Bournemouth to London Waterloo season ticket

[sixhundred]

My job has occasionally meant catching the train from Bournemouth to London Waterloo.

This will soon become daily. Therefore I'll be getting a season ticket.

Does anyone do this? Is it worth going for first class i.e. are the early services so packed you can't get a seat e.g. the 06:56 service and 18:05 return.

Also, does anyone know when Wifi will be installed (SWT seem to be a few years behind the other operators).

I'd obviously appreciate any top tips from anyone already doing this commute

Thanks

 

[sonic2009]

I dont live in the the area, but i can tell you 1ST is a lot more than STD, i don't know what extra benefits you get on SWT, but i wouldn't think it is much.

 

[cjohnson]

Also, does anyone know when Wifi will be installed (SWT seem to be a few years behind the other operators).s

Installation is set to start "late spring" on the Class 444s, according to SWT's twitter Q&A the other day.

 

[sixhundred]

I dont live in the the area, but i can tell you 1ST is a lot more than STD, i don't know what extra benefits you get on SWT, but i wouldn't think it is much.

The only thing the website says is "free drink". Apart from a wider seat it's not much to offer.

However if the train is so packed in std that I can't get a seat, I would consider paying for 1st. I need to work on the train each way so it's worth the money to me.

 

[LexyBoy]

I doubt you'd have a problem getting a seat at Bournemouth; returning from Waterloo could be a different matter.

You don't say where your final destination in London is - a Bournemouth to London Terminals season is valid to Waterloo, Paddington, London Bridge, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and a few others. You can buy a Travelcard which includes all travel within Zones 1-6 - this is approx. £816 more than the point-to-point for Standard and £1200 more for First. Using Oyster PAYG within Zone 1 would be about £880 (assuming 200 days travel).

I would advise trying Standard first - if you find it too busy, you can change your ticket to First. It is possible to do this during the validity but probably simpler to wait until you renew.

 

[Lrd]

You will be ok in Standard if joining at Bournemouth, the train will get busy at Southampton Central and usually full (sometimes standing) by Winchester.

Coming back, it will be full and standing up to at least Woking, or Basingstoke or if fast then it'll be Winchester, there will be loads of room after Southampton.

 

[lj9090]

My father does this commute from not much closer up the line. If a seat is essential from Waterloo, get to know which platforms they leave from and board before it's announced, so about 15-20 minutes early. Just keep an eye on the departure boards and announcements and make sure it is the right train.
If you're a bit closer to departure time and all seats have gone then just let the train go and get the next one. If you're planning on an x05 then an x35 is quicker to Bournemouth anyway so won't be much of a delay.

The x35's split at Southampton too, front half going fast to Bournemouth. Whenever I've got them the fronts been quieter from Waterloo as people don't walk that far down and anyone wanting the slow half don't bother sitting up front and moving before Southampton.
Conversely, the back half of the x05's are dead after Southampton as it doesn't serve any of the short platforms and terminates at Bournemouth with the front half going to Weymouth.

Do note the wide area the ticket is valid in if you fancy a weekend trip anywwhere - it'll cover you out to Brighton and up through Gatwick aswell as quite a lot else. The free gold tickets end up being quite useless though as your ticket will cover most of it anyway.

 

[30907]

Just an observation: the season still costs only 1.5x Anytime return, which iirc was about what it was in the 70s.