Commuting to London from MK - tips for a new starter
Discussion
Hey Guys,
I start the daily slog into Central London next week from Milton Keynes, anyone here got any tips on best ways to get tickets parking etc (not done this commuting thing in the UK for a few decades.)
I will be driving to the station, so where is the best spot for all day parking / and ways to pay? (Got Ringgo app)
Also for trains, what are the best websites for getting your tickets (i assume thats how its done now rather than buying at the counter www.thetrainline.com?? )
I am figuring on leaving Buckingham at 7am to be in St Pauls for 9am (once i figure out the travel times i will be able to do streamline that.. )
I start the daily slog into Central London next week from Milton Keynes, anyone here got any tips on best ways to get tickets parking etc (not done this commuting thing in the UK for a few decades.)
I will be driving to the station, so where is the best spot for all day parking / and ways to pay? (Got Ringgo app)
Also for trains, what are the best websites for getting your tickets (i assume thats how its done now rather than buying at the counter www.thetrainline.com?? )
I am figuring on leaving Buckingham at 7am to be in St Pauls for 9am (once i figure out the travel times i will be able to do streamline that.. )
Been a while since I did it. There is a main multi story car park. It's about tenner a day, but you can get monthly and annual passes.
There is also another public car parking in the network rail building. The old bus station nearby is run by a youth project and their car park was a fiver a day. Have to get there fairly early for a space. Other than that a few spaces around the station but not much.
Ticket you will best off buying a season ticket. Does your employer do a loan?
No virgin trains for commuters in the morning unfortunately. Mainline arent bad. Look for the quicker ones. Some stop at every station and take an age.
Be prepared in the winter for problems..west coast mainline is overhead wires and there is often a problem in bad weather.
Will you get tube the other end? Euston station is deep and very busy. If it works then its five 5 walk to Euston square and that's much quieter.
There is also another public car parking in the network rail building. The old bus station nearby is run by a youth project and their car park was a fiver a day. Have to get there fairly early for a space. Other than that a few spaces around the station but not much.
Ticket you will best off buying a season ticket. Does your employer do a loan?
No virgin trains for commuters in the morning unfortunately. Mainline arent bad. Look for the quicker ones. Some stop at every station and take an age.
Be prepared in the winter for problems..west coast mainline is overhead wires and there is often a problem in bad weather.
Will you get tube the other end? Euston station is deep and very busy. If it works then its five 5 walk to Euston square and that's much quieter.
Scabutz said:
Been a while since I did it. There is a main multi story car park. It's about tenner a day, but you can get monthly and annual passes.
There is also another public car parking in the network rail building. The old bus station nearby is run by a youth project and their car park was a fiver a day. Have to get there fairly early for a space. Other than that a few spaces around the station but not much.
Ticket you will best off buying a season ticket. Does your employer do a loan?
No virgin trains for commuters in the morning unfortunately. Mainline arent bad. Look for the quicker ones. Some stop at every station and take an age.
Be prepared in the winter for problems..west coast mainline is overhead wires and there is often a problem in bad weather.
Will you get tube the other end? Euston station is deep and very busy. If it works then its five 5 walk to Euston square and that's much quieter.
Cheers for that - after the first month will be 50 / 50 work from home / travel so probably only get weekly / monthly tickets as and when required. There is also another public car parking in the network rail building. The old bus station nearby is run by a youth project and their car park was a fiver a day. Have to get there fairly early for a space. Other than that a few spaces around the station but not much.
Ticket you will best off buying a season ticket. Does your employer do a loan?
No virgin trains for commuters in the morning unfortunately. Mainline arent bad. Look for the quicker ones. Some stop at every station and take an age.
Be prepared in the winter for problems..west coast mainline is overhead wires and there is often a problem in bad weather.
Will you get tube the other end? Euston station is deep and very busy. If it works then its five 5 walk to Euston square and that's much quieter.
Cheers for the parking, that fits with what i had seen, so looks like i am on teh right path there, cheers for the verification.
Didn't know about the no virgin trains for commuters, thats a ballache, so no super fast run in, ohh well, will have to plan for that and see what happens. cheers for the warning
Yea there will be a tube element at the end, not a bad idea on the Euston Square station. Will probably walk on the nice days to offset that fatb
ditis, 30 minutes of shanks pony wouldn't hurt the waistline in the mornings.Scabutz said:
There is also another public car parking in the network rail building.
Nice and wide going in but very narrow on the exits. So much so that I used it once in my Xc90 and vowed never to use it again. I tend to get there just before 7 and park up outside the old multi story. Connected car parking is the app I use. £11 p/day
The buzzy (the old bus station) is £10.50 a day on ring-go, probably cheaper by the week or month directly via the operator Napier parking.
The official rail parking is likely to be more expensive.
By 9.30am pretty much every car park is full.
The last virgin train is 7.14 in the morning and gets busy and you might not get a seat, the commuter London Midland trains get busy but you can still get a seat.
I commuted for 12 years, luckily 1st class, which pretty much guaranteed a seat, but little else to justify the 50% premium.
If you don’t already own some, get some noise cancelling headphones such as bose qc35, then you dont have to listen to all the bellends shouting into their phones trying to sound busy and important
learn where all the doors are and get used to which platforms your train usually departs from in Euston, because when there’s delays it everyman for themselves
When the lines are shut due to a fatality don’t bother with alternative routes to bedford etc or even a cab, find a bar and wait - it will be quicker and cheaper overall!
I have the dept boards bookmarked:
http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/rendercissod.asp?fil...
euston:
http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/rendercissod.asp?fil...
The official rail parking is likely to be more expensive.
By 9.30am pretty much every car park is full.
The last virgin train is 7.14 in the morning and gets busy and you might not get a seat, the commuter London Midland trains get busy but you can still get a seat.
I commuted for 12 years, luckily 1st class, which pretty much guaranteed a seat, but little else to justify the 50% premium.
If you don’t already own some, get some noise cancelling headphones such as bose qc35, then you dont have to listen to all the bellends shouting into their phones trying to sound busy and important
learn where all the doors are and get used to which platforms your train usually departs from in Euston, because when there’s delays it everyman for themselves
When the lines are shut due to a fatality don’t bother with alternative routes to bedford etc or even a cab, find a bar and wait - it will be quicker and cheaper overall!
I have the dept boards bookmarked:
http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/rendercissod.asp?fil...
euston:
http://iris2.rail.co.uk/tiger/rendercissod.asp?fil...
you're not going to like this, but if there's any way you can reduce/avoid that commute, then do so
trains are probably less reliable, shorter and more crowded now than they've ever been - i'm averaging 11 compensation claims per month so far this year
paying the first class premium helps get a seat
avoiding the rush hour means you can get a virgin train
not too sure how you intend getting from euston square to st pauls ?
trains are probably less reliable, shorter and more crowded now than they've ever been - i'm averaging 11 compensation claims per month so far this year
paying the first class premium helps get a seat
avoiding the rush hour means you can get a virgin train
not too sure how you intend getting from euston square to st pauls ?
pmanson said:
Scabutz said:
There is also another public car parking in the network rail building.
Nice and wide going in but very narrow on the exits. So much so that I used it once in my Xc90 and vowed never to use it again. I tend to get there just before 7 and park up outside the old multi story. Connected car parking is the app I use. £11 p/day
andrew said:
you're not going to like this, but if there's any way you can reduce/avoid that commute, then do so
Should only be a day or 2 a week once settled in. andrew said:
not too sure how you intend getting from euston square to st pauls ?
If its nice, was thinking of walking / bus. Am from London of old so know my way around once I am in Zone 1Once the s
tty weather arrives i will look at plan B not sure what plan B is yet though ... pmanson said:
XJSJohn said:
ahh yes, i did do a lap of this carpark and had the same moment on exit (L322 Rangie). Guess will be parking outside with you.
The last bit is the worst. Sharp corner and then tight barriers. I was very pleased to have 360 degree cameras that day
sure we will catch up for a beer in Euston next time there is a delay on the trains ...
XJSJohn said:
andrew said:
not too sure how you intend getting from euston square to st pauls ?
If its nice, was thinking of walking / bus. Am from London of old so know my way around once I am in Zone 1Once the s
tty weather arrives i will look at plan B not sure what plan B is yet though ... Zippee said:
I start a new job tomorrow at St Pauls, albeit coming into Kings Cross instead. Tube to Moorgate and then a 10 min stroll is best for me. Are you on the North side if St Pauls?
You might want to consider Barbican as well, depending on which part of St Pauls you're in. I'm in Paternoster Square and this is generally quicker and less busy than using Moorgate. Spindoctor said:
If you walk from Euston to St Pancras (about 5 mins) you can catch a train to City Thameslink, which is right by St Paul’s.
Looking at Zippee’s profile he’s located somewhere in Cambs-depending where he can get a train in bound for Brighton (starting at Cambridge) or Horsham (starting at Peterborough) which will be direct to City Thameslink. Easy!
Zippee said:
XJSJohn said:
andrew said:
not too sure how you intend getting from euston square to st pauls ?
If its nice, was thinking of walking / bus. Am from London of old so know my way around once I am in Zone 1Once the s
tty weather arrives i will look at plan B not sure what plan B is yet though ... itcaptainslow said:
Spindoctor said:
If you walk from Euston to St Pancras (about 5 mins) you can catch a train to City Thameslink, which is right by St Paul’s.
Looking at Zippee’s profile he’s located somewhere in Cambs-depending where he can get a train in bound for Brighton (starting at Cambridge) or Horsham (starting at Peterborough) which will be direct to City Thameslink. Easy!
will investigate over the next few days.Gassing Station | Herts, Beds, Bucks & Cambs | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff