Xmas route from East Croydon to Poole

[beanwalls]

Hi All,

I'm travelling from East Croydon to Poole on 27th December for family Xmas events, and have realised there is disruption around Woking/Basingstoke meaning all the trains seems to be redirecting via Havant and taking a lot longer. I wonder if anyone has ideas for a different route to avoid this and get there and back a little quicker?

Family have offered to pick up from other stations, so could go to a station 30-45 mins away and be collected. I can also leave from other London stations if that helps in any way...

Any ideas on a way around this that will make my potential 3.5 hour journey quicker?

Thanks!

 

[MrJeeves]

My first thought was heading to Clapham Junction to get the SWR Reading service, then taking CrossCountry to Southampton or Bournemouth, then SWR onwards to Poole. This also works out to about 3h 36m, so no real time saving, and you have to endure a probably-packed Voyager!

The absolute quickest route seems to involve the Woking - Basingstoke rail replacement at about 3h 17m, or 2h 53m if you are picked up at Bournemouth off CrossCountry.

Then again, East Croydon (dep. 12:00) to Clapham Junction and then a diverted Poole train (dep. 12:30) also can take just 3h 13m!

 

[30907]

Unfortunately the main line is blocked between Woking and Basingstoke all over Christmas and New Year, so there is no real alternative station you could be met at.

3h13 is the quickest possible through timing, but you might prefer to leave 7min earlier and use the significantly cheaper "via Barnham" ticket, changing at Havant.

 

[beanwalls]

My first thought was heading to Clapham Junction to get the SWR Reading service, then taking CrossCountry to Southampton or Bournemouth, then SWR onwards to Poole. This also works out to about 3h 36m, so no real time saving, and you have to endure a probably-packed Voyager!

The absolute quickest route seems to involve the Woking - Basingstoke rail replacement at about 3h 17m, or 2h 53m if you are picked up at Bournemouth off CrossCountry.

Then again, East Croydon (dep. 12:00) to Clapham Junction and then a diverted Poole train (dep. 12:30) also can take just 3h 13m!

Thank you - having to change and get a rail replacement bus is enough reason to be fine with the additional 20min journey. Plus, getting collected from Bournemouth doesn't save enough time to counteract the additional traveling to pick me up that family will have to do. Worth a try though!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Dec 2024 ==

Unfortunately the main line is blocked between Woking and Basingstoke all over Christmas and New Year, so there is no real alternative station you could be met at.

3h13 is the quickest possible through timing, but you might prefer to leave 7min earlier and use the significantly cheaper "via Barnham" ticket, changing at Havant.

I can leave a little earlier... why is the "via Barnham" ticket cheaper? It's still only one change, just like going to Clapham Junction, and the travel time is almost identical.

My only worry is that I could end up on the wrong train and get charged an additional fare. Do you think that is possible?

The fare goes from around £44 (adult and child open return with network railcard) to around £33 for same journey via Barnham. Great saving! Thank you!

 

[JonathanH]

My only worry is that I could end up on the wrong train and get charged an additional fare. Do you think that is possible?

If you head south rather than north from East Croydon and travel to Havant on a direct train it will go via Barnham with no risk of being charged an additional fare.

 

[MrJeeves]

I can leave a little earlier... why is the "via Barnham" ticket cheaper? It's still only one change, just like going to Clapham Junction, and the travel time is almost identical.

My only worry is that I could end up on the wrong train and get charged an additional fare. Do you think that is possible?

The fare goes from around £44 (adult and child open return with network railcard) to around £33 for same journey via Barnham. Great saving! Thank you!

It's cheaper because it's typically a longer journey. As a result, Southern have priced the tickets competitively in order to take some passengers off of the mainline. In this case, the journey time isn't that different because of the engineering works, though!

There's no way you could end up on the wrong train if, as JonathanH says, you head south instead of north. You can get a direct service from East Croydon to either Brighton or Barnham (on one of the Portsmouth or Bognor Regis services), then head across the south coast on a Southern service to Southampton Central.

 

[JonathanH]

You can get a direct service from East Croydon to either Brighton or Barnham (on one of the Portsmouth or Bognor Regis services), then head across the south coast on a Southern service to Southampton Central.

In the instance of the period of engineering work the change can be made one train at Havant because of the diversion of the SWR services, so no need to dabble with the Southern services to Southampton Central, so Portsmouth train from East Croydon to Havant, and Weymouth train from Havant to Poole.

 

[swt_passenger]

It's cheaper because it's typically a longer journey. As a result, Southern have priced the tickets competitively in order to take some passengers off of the mainline. In this case, the journey time isn't that different because of the engineering works, though!

There's no way you could end up on the wrong train if, as JonathanH says, you head south instead of north. You can get a direct service from East Croydon to either Brighton or Barnham (on one of the Portsmouth or Bognor Regis services), then head across the south coast on a Southern service to Southampton Central.

When I set ‘via Barnham’ the journey planner came up with SN from East Croydon to Havant (a Portsmouth Harbour service), changing at Havant onto an diverted SWR direct to Poole, so it can be done with just one change, ie you don’t need to use a second SN service.

 

[Hophead]

If travelling south, remember to board the front 4 coaches! The train splits at Horsham.

 

[Watershed]

I can leave a little earlier... why is the "via Barnham" ticket cheaper?

Because the journey time for travelling via Barnham is usually slower, so Southern (who set this fare) want to make it more attractive to travel on their services by offering a cheaper fare.

My only worry is that I could end up on the wrong train and get charged an additional fare. Do you think that is possible?

It is pretty unlikely as long as you look at the signs and listen to any announcements. If you're unsure you can always ask a member of staff at the station or on the train.