hs1 canterbury west to st pancras

[highburypete]

hi there,

looking to move to Canterbury soon and wondered how the journey was from canterbury west to st pancras in the morning around 7am and coming home from st pancras around 4.30pm.

just gauging opinions on:

- chances of getting a seat at those times and any times leading upto 7am or past 4.30 in the evening.
- How many carriages are there at those times.
- iv'e also heard that there is currently some work being done to the line between Ashford and canterbury.
this will in turn bring the time it takes to get from canterbury west to st pancras down by 10 minutes (hopefully giving a time of 44-45 mins to get to st pancras).
this Rail Line work was supposed to be finished by the end of 2016!!. does anybody know if these times are achievable and when this work will be finished.

many thanks in advance

pete

 

[notadriver]

hi there,



looking to move to canterbury soon and wondered how the journey was from canterbury west to st pancras in the morning around 7am and coming home from st pancras around 4pm.



i usually cycle at the moment so never have any problems with trains so just gauging opinions on:



- reliability of service (what is plan B if train not running)

- chances of getting a seat at those times

- whether its worth upgrading to first class or whether standard class i just as good

-time it takes from walking off train at st pancras international and getting on victoria line from st pancras for next stage of journey (just trying to add up all the time it will take)

- do they have charger points by seats for laptop or phone



many thanks in advance



pete

1) quite reliable. Can run 10 minutes late in evenings but I don't think that's a biggie.
2) 4pm trains are very busy. Get to the train early to get a seat.
3) no first class on Javelins - Britains fastest domestic trains but standard has plenty of legroom.
4) 10 minutes.
5) yes




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[backontrack]

1) Service generally reliable. Getting to ends of platforms at Canterbury West is helpful - the station's sometimes advertised as having 'short platforms', so almost all pax will get on in the centre of the train - which becomes the most crowded. Even then, it's not too bad.

Journey takes just under an hour - half of that is just getting to Ashford.

2) As said, there are more seats at either ends, but anywhere's good if you're early. A lot of services have 12 coaches - you have to be in the front 8 heading out of London otherwise you'll be stuck outside the platform.

3) Standard only, but standard has charger points even at airline seats, and good legroom.

4) About right above

5) As said above, at every seat