experiences welcome.

Thanks in advance

I have lived around the Sevenoaks line for 4 years now and the train service is generally excellent and it is fast as fook. Nothing comes close for me.

Driving is nice on Friday's, maybe Thursdays on the odd occasion but that is it and i love driving my car everywhere.

We had 3 Kent motorcyclists in the office but the last one just gave up the gloves after another accident.

I know a few peeps from deeper kent (i.e Chatham) who drive into Blackheath and get the train in from there.

[StoatInACoat]

Did this for four years but the wrong way round so Kings Cross ish to Otford/Sevenoaks in the mornings. My preferred route is M25/A2 but if the M25 is ruined which it will be at least once a week then A225/A2 or A225/Junction 1 of the M25 then Dartford crossing/ A13 if Blackwall has all gone wrong. If Blackwall and Dartford are both knackered then you're stuffed frankly and might as well stay at work until it clears. Hammering through Sarf Landan never works and you will always get stuck in scumville at rush hour.

Always come off the M25 BEFORE Riverhead (southbound) as that's where the majority of accidents are as the morons forget which lane they need until the last second and pull across into whatever's next to them.

It's a bloody nightmare to be honest. Even going against the flow my record one night was five hours to complete junction 3 - 2 on the M25 because of a smash somewhere but the wombles kept letting traffic pile up until it was back to Clacketts before they shut the entry slips. Used to do it both ways and really it's a complete lottery as to whether someone has broken down in a tunnel or mashed a bit of armco as they've fallen asleep.

My average time was about an hour AM and 75 mins PM (against the flow obviously) but one problem and you're looking at a 4 hour crawl on a Friday night. This will happen to you every couple of weeks.

Still, even though I lost about 15 hours a week in a car it was significantly cheaper than the train. Rubbish.