Saturday 12th September 2026
After sampling new Bee Network route 612 and Metro route X3 on Monday I headed down to Gloucestershire later that day ready to be up bright and early on Tuesday to sample the first scheduled departure of GoStroud’s brand new commuter coach route to London.
I’d read about this fascinating initiative back in the summer after a trial run saw Rebecca and Tom MacMillan, a couple of commuters fed up with the high cost of peak rail travel between Stroud and London, decide to do something about offering an alternative by organising an early morning coach to leave Stroud taking commuters direct to West Drayton railway station, not far off the M4, where frequent Elizabeth line trains whisk passengers on into Central London. An early evening return journey from West Drayton was also included in the trial.
Not having any experience in the public transport industry, Rebecca and Tom wisely sought the advice and help of a reputable locally based coach company in the form of Swindon based Barnes Coaches, a member of the Coach Travel Group.
Feedback reported after July’s two week trial when up to 36 passengers travelled one morning confirmed the couple broke even which convinced them the project had the potential to succeed so they set about planning a regular service to begin after the summer was over.
And so it was on Tuesday the very first journey was scheduled to leave Stroud at 06:00 with an expected arrival at West Drayton two hours later at around 08:00. The return journey leaves West Drayton at 18:15 and the service runs initially on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays reflecting the busiest commuter days.
The couple have appointed Ticket Tailor, an online ticket agent, with experience in ticket sales for events, to sell tickets for the service and it was very straightforward to book through their website receiving an email containing the ticket with a QR code which is presented to the driver on boarding.
A choice of boarding stops is provided with the morning journey commencing its journey at Stonehouse at 05:40 followed by Stroud at 06:00 then Chalford at 06:20 and Cirencester at 06:30 then straight to West Drayton.
I was a bit sceptical whether enough commuters would be attracted to a service leaving so early in the morning followed by a two hour journey and not getting back home until 14 hours later. It didn’t sound like my idea of a commute.
However, the cost of a one way single ticket with GoStroud is just £25 towards London in the morning (£20 from London in the evening) and a day return even better value at £30 which compares to the Anytime Single fare on GWR’s train to Paddington of £105 with a return costing double that at £210. A weekly season ticket is £359 thereby offering a saving even if travelling on only two days a week.
Against the much cheaper coach fare has to be weighed the time penalty, although Rebecca and Tom make the point the Elizabeth line provides a quick service into the heart of the West End from West Drayton but, there again, it does the same from Paddington too.
Leaving Stroud at 06:00 and arriving West Drayton at 08:05 passengers can catch an Elizabeth line train at 08:16 and be in Tottenham Court Road at 08:44.
The rail equivalent could mean an extra half hour in bed to catch the 06:27 GWR departure from Stroud arriving Paddington at 07:57 from where an Elizabeth line train at 08:09 would arrive at Tottenham Court Road at 08:14 saving another half hour.
Whether an hour’s time saving is worth a cost saving of £80 on a single journey or, say, two hours on a return journey saving £180 for the day is very much a personal choice. Someone commuting three days a.week (Tuesday to Thursday) would tot up a saving of £269 (£359-£90) but incur an extra six hours travelling.
Against that background I was intrigued to see how many commuters would join me on the very first journey on Tuesday morning.
Arriving at the Stroud pick up point in Cheapside car park on the south side of the railway station at 05:45 I spotted a likely looking passenger already waiting and on asking if she was also catching the coach she confirmed she was and indeed was the designated ‘captain’ for the journey. She explained this meant she keeps an eye out for any problems and also oversees the distribution of coffee and pastries (which can be ordered in advance if boarding in Stroud) as well as ensuring passengers pre-booking a table seat on the coach get to sit there.
A few minutes after that, Rebecca arrived having driven ahead of the coach leaving Stonehouse at 05:40 and was eagerly waiting to take photos as it arrived in Stroud with Tom on board. And sure enough a couple of minutes later the smart looking Irizar i6 coach pulled into the car park at 05:47.
The wet morning and the early hour didn’t dampen the excitement as passengers began arriving and climbing aboard for their first official coach commute to London.
Rebecca was ensuring the moment was captured for social media…
… while Tom brought on board the coffees and pastries for those who’d pre-ordered them.
Passengers kept on coming out of the darkness and as we set off at precisely 06:00 there were 22 of us on board.
Ten minutes later we stopped for the pick up on the outskirts of Chalford and four more passengers came aboard.
Then 10 minutes after that we did the same again on the outskirts of Cirencester with another four coming on board.
After that the journey continued down the A419 for another 25 minutes through the rain, skirting around the eastern side of Swindon, until we joined the M4 at junction 15 at 06:45.
For the next 35 minutes the road conditions were pretty good but by 07:20 after passing south of Reading, I could see the traffic ahead getting heavier…
… and sure enough as we headed on towards Slough the inevitable reduced speed limit became evident…
… with red brake lights ahead and as the late Chris Rea famously experienced we were soon “top to toe in tailbacks” with “red lights all around” and with overhead signs proclaiming “M4 J3-J2 – 20 mins delay”…
,… if you could read it through the rain.
Luckily we were coming off at Junction 4 but before doing so our ‘captain’ had come froward and was suggesting to the driver that she’d noticed on an app there was disruption on the Elizabeth line with journeys being cancelled and delayed adding that Rebecca and Tom had mentioned to her a back up in such circumstances would be to drive on to Hayes & Harlington instead of West Drayton.
The driver didn’t seem keen on the idea at all, saying he wasn’t aware of any back up plans as well as pointing out we’d be delayed even more if we stayed on the M4 and although not my business, I also intervened and pointed out if there was disruption on the Elizabeth line it would be the same at Hayes & Harlington and probably be even harder to get on a packed train.
We stuck to the original plan and came off at the Heathrow/West Drayton junction.
Traffic on Sipson Road (which leads into Station Road to West Drayton station) was initially not too bad…
… but once we got closer to the station it became another “top to toe in tailbacks” and we literally inched our way along.
Having left the M4 at 07:52 we rolled into West Drayton station approach at 08:05 taking 13 minutes to travel one and a half miles, although it felt much longer.
And then we all piled off and soon realised the Elizabeth line was definitely in meltdown.
It was the fall out from the fire started deliberately as arson on Saturday which destroyed electrical equipment…
… leading to reduced services able to run and severely impacting all train companies with the Elizabeth line running only a half hourly service from West Drayton into Paddington meaning two in every three trains had been cancelled.
I got as far as the footbridge linking the platforms but turned back having seen the packed crowds waiting on the platform including in the rain (under the canopy was completely rammed) with a train only recently left (running late) and another 13 minutes before the next one – I realised there’d be no chance of getting on it. It had probably filled up back in Maidenhead or Slough.
It was a chaotic end to what had otherwise been a very smooth commute and of course is no reflection on GoStroud.
To have attracted 30 passengers on the very first journey is a fantastic achievement. I was hugely surprised at the level of support. I wish Rebecca and Tom every success for the venture as having reflected on those comparative fares and even with my Senior Railcard discount I’d also be miffed at having to pay out £140 for a peak hour return journey into London when I could have a nice smooth coach journey for £30 return instead.
Roger French
PS I ended up catching a 222 to Uxbridge and using the Metropolitan line into London which probably took much longer than had I persevered at West Drayton, but I just couldn’t face the crowds.
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
It seems that the seat belt laws don’t apply then, with the coach captain wandering up and down the coach. Also distracting the driver with a plan B whilst the coach is in motion isn’t a great idea, safety wise.
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A seatbelt is to be worn while sitting in a seat. It does not compel you to remain in the seat without moving. Coaches have toilets. Coaches have hosts.
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Having travelled on NatEx (I wont name the contractor to them to avoid litigation) the relief driver spent the entire journey talking to the driving driver and when they changed seat / perch of the gangway the conversation continued , for some three and a half hours London northwards. I was in my normal preferred 1st seat n/s ( not a disabled fitted one I think that was midships)
JBC Prestatyn
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30 passengers is a good start but I wonder how many of them came back the next day and the day after given the Elizabeth Line chaos?
Absolutely not GoStroud’s fault, but people tend to base their travel decisions on their overall experience and if they perceive the connection at West Drayton to be unreliable, they may not hurry back. First impressions count.
(Particularly when the 0627 train ran on time that day – indeed arrived at Paddington slightly early.)
But good luck to GoStroud.
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I wonder if the “all eggs in one basket” strategy could be mitigated with an additional call at say Hatton Cross or Hillingdon so there is an alternative rail line available?
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Hayes and Harlington would have had the advantage of trains from Heathrow, but at least the “first morning” test was under just about the very worst conditions possible, and I am sure many passengers would have realised that…..if they didn’t, they would probably not continue to support the service anyway. A future problem may be GWR, realising it is suddenly losing several £xxx a week, resorting to fare cutting…only of course to put fares back up when the coach service has been buried.
I presume GWR trains were similarly disrupted by the same senseless arson attack, so using the train would have had similar problems. Anyway, good luck to this venture.
Terence Uden
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The disruption mainly affected suburban services that were reliant on electric power. The GWR intercity services weren’t badly affected as they could run on diesel power.
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GWR don’t set the fares – they’re regulated by the DfT and can only change at a set date. Also, the fares revenue doesn’t go to GWR either! They’re paid a management fee to run the service, all fares takings go to the government.
This arrangement will change soon when GWR becomes a DfT operator.
Will
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Hoping to add some perspective here. A coach service which may carry 100 passengers per week (let’s assume all make return journeys, so 200 individual journeys). That would be around 10,000 journeys a year.
GWR carries upwards of 90 million passengers a year.
If every single passenger on the coach would otherwise have used GWR, that is 0.01% of all GWR’s ridership. But, it may be that some people may use the coach instead of going by car (particularly if their workplace is in West London rather than the centre), or instead of another day working from home.
With that in mind, how likely is it that GWR would retaliate?
Malc M
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anonymous
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I like wear my seatbelt on the local bus and coaches
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You mean I like to wear my seat belt on local buses and coaches.
There is another problem with your statement. Unless you’re travelling on school buses, then local buses don’t have seat belts.
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A number of buses used on local services do have seatbelts. Often, but not always, this is because they use vehicles otherwise employed on school services.
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especially the 16 seat minibus type ones
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Anonymous I like wear my seatbelt on the local bus run and the coach
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An almost impossible situation to negotiate. If they can keep going long enough perhaps they can, together with the drivers work out alternative strategies at the London end. I know from experience that Railair coaches from Reading have a series of alternative routes that they adopt when faced with congestion on the M4.
The Hayes and Harlington alternative would potentially have worked if the problem had only interrupted trains from Reading, leaving the Heathrow service intact.
Stuart S
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The impressive numbers on the first day confirm to me that running successful bus services can be more about social engineering than hard operational / systems design. The comradery of the travelling group explains why this may just be a success (and you previously reported on a similar successful commuter coach into Glasgow); while “efficient”, but soulless systems-based DRTs often fail. The daily or weekly meeting with regular fellow travellers can be a big incentive to return, and can collectively help to ameliorate travel disruption AP
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Why do you suggest DRT is soulless? There is far more interaction on a DRT in my experience with the driver and other passenger(s) than on any bus I’ve travelled. Many DRT trips are booked by groups or communities who wish to travel together to shop or socialise. So very easy to generalise and I suspect you are simply bashing DRT like many but without any real knowledge. Why let the facts get in the way of a good story. Brilliant initiative from this couple btw and I wish them and the commuters every success. Having the courage of their convictions is wonderful. Jolly well done.
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Tom and Rebecca have both shown typical British spirit in the face of adversity and are clearly determined to make a difference. As already noted, however well the coach does arriving at West Drayton the passengers are then at the mercy of whether the trains into London are running reliably or indeed, at all, given in this instance, the dreadful arson attack. That said, I hope they succeed.
p.s. Like you Roger, I avoid crowds wherever possible.
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I admire the initiative, great to see people spotting a problem and trying to solve it collectively. I wonder if those fare comparisons are, er, fair though? If you’ve got to prebook GoCoach, and you’re fixed to a particular journey then surely the comparison is with whatever the equivalent GWR advance offer is?
I can understand why they’ve tried to get into zone 6 to take advantage of TFL fares, but I wonder given the traffic (and availability of seats on the Elizabeth Line!) whether a drop off in Reading, Maidenhead or Slough might present a better trade of between time/speed/convenience and cost.
Finally, wonder what your former colleagues at Go-Ahead make of the name…? 😉
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I’ve just checked and for the coming Tuesday (15/09) the Stroud-Paddington advance fare is £104. It’s the same for the following two Tuesdays too. By Tuesday 06/09 the fare drops just over 15% to £88 and by the same amount again to £72 by the end of November as far as it currently seems possible to book.
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Should that maybe be Tuesday 6/10?
Ian McNeil
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Oops yes, thanks. £96 now for Tuesday 06/10 BTW
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Roger, please report back after a suitable period. I’d offer to do it myself but 05:40 is a bit early for me. Thanks.
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is it possible to book a seat for the return journey at 08.10 or whenever? Or on the afternoon off peak when the coach is returning to London to pick up? Some additional revenue might be available here.
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I think the coach stays in London for the day. As Barnes is part of Coach Travel Group it would not surprise me if the coach goes to fellow CTG company Readybus who have a base close by. Read somewhere that the coach will do private hire work in London if required.
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A great initiative by those involved but a sad reflection of this country where people are forced to commute such distances. Perhaps we need more of the employment opportunities relocated from the south east rather than making people have to have 14 hour days with an endless work sleep lifestyle.
Richard Warwick
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I suggest that it’s more about people’s lifestyle choices. If you are qualified and able to get a job in the city with good money yet, don’t want to actually live in London, then commuting is a conscious choice, not something forced upon them.
My late father had a good job in London, yet along with my mother, decided to move to the south coast of England for a better quality of life. And that was in 1967! Hundreds of thousands of people, I suggest, have done the same over the decades since, so although the economic climate has obviously changed in recent times, many people clearly are prepared to spend time and money commuting to achieve their own particular lifestyle balances and that of course, includes the rest of the United Kingdom.
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I get that, sort of, but from Gloucestershire, where you have Bristol, Swindon, Cardiff and the Midlands as alternatives for employment? Between them they must have suitable opportunities. Commuting is reasonable from the surrounding Home Counties where new towns were built with good connections into London (not between each other though) but seems absurd to travel further to work than that.
Nice to have a life in a less built up area, but these people are hardly ever there. Seems bad for them, their families if they have one and their communities if anything. Surely is no good for social cohesion or local businesses in a place like Cirencester, although it definitely needs more connectivity.
And reading an article like this and then remembering my nearest rail station still has no bus services (other than Overground replacements), its just a sad joke.
Aaron
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I’m sure there’ll be plenty of people already commuting between Bristol and Cardiff, Gloucester and Birmingham and so on, Aaron. This has been happening for years and as I said, not necessarily forced on people yet, some won’t have the necessary jobs they want locally and are forced to commute.
As for social cohesion, sadly in many parts of the U.K. this has been deteriorating for years. However, there are other factors other than people commuting that has had an impact.
In the west country for example, many towns and villages have been affected by second home purchases by outsiders who in some cases, only occupy the properties for part of the year and contribute virtually nothing to the local economy.
Not everyone has the means to simply up sticks and move. Those are the ones that are often impacted and affected when transport links are severed because the service is no longer viable, whether commercially or with local authority support. PB
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Back in the mid 90s I temporarily commuted daily to London from Chippenham. It was exhausting. I caught the 0708 which was a good train as it only stopped at Didcot. The same people were on the platform in the same place every morning. There was a posh couple who were work colleagues. They were NEVER on my train home (I always got the 1715), I imagined they’d be in the same carriage as I always was.
I always wondered how much time they actually spent in their country residence, and what was the point?
Pete
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We do seem to have more people doing longer commutes than in many other countries. Doubtlessly this reflects the high costs of housing in London, coupled with how dominant the capital is in the national economy.
However, I would be surprised if people are having to travel in from the Cotswolds because they are unable to find anywhere cheaper (or both cheaper and closer to the capital) to live.
One thing which was already starting to happen before Covid, and which is now much more prevalent, is people working from home at least some of the time. Some people may find a long day with a lengthy commute is bearable if it is a couple of times a week (I have been there and done that), whereas it would not be realistic if it were 5 days a week. So, some people may choose a work-life balance comprising a couple of long days commuting into London coupled with living in areas such as the Cotswolds.
Malc M
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Perhaps there is an argument for bus lanes on the M4 and traffic light pre-emption specifically for scheduled coaches, maybe targeted at getting coaches reliably to a suitable railhead such as West Drayton mentioned in the post. So sad to see this venture getting snarled up in the “carmageddon”.
Pete
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A good suggestion that was tried many moons ago on the M4 heading to Heathrow Airport from London. Motorists hated the idea of buses, coaches and taxis being able to by pass them, so it was eventually discontinued. Even, as you suggest, there was some way of re-introducing such a scheme on the motorways, the coaches would still get held up by other traffic on their way to the station.
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I seem to recall that the M4 bus lane was discontinued by John “Two Jags” Prescott when he was Transport Minister.
More interestingly, I also recall that a report on the effectiveness of the M4 bus lane identified that all of the traffic actually flowed faster with the bus lane – not just the buses and coaches. Presumably the segregation of different types of traffic improves the flow, even if some of the drivers involved don’t perceive it as such.
RC169
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Actually it was under John Prescott that the scheme was introduced in 1999 and under Philip Hammond that it was suspended in 2010. Apparently it was re-instated briefly for the 2012 London Olympics and then scrapped immediately after the games finished. Victory then, to the motorist.
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Excellent blog and interesting discussion as ever.
I did wonder whether they should aim for Slough, but I guess the more frequent Elizabeth Line from West Drayton as well as the potential to head the other way to Heathrow makes this a better option. I hope it becomes a success.
The other question buzzing in my head as I read this blog and the following comments is about GWR pricing.
If I’d bought the expensive ticket the night before for GWR would I have found the train full or would there be empty seats? I suppose if the peak pricing is about revenue generation ‘because they can’, then maybe it’s ok as the railway needs money, but I kind of feel uncomfortable about ticketing which restricts travel where there is an empty seat.
Of course if that train is packed without spare seats then maybe the expensive ticket shouldn’t be available at all?
I guess that’s all a much bigger topic. I have read some of the mixed views on what’s happening over on the East Coast mainline. A topic for future ‘BusandTrainUser Investigates’ maybe?
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Although the leaflet is correct I notice that your text suggests the coach is at Chalford at 6:20 and Cirencester at 6:20. Time travel is coming!
John
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Thanks, John. Now corrected.
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As ever with services relying on a connection between infrequent and frequent, the issue is on the return. What are passengers to do when the Elizabeth Line is disrupted in the evening? How long will the coach wait? What if there is a cancellation meaning a handful miss the connection? If I were bound for Stroud, I wouldn’t fancy being stranded in West London and faced with paying £100 to get home.
It’s good to see passengers doing something positive to avoid the extremely high fares offered by GWR, but I don’t think there’s a long-term future for this venture.
Paul
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I popped over to West Drayton on Thursday afternoon to photograph the coach. District Line and Elizabeth Line both disrupted (and trains very busy) so I was afraid I would miss it, but got there at 18:05 vice my planned 17:50. Coach turned up around 18:10, nicely blinded. Didn’t count the pax boarding but reckon about two dozen –ish.
Coach was still there when I left at 18:30 although it’s due off at 18:15; so in answer to Paul’s comment, as it has to be pre-booked I assume the driver has a list of expected pax and I guess he was waiting for late arrivals delayed by the Elizabeth Line disruption.
Michael Wadman
Sutton, Surrey
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Good luck to Rebecca and Tom and GoStroud with this initiative, but I am curious about what the driver and coach do from 08:00 in the morning until 18:15 in the evening. And like Paul at 10:00pm, I wonder how I would feel if I was delayed getting back to West Drayton and found the coach had already departed. Maybe these days they all have a WhatsApp group to keep in contact.
Steven Saunders
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At one time coaches coming in from far distances were tried on doing some kind of London tour services as subcontractor to the contractor to the likes of American Express – or maybe a LHR Central London shuttle run.
Haynes and Harlington should read Hayes and Harlington and indeed one can see a problem with the design of the GWR line and the development (current not proposed) of Heathrow. Putting a station at the joining junction to from Heathrow would make some sense – the curve means a slower approach anyway so little time penalty, close West Drayton Station as it seems to be not really in any built up area.
Alternative I see a spur rail line off at Yiewsley why not a parkway station at the south end of that ?
Back up . Either Hatton Cross for Picc Line (slow I know but normally reliable) or the Hillingdon.
Really the problem is the Elizabeth Line , which really should have been built entirely in tunnel under the GWR line but separated from it at least as far as Iver, and as four tunnels through London with the Heathrows in a separate pair. expensive, but future proofed , argueably two more tunnels for HS2 which should never have gone to Euston but run PAD – TCR – Liverpool Street , The only reason for Euston was some kind of development (currently with planning inspectorate) which there really isnt viable space to do.
An alternative surely is some kind of Group Save travel ticket on GWR
JBC Prestatyn
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You obviously haven’t been to West Drayton or the surrounding area or you wouldn’t propose closing their station.
I used to go to the station from West Ealing years ago to fish the Grand Union canal and recall the area being very built up then.
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I suggested closing it with a new station in the V ( will it ever be a Y) where the heathrow route joins the GW main line . ( I have been to Hayes and Harlington a windswept place on a wide dual carriageway and not much as Harlington itself a little walk away.
Much might change with the new build for Heathrow , I doubt I will be alive to see the final outcome of that
JBC Prestatyn
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In the early 1970s when I worked at the Thos Cook & Son Ltd Head Office near Green Park Station, the company ran a network of fifteen commuter coach routes whenever there were strikes on British Railways. The extremities of each coach route were as follows:
DARTFORD.
BROMLEY.
WARLINGHAM.
EPSOM.
ESHER.
STAINES.
RICKMANSWORTH.
SOUTHEND.
ORPINGTON.
LOUGHTON.
ST ALBANS.
LINGFIELD.
ENFIELD.
WEST WICKHAM.
UXBRIDGE.
Some routes did not run if London Underground services were running as normal. No fares were charged to staff who used these services. Living in Hersham I used the Esher route but as I needed my Go As You Please ticket for other journeys, I could not save money whenever I used the Cook’s coach.
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Interesting that these existed alongside the regular Greenline routes which served nearly all of the places listed and often beyond. Pretty sure I read something about Southend having regular commuter coaches into London before though. Wonder if Eastern National ran any into Central London? I know they ran something to Wood Green and Walthamstow.
But it’s interesting that the 721 (Brentwood-Aldgate) was the most frequent of the Greenline routes, running every 10 minutes nearly all day at the height of the service. Most routes were half hourly or hourly at most.
Aaron
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Route 721 was basically a limited-stop bus route (as was 722 from Hornchurch / Upminster and 723 from Grays / Tilbury). These three routes should really be compared with the current SL network. Frequencies were up towards every 10-12-15 minutes, depending on the route.
The East End saw much resettlement of residents after WW2, as their houses had been bombed to destruction, and the population moved outwards along the A12 and A13 axes. The relevent railways were steam operated until the late 1950s / early 1960s, and passenger numbers started to decline from the mid-1960s onwards.
Eastern National did run from Southend to London . . . Route 251 (with 151/351 offshoots) to Wood Green; this was effectively a (very long-standing) bus route, which again started to decline from the 1960s onwards. There was also an X10 route from Southend which was more akin to a Green Line service . . . this morphed into a Route 400 from the mid 1970s, but didn’t survive much into the 1980s.
And then there was the Southend-London-Reading service from 1980 and coach deregulation . . . I can hugely recommend Richard Delahoy’s book “X1: Southend to London (the rise and fall of a deregulation phenomenon)”. Required reading for any transport enthusiast!!
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The Eastern National after Wood Green carried on to Kings Cross (as did a Birch Bros service from the North (Baldock area) but I think that passed to United Counties and they went to Victoria. Not sure as I dont have my maps now if Eastern National reached Kings Cross (not the coach station) from the South Essex route/s. The big East Anglian Express pool of Ewer Group . Tilling and a couple of others was more geared to outbound services to the Essex etc coast Fri Sat come back Sat or Sun depending if people were travelling for day , weekend or a week boarding house summer stay. There were a few daily journeys in – the present National Express service from Clacton early morning being an example.
JBC Prestatyn
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To clarify matters the Cook’s coaches were staff transport only, not for the public.
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@GreenLine727 – if I could add some clarification. Eastern National’s 400 did continue through the 1980s. Its terminus in the early part of the decade was King’s Cross, but it was later extended to Oxford Circus, possibly around 1986-ish. It was then rerouted to Victoria Coach Station from May 1989. The routeing between Romford and Victoria was via Eastern Avenue, Whipps Cross, Lea Bridge Road, Clapton, Dalston, Islington, King’s Cross, Baker Street and Marble Arch. The 400 was withdrawn in early 1991, partly replaced by extending route 2 from Romford to Walthamstow.
@JBC – did Eastern National’s 251 ever continue beyond Wood Green to King’s Cross? Or are you referring to the 400? Or to another Eastern National service (from somewhere else rather than south Essex)?
Malc M
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This reminds me of early deregulation when a number of longer-distance coaches to London, to offer a lower cost option to rail, were started. Some did well for a good while but improving rail services and declining traffic speeds mostly saw them off.
Rebecca and Tom had the right idea with the Hayes and Harlington plan-b option, so it’s pity that the driver wasn’t informed, as potentially a lot of these brand new passengers have been put off.
I’d go further and say that H&H might have been the better full-time destination. Not only are the trains far more frequent, but it seems that often it’s the Reading branch (which is the only branch serving West Drayton) that suffers from operational delays. Time from the M4 to both is the same and H&H is one stop nearer London.
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It’s difficult . . . West Drayton has a station forecourt, where the coach can wait in the afternoon, whereas Hayes and Harlington is on-street, and I daresay that TfL would have something to say about a coach blocking a bus stop for maybe 20 minutes each evening.
I’d almost suggest Hillingdon as a better terminal, using the M40 to access it . . . more space to wait; frequent Met Line service which has only come from Uxbridge, so more seats; still Zone 6 . . . the trade-off is a slower journey into Zone 1.
You pays your money . . . !! Wherever the terminal . . . it deserves to succeed.
I do wonder about the driver’s duty, though . . . 0515 to (potentially) 2115 is a hellishly long day, even with about 8 hours off!!
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I find it difficult to sleep before 11pm and getting up at anything like 430am is a no go for me
JBC Prestatyn
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Inbound to Hayes & Harlington, outbound from West Drayton?
Red-RF
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Those were the days.
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The kind of bus operation that by the early 1930s would be described as “Creaming Off The Profitable (train) revenue, or “Wasteful Competiton” and post 1933 difficult to justify getting a Road Service Licence with railway company objections – though maybe GWR might have taken an investment stake in the operation instead
But for a post covid world where work is more flexible it has a niche and basically is long distance train or coach services be said to be reliable ( same really for car journeys ). Even local bus journeys can get held up or incomplete at a moments notice as events happen
JBC Prestatyn
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Well done Tom and Rebecca … and all very best with your venture. I’m surprised by how much discussion about competition, commuting and life style the article has generated ……. but nothing wrong at all with a constructive exchange of thoughts and ideas. JP, Cheltenham
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i wonder if the choice of West Drayton was blinkered by cognitive bias that Paddington was the desired ultimate destination for passengers. Time-wise and reliability wise it might be better to use a more northerly station like Brent cross west with onwards travel with a zonal fare on thameslink, changing to underground at west Hampstead or Farringdon or Blackfriars.
milest
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I’m sure these service must be profitable some how?
as Centaur run services from Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge 5 days a week
I’m surprised there are not more opinions like this from Eastbourne or the Hastings area into London? Or if people wouldn’t due to the length….
Would be interesting to see what other people think to this
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