I’ve been remarkably quiet lately, but with good reason. The
commuting to London has certainly taken a good chunk out of my day (roughly six
hours a day on the commute – fun!).
Still, I’m getting plenty of sleep on the train and a
surprising amount of coding done on the
laptop.
In the absense of anything more exciting in my life right
now I’m finding it tough to find things to write about, but one piece that’s
been brewing in my head for quite ome time now is a little list of notes and
tips from the commute.
So, here goes, Sven’s top tips for travelling on the train
and tube…
1. The best seats on the train from Portsmouth Harbour to
Waterloo are in the second coach from the rear. Normally, the morning train
will stop at a few of the smaller stations, like Farncombe and Liss. These have
shorter platforms. People getting on looking for seats might head towards the
back, but will almost always go right to the back of the train at which point
they don’t bother returning even if the second from the rear was quieter. I
reckon there’s also a bit of psychology at play where people tend towards the
extremities of platforms.
2. When getting on the Waterloo and City line at Bank, get
on at either the front or back to favour a quick departure at Waterloo – the
only two exits at Waterloo are at either extremity.
3. If you get off at Havant and want to cross the
footbridge, go to the rear end of the tenth coach of a 12 coach train. The
doors open right next to the footbridge. It’s best to start walking just after
you leave Petersfield if you’re at the front. The forward end of the ninth coach
is best in 10 coach trains.
4. Portsmouth-bound trains from Waterloo are generally every
fifteen minutes in the evening. The ones on the hour and half past are normally
a lot faster.
5. To avoid the various newspaper people at the front of
Liverpool Street and to make a shortcut towards Folgate Street (northerly I
think?) take the side exit. It’s a tiny little path just to the right of Upper
Crust, follow the road along and you’ll come out just off Bishopsgate.
6. Weekly travelcards are phenomenally cheaper than
their 5/7 day equivalent day tickets. A ticket from Havant to Waterloo plus all
zones is about the same as two day returns plus Zone 1 – I never initially
realised quite how good the discount was (or quite how much of a ripoff the day
returns are).