Commuting from Sydenham to London Bridge

[Anxiouscommuter]

Hi all

I will hopefully be moving to Sydenham in February.

We've been doing lots of research about the area and have come to look around (...by car). I think it's lovely and I'm about 90% sold on it but have one remaining concern:

Can anyone tell me please, what is the commute like from Sydenham to London Bridge in the mornings? And then back the other way in the evenings?

I'm in Hammersmith at the moment and get the district line at around 6.45am because I'm really not fond of the squash that occurs later. It's pretty civilsed at that time in the morning. Would trains from Sydenham be similar? Would I get a seat for example? What type of seats do they even have?

I'm assuming trains home will be pretty busy from 5.30pm to 6.30pm - same as anywhere, surely.

Anyway, any commuting related advice and info welcome.

Thanks!

[blakewho]

I usually get a seat on the 08.19 and when I've travelled in before 08.00 it's usually been pretty easy. The things to watch out for though are delays and cancellations, which are happening a lot with Southern at the moment. I would recommend you keep an eye on the likely services you'll want to use and see how often they turn up on time. That should give you an idea of whether commuting is going to be a stress-free experience for you. I don't think getting a seat at that time of day should be a worry.

[squashst]

Hi, At the time you are talking about in the am you would be OK to London Bridge (its the Overground trains to Canada Water that are rammed) and if Southern trains ran properly (every 15 mins), not too bad in the evening peak as 10 coach trains.

However, you will probably have read about the bitter dispute between Southern and its unions, this includes the drivers going on strike - when that happens there are no Southern trains at all, so you either fight in via Overground or perhaps use Penge East or Lower Sydenham as an alternative. Without going into the politics (go to Town Pub for that) it is an honest fact that there is no sign of an end to this dispute, and basically "customers" are really "collateral damage" in this dispute.

[Mayowthorpe]

The great thing about Sydenham is you do have good options.

Under normal circumstances, the trains to LB are fine. They are less busy than tubes, and it takes 17 minutes. At the moment, Southern are not helping the situation, and all services into LB will be impacted until 2018 when construction work is (hopefully) complete.

The Overground is an excellent alternative, running a more regular service into Canada Water, as we enjoy both the Crystal Palace and West Croydon branch services. This service is getting crowded after 8, as commuters increasingly avoid Southern and LB. As squashst mentioned; we also have two good alternatives at Penge East (direct to Victoria or the City via Blackfriars) and Lower Sydenham (direct to Cannon Street and Charing Cross in 20mins).

Fingers crossed that in 2018, LB is finished on time and Mr Khan takes control of the current metro Southern routes. We can hope!

[MagmaTimes]

I get the 8.42 (sometimes the 7.58) from Sydenham to London Bridge. It's rarely delayed longer than a couple of minutes. Takes just under 20 mins. Usually get a seat at those times too.

Evenings from London Bridge are less predictable. As mentioned above, the construction work at London Bridge along with the ongoing industrial dispute are causing the odd delay or cancellation. If I get to London Bridge at 5.30 and the next train is delayed or cancelled, I just get the Jubilee line to Canada Water and then the Overground from there to Sydenham. Takes about the same amount of time.

[Anxiouscommuter]

Thanks everyone. This has made me feel better about things (despite the Southern situation).

I actually work quite close to Bank. I get the tube to Monument and then walk up. I was thinking my best bet would be to get the train to London Bridge and walk but then after reading your comments, I wonder whether I could get the overground, change to the DLR and just get off at Bank instead?

I suppose I will just have to try out my options!

Thanks again.

[Parker1970]

Thanks everyone. This has made me feel better about things (despite the Southern situation).

I actually work quite close to Bank. I get the tube to Monument and then walk up. I was thinking my best bet would be to get the train to London Bridge and walk but then after reading your comments, I wonder whether I could get the overground, change to the DLR and just get off at Bank instead?

I suppose I will just have to try out my options!

Thanks again.

Whilst there is not strike action on, Southern Trains to London Bridge and walking across the bridge will probably be your most optimal route to be honest. It's good however that you have the great fallback option of London Overground to Shadwell then change to DLR to Bank which is just One stop from Shadwell. That way if there are delays/cancellations or strikes, you will still have a route in. May be a case of trying each and see what suits you. London Overground certainly has less issues than Southern and is generally more reliable in my opinion and has trains roughly every 8 minutes in peak hours.

[MagmaTimes]

Thanks everyone. This has made me feel better about things (despite the Southern situation).

I actually work quite close to Bank. I get the tube to Monument and then walk up. I was thinking my best bet would be to get the train to London Bridge and walk but then after reading your comments, I wonder whether I could get the overground, change to the DLR and just get off at Bank instead?

I suppose I will just have to try out my options!

Thanks again.

Hey - I walk from London Bridge to Bank. Takes about 10-15 mins.

[iandavenport]

Thanks everyone. This has made me feel better about things (despite the Southern situation).

I actually work quite close to Bank. I get the tube to Monument and then walk up. I was thinking my best bet would be to get the train to London Bridge and walk but then after reading your comments, I wonder whether I could get the overground, change to the DLR and just get off at Bank instead?

I suppose I will just have to try out my options!

Thanks again.

There are two advantages to the DLR route - changing at Shadwell - a lot more trains on Overground than Southern, and you go up what feels like about 100 stairs, so you can save on gym membership (its been a while since I did it , but I can't think its changed much)
If you work north of Bank, you can also change at Whitechapel and get a H&C to Liverpool street and walk down

[Anxiouscommuter]

Just to give you guys an update, I put a deposit down on a flat in Sydenham yesterday. Very excited!

I'm looking forward to commuting with my fellow Sydenhamites (Sydenhamians?).

[iandavenport]

good luck AC - we've been here 30 years , its a great place to live , and public transport is now miles better than it used to be

[monkeyarms]

Come Spring you could even be brave and cycle - it's a reasonably perpendicular route, via Forest Hill and Peckham. Would take you about 50 minutes.

[stuart]

That's what I was thinking. Except why wait for spring? As long as there is no ice on the ground and a shower at the end then any day is perfect. And you should soon be doing it in well under 50 mins when the acquired fitness kicks in. Plus strike day misery on the news even brings a little smile/smirk to the lips. But don't tell anyone.

Stuart

[Anxiouscommuter]

I do use the Boris bikes here in Hammersmith to cycle to and from the tube at the moment. I really enjoy cycling but my stamina isn't up to much and I'd need to get a bit more confident (the roads I'm on are pretty quiet).

Believe me though, I have considered making it my new years resolution to cycle to work by the end of the year (probably not the best cut off point all things considered).

I've been saying to my other half that I definitely want to get a bike when we move because I don't want to stop cycling just because there's no Boris bikes around.

[monkeyarms]

And you should soon be doing it in well under 50 mins when the acquired fitness kicks in.

Isn't Sydenham to Bank about 10 miles? It used to take me between 20 and 25 mins to cycle from Brixton [where I used to live] to Covent Garden, door to door, and that was about 4.5 miles. Once or twice I managed it in 15 but that was stupid - really bombing it, when I was fit, and running every red light. I remember cycling Brixton to Dalston many times around then in under an hour, but i'm much more conservative now. It's not so much being unfit (although I am!) as being more careful: the state of the roads, the increased numbers of fellow cyclists (and lack of self-awareness of some of them). I think it'd be a stretch to do it in well under 50 mins unless you want to be taking a lot of risks with buses and lorries.

[stuart]

Isn't Sydenham to Bank about 10 miles?.

7.7 miles to LBG from here. I used to commute to Euston (about 9) in 40/45 mins and I'm certainly not a speedy cyclist or strava lover. The other point is these are very predictable door to door times so are very competitive with any other means of transport.

But it isn't a race and if you haven't commuted by bike before then just doing the distance is all that counts no matter how long or slow. 50 mins would be a very, very good start. Allow an hour. Only when you get comfortable with that does it get both easier, shorter in time and you can refine your route. But that can come surprisingly quickly despite what you feel after your first commute.

'Proper' cyclists can be rather more adventurous. Here's a guy doing Earlswood (south of Redhill) to Shoreditch in 90 mins on Southern-less Tuesday. Compare that to a lady who did a similar non-bike journey in 3.5 hours!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38567077
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38567080

Stuart