Commute to Docklands... - mab23

Hi board,

I have a confession to make... I'm a bad person, I drive to work in Docklands every day...

Currently I am living out near the M20 in Kent, and can make it into work in 1hr-1hr15 min (depending on the Blackwall Tunnel), compared to a commute of nearly 2 hours each way on the train and the sweaty, overcrowded Jubilee line. It's a nice fast drive (M20, A20, A205, A102) until I hit the Blackwall Tunnel queue. I am lucky in that I can park at work so that's not a problem.

I am looking to move further west to be nearer my girlfriend, as she works in Windsor, so was wondering if there's a similarly fast way in from that part of the world (say from around Croydon/Reigate/Leatherhead/Guildford/Woking)? Is the A23 any good in the rush hour? Or the M3/A316/A4 and through central London? (I have the use of a car that will hopefully be congestion charge free from next year as it gives out <120g/km CO2)

Or am I going to have to be subjected to South West Trains every day (a prospect I am not relishing)?

Any experiences anyone can share?

Thanks,

Mike
Commute to Docklands... - MVP
Mike,

Don't even think about it

Welcome to South West Trains!

MVP
Commute to Docklands... - helicopter
Don't even think about it.......

Just about sums up my feelings too.

Depends where you are going from but wherever you end up , take the train.

When they were building Canary Wharf a few years ago I used to commute up to London Bridge by train from Redhill ( Rather than Reigate where I lived which is on a branch line) .

I used to then walk down to the London Bridge pier and catch the riverboat to Canary Wharf which was quite a nice way to travel. I don't know whether they still run though.

Otherwise - get a motorbike , even then its going to take forever.

A23 in the rush hour = Croydon, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Streatham , Clapham none of which are by passed and all of which are packed and traffic lights, bus lanes , cameras and then through the city to Docklands --URGHHHHH.

Absolutely No no no in a car .

Did I say NO....?
Commute to Docklands... - local yokel
You either move jobs or change girlfriend.
Commute to Docklands... - mab23

"move jobs or change girlfriend" LOL

Or she changes her job and moves to Kent...

Many thanks for confirming what I suspected - I seem to have one of the few non-total-nightmare drives into London. (M11/A405 and A12, A2, or A13 might be the only other ones)

Mike
Commute to Docklands... - Altea Ego
Mab

I live out west, and did two years on the isle of dogs recently. No way would I think of driving. Woking to Crossharbour - 1 hour on southwest trains/jubilee.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Commute to Docklands... - flunky
25-30 minutes into Waterloo has got to beat getting through SW London.
Commute to Docklands... - Avant
I think if it were me I'd move to somewhere like Ealing, and avoid SW Trains by getting the Central Line from Ealing Broadway to Bank, then DLR to Docklands. You should get a seat each time in the morning if you get on at the terminus - not so good in the evenings though but still better thn SW Trains. And getting to Windsor in the evening is a pain from East Surrey - easier from west London.
Commute to Docklands... - mab23

I like the Ealing Central Line idea, the TFL journey planner gives me a 1 hour station-to-office-door journey time.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Commute to Docklands... - Roly93
I wouldn't even try to reach a compromise between Docklands and Windsor. Basically working in docklands is only good for people who live in Kent or Essex. I wince whenever I have to go to a meeting in Docklands, as I live in W Berks and naturally come into Paddington and then have to cross the metropolis to get there.
Commute to Docklands... - MVP
SWMBO and I live in Walton on Thames and both work in Canary Warf

Door to desk is about 1 hour 10 - I always get a seat in the morning, and in the evening as long as you are on the train 5-10 minutes before departure.

MVP
Commute to Docklands... - Ed V
South west trains, especially from Woking when they turn up every 5 minutes, are fantastic. Windsor line won't be quite as good in my view however. There's simply no comparison with motoring. A 20 minute delay happens about one in 20 journeys.....but by car that happens one in five in my view. The Jubilee to the east from W'loo is brilliant now too, few stops so quicker than the old lines.

Cross rail will help, when you're pensionable and the girlfriend is pink fluffy dicing you for forgetting your anniversary.

attempt to by-pass swear filter deleted - PU
Commute to Docklands... - oilrag
I was standing in central Paris in midwinter at around 0c. It was the rush hour and the big scooters were coming in, many ridden by young women.
Nothing exeptional about that?
Well, they were really pushing it, like a bike race, some had waterproof heavy duty plastic sheets across their knees, remnants of snow on some of them. They looked frozen, as if some had come in from well outside the city.

Compared with the cars, they seemed like `knights on chargers` much faster than I would ride a bike.
Later every nook and cranny outside premises had scooters crammed in.

Dont know what central Londons like these days, is it similar?
Commute to Docklands... - henry k
SWMBO and I live in Walton on Thames and both work in Canary Warf

And the annual season ticket is?
Commute to Docklands... - Altea Ego
£2136
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >