Glasgow to Southampton

[Robinson]

Got a question here. I will shortly be upping sticks and heading for the University of Southampton (with a lot of luggage) and was wondering if anyone could advise me whether it would be better to travel via London or Birmingham.
I am mindful of the fact that the tube could be a bit of a struggle with my bags, on the other hand if I go the other way it's only an 8 minute connection at Birmingham, which seems a little tight.
If the Voyager that turns up for the the 1000 Glasgow Central-Birmingham New Street isn't the full 5 coaches then debate over, it's onto the Pendolino! Otherwise, feel free to advise me!

 

[rail-britain]

8 minute connection at Birmingham, which seems a little tight

The minimum is 12 minutes, personally if you have lots of luggage you may need to double that
You're not expecting to fill an entire coach of the 4 coach Voyager are you?

 

[MCR247]

Got a question here. I will shortly be upping sticks and heading for the University of Southampton (with a lot of luggage) and was wondering if anyone could advise me whether it would be better to travel via London or Birmingham.
I am mindful of the fact that the tube could be a bit of a struggle with my bags, on the other hand if I go the other way it's only an 8 minute connection at Birmingham, which seems a little tight.
If the Voyager that turns up for the the 1000 Glasgow Central-Birmingham New Street isn't the full 5 coaches then debate over, it's onto the Pendolino! Otherwise, feel free to advise me!

I'd go via London personally, you would have more luggage space on the 390, and then the 444. Make sure you get one of the fasts from Waterloo leaving at 05 or 35. The tube is just the Northern from Euston to Waterloo

 

[route101]

Shame there isent any direct trains to Southampton anymore, I flew to Southampton once and found it very convient , wont be with lots of Luggage .

 

[Robinson]

The minimum is 12 minutes, personally if you have lots of luggage you may need to double that
You're not expecting to fill an entire coach of the 4 coach Voyager are you?

No but if it's only 4 then it's usually packed to the rafters and there's no unreserved coach which is where I normally go for. Thanks for the advice re connection times though.

route101 - I wholeheartedly agree re directs to Southampton!

 

[jamesontheroad]

Having about seven and a half years at university (no, I didn't fail repeatedly, I just kept finding things to do) I would strongly suggest you don't take lots of stuff to university. You will only end up carting it home again. I must have spent a fortune in petrol just shifting personal belongings and books back and forth each year, and to be honest I didn't need most of it.

It's a good motto for life: travel light (especially if you're trying to find luggage space on a Voyager).

 

[First class]

YOU MAY ONLY TAKE 3 SMALL BAGS OR RISK PAYING AN EXTRA 50% PER ITEM. If I was the TM on a very busy train and you had taken up a load of space with bags, I would certainly be issuing you with an AAA.

Condition 46 allows you to take small items of Luggage and Articles into the
passenger accommodation of a train. Small items are considered to be those with
dimensions not exceeding 90 x 70 x 30 cm with a weight not exceeding 50kg. Each
passenger (aged 5 years or more) may take three small items into a train free of
charge, however, the dimensions of only two of these items may exceed 55 x 40 x 20 cm.

3. A fee not exceeding half the adult fare for your journey is charged for:
• each additional item in excess of a passenger’s free allowance; and
• any item with dimensions exceeding 90 x 70 x 30 cm.

Saying that, I've only had requested people to pay this around 3-4 times ever and even then they had FAR too much.

 

[Lampshade]

I'd go via Manchester personally, there's more space on a 185 for luggage (there's either luggage racks or the area near the disabled toilet has plenty of space if it's not needed) and you can go direct from Piccadilly to Southampton (it'll be a 221).

 

[MCR247]

Piccadilly to Southampton (it'll be a 221).

I think a 220 is a lot more likely

 

[route:oxford]

You don't need to worry about the connection at Birmingham.

Get off at Wolverhampton. It's a same-platform change.

Just keep your eye on your mobile phone to make sure that the services are on time... If not, change at Birmingham instead as an hour is a long time to kill in Wolverhamptonb.

 

[wintonian]

I refuse to herded around by a Voyager any further than Oxford/ Leamington Spa and go via London, If I am carrying luggage beyond what will pass for hand luggage on a budget airline I tend to avoid the tube and opt for the no. 59/ 68 bus between Waterloo and Euston which takes just under half an hour.

Be aware that if traveling on a weekday then the trains from Waterloo are likely to be very busy after 16:00 all evening and there are no luggage racks on SWT services.

 

[John @ home]

I ... was wondering if anyone could advise me whether it would be better to travel via London or Birmingham.

For a Permitted Route which is step-free and is on trains with luggage space, try:

• Glasgow Central - London Kings Cross (East Coast)
• London St Pancras - East Croydon (First Capital Connect)
• East Croydon - Southampton Central (Southern)

 

[Robinson]

I refuse to herded around by a Voyager any further than Oxford/ Leamington Spa and go via London, If I am carrying luggage beyond what will pass for hand luggage on a budget airline I tend to avoid the tube and opt for the no. 59/ 68 bus between Waterloo and Euston which takes just under half an hour.

Be aware that if traveling on a weekday then the trains from Waterloo are likely to be very busy after 16:00 all evening and there are no luggage racks on SWT services.

How much would the bus cost? I'm aware the tube would be included in the ticket. And no, I'm travelling on a Saturday, either the 0940 or 1000 from Glasgow.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

For a Permitted Route which is step-free and is on trains with luggage space, try:

• Glasgow Central - London Kings Cross (East Coast)
• London St Pancras - East Croydon (First Capital Connect)
• East Croydon - Southampton Central (Southern)

Sounds great in theory, but engineering work would appear to have put paid to at least the Glasgow-Kings Cross leg of that idea, plus I need to arrive by about 1730 at halls. Good idea for another time though!

Thanks for all the helpful comments everyone.

 

[MCR247]

I'd go via Manchester personally, there's more space on a 185 for luggage (there's either luggage racks or the area near the disabled toilet has plenty of space if it's not needed) and you can go direct from Piccadilly to Southampton (it'll be a 221).

Thinking about it, that is a great plan as the voyager starts there so there'll be room for your luggage

 

[route:oxford]

An alternative would be to arrange a courier to take you luggage from Weegieland to Southampton.

Various couriers offer the service. Expect to pay about £35 for a £30Kg suitcase with next-day delivery, slightly less for 2-3 day delivery.

If you're over 23 and can drive, Avis offer one-way car rentals too. If roads are clear, you can do the run from Glasgw to Southampton in about 6h15m drivetime.

Don't forget... Check megatrain.com before you travel. There are often £1 tickets available on the 10.00 service from Glasgow to Birmingham midweek.

 

[wintonian]

How much would the bus cost? I'm aware the tube would be included in the ticket. And no, I'm travelling on a Saturday, either the 0940 or 1000 from Glasgow.

Bus £2.00 assuming you don't have an Oyster card.

Another option is to go from Euston to Paddington (15/20 min by bus) which is closer and take a HST to reading and then XC to Southampton. Both these trains have luggage facilities and the Voyagers aren’t normally too busy south of Reading.

 

[MrC]

An alternative would be to arrange a courier to take you luggage from Weegieland to Southampton.

Various couriers offer the service. Expect to pay about £35 for a £30Kg suitcase with next-day delivery, slightly less for 2-3 day delivery.

If you're over 23 and can drive, Avis offer one-way car rentals too. If roads are clear, you can do the run from Glasgw to Southampton in about 6h15m drivetime.

Got to be honest having recently done some train and car trips from Dorset to Northern England as far up as Durham and Lancaster (funnily enough taking son to uni open days) I'd be looking at these options, or maybe going by coach if there's a direct(ish) route. XC by rail with luggage is a complete pain in the arse these days. Oh, and you'll be very lucky indeed to get the cheapest Megabus/Megatrain tickets as every other bugger going to uni will probably have snaffled them up by now.

 

[Robinson]

Got to be honest having recently done some train and car trips from Dorset to Northern England as far up as Durham and Lancaster (funnily enough taking son to uni open days) I'd be looking at these options, or maybe going by coach if there's a direct(ish) route. XC by rail with luggage is a complete pain in the arse these days. Oh, and you'll be very lucky indeed to get the cheapest Megabus/Megatrain tickets as every other bugger going to uni will probably have snaffled them up by now.

Checked the coach options. Only one direct coach from Glasgow, leaving at 0815 in the morning and arriving at 1925. Other indirect options later in the day all either overnight or arriving in the dead of night at Southampton. In two words... nae chance.
Nobody's going to be driving me as my family are all otherwise occupied, and I don't drive, so that's not an option either.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think a 220 is a lot more likely

I'd say it's about 50/50, based on observations at Southampton...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

...and there are no luggage racks on SWT services.

There are no end of carriage luggage stacks. There are plenty of overhead luggage racks, just like in any other coach...

 

[wintonian]

Thats what I ment

 

[MrC]

There are no end of carriage luggage stacks. There are plenty of overhead luggage racks, just like in any other coach...

I think it depends on the size of the luggage. 444/450s aren't laid out well for the large amounts of luggage commonly seen on XC type services (although slightly better than the 442s were). Cruise liner days at Southampton can be entertaining

 

[swt_passenger]

I think it depends on the size of the luggage. 444/450s aren't laid out well for the large amounts of luggage commonly seen on XC type services (although slightly better than the 442s were). Cruise liner days at Southampton can be entertaining

Don't disagree, my point was only intended to correct wintonian's remark that there were no racks on the trains at all. The best option for people with massive amounts of luggage is probably to pile it in one of the bike stores or in the RVAR area (if they aren't already in use for their main purposes).

 

[paul1609]

Got a question here. I will shortly be upping sticks and heading for the University of Southampton (with a lot of luggage) and was wondering if anyone could advise me whether it would be better to travel via London or Birmingham.
I am mindful of the fact that the tube could be a bit of a struggle with my bags, on the other hand if I go the other way it's only an 8 minute connection at Birmingham, which seems a little tight.
If the Voyager that turns up for the the 1000 Glasgow Central-Birmingham New Street isn't the full 5 coaches then debate over, it's onto the Pendolino! Otherwise, feel free to advise me!

To be honest depending on the baggage youve got I'd recommend flying with FLYBE from Glasgow to Southampton. Rail is not really competitive for journeys from Scotland to the South Coast.
Conditions on cross country trains from Birmingham to the South Coast are akin to
an Indian Railways experience because of the severe overcrowding.