Diversion via Crawley

[Skimpot flyer]

Friends of mine asked my advice (they think I'm a rail expert ) for a trip from London to Brighton tomorrow, to visit their daughter.
Buses are operating south of Three Bridges, and they have two options:
a) travel to Three Bridges and get the replacement bus, which is scheduled to take 45 mins to reach Brighton, or
b) board one of the trains leaving Victoria that is booked to run via Horsham, Littlehampton, Angmering, Worthing, Shoreham-by-Sea and Hove to Brighton.

I wasn't sure which option to recommend, as I have made a similar trip some years ago when the line was similarly closed, and although the bus (coach?) reached the outskirts of Brighton fairly briskly, it crawled through wet streets and seemed to take ages to reach the station. IIRC, it was more like 60-70mins on the bus from Three Bridges, not 45.

Would it just be less hassle to take the diverted train ? What sort of journey time is it likely to be for the train-only option ?

Any feedback gratefully received !

 

[Searle]

The trains diverted through Horsham are generally booked to take 75-80 minutes from Three Bridges to Brighton, and 120 minutes from Victoria to Brighton, so it depends if you'd rather spend a bit longer on a train than go with the coach; I know I'd rather go with the train, even if it is longer.

 

[30907]

Booked 1 hour to Worthing via Arun Valley so about 1h20 to Brighton

 

[richardderby]

TRAIN! they always use crappy old double deckers which tend to be COLD.... :cry:

The direct trains leave Victoria at .32 and arrive Brighton 2 hours later.... taking the bus will only save around 15-20 mins...

 

[radamfi]

The stopping bus from Three Bridges to Haywards Heath is quite scenic however and can rarely be travelled by double decker bus other than by using a rail replacement bus.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. My instinct was that the train is better, so that's what I'll advise them. The bus might be slightly quicker... but the likelihood is that the train will get there at it's scheduled time, whereas the bus will likely be delayed by the sheer numbers boarding and the traffic in Brighton.

The best route of all would be via Uckfield, but I don't think the BML2 line to Lewes will ever see the light of day, sadly

 

[paul1609]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. My instinct was that the train is better, so that's what I'll advise them. The bus might be slightly quicker... but the likelihood is that the train will get there at it's scheduled time, whereas the bus will likely be delayed by the sheer numbers boarding and the traffic in Brighton.

The best route of all would be via Uckfield, but I don't think the BML2 line to Lewes will ever see the light of day, sadly

If you're a resident of Littlehampton and stations to West Worthing you look forward to these diversions you find that your journey time to London is suddenly slashed by 35 mins!

 

[infobleep]

If you're a resident of Littlehampton and stations to West Worthing you look forward to these diversions you find that your journey time to London is suddenly slashed by 35 mins!

I find things like this fascinating. I remember telling a member of gate line staff at Guildford station that the snow timetable was actually of benefit to me because it cut my journey time home from north London by 11 minutes! At the time I would have enjoyed the snow timetable all year round. The connection at Clapham Junction being far more reasonable during it's running than it normal was. Normally it's 20 minutes.

I'm sure people in Littlehampton would prefer all of their trains to be 35 minutes quicker when there is no engineering works.

 

[Bedpan]

Pity that the Horsham - Shoreham line is no longer open, daresay would have been able to do Three Bridges to Brighton in less than an hour bearing in mind that the stoppers from Brighton to Horsham took an hour in steam days.