Great Western Coffee Shop

Hello everyone,

I am soon to move to Woodley and commute into London from Twyford station. From the timetable I can see that in the peaks there are some fast or semi-fast trains calling at Twyford in the morning and evening, as well as the standard slow trains every half an hour.

What's the crowding level on those fast trains? Do most commuters make a bee-line for them? Is there a chance of getting a seat on them? And if I were to use a Brompton (rather than parking my bike at Twyford) would I cause consternation from fellow passengers?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hello chillcoat and welcome to the forum..

Hopefully someone can answer your question re commuting from Twyford.. However I commute from Maidenhead which is the stop after Twyford on the way into Paddington and the fast trains do get very full there.. 

Welcome to the forum.  Others may be able to give more detail regarding specific trains, but generally you'll be OK getting a seat on the way in as all the fast trains make subsequent calla at somewhere else afterwards, i.e. Maidenhead or Slough, which is where things really start to get busy.

Coming home is different as everyone has the same chance of getting a seat as it doesn't matter what station you're getting off at, but, generally speaking, if you can get to Paddington with a minimum of ten minutes before departure time then you'll usually be able to get a seat on even the busiest trains, but arrive just before departure and you'll be fortunate to get one on most of the trains.

:o
You might be lucky to get "on the train" at all if you have a Brompton and it's one of the fast ones. They do get very busy very quickly in the evening peaks.
But, as per the good advice already given, aim to get there at least 10 minutes before departure. 8).

Good luck with your choice !

The only train I sometimes have to stand in on the way in is the 0643 which is a 180 which runs non-stop to PAD. However if it gets a clear run you only have to stand for just over 20 minutes and it isn't usually sardine can conditions. My favourites are the 0623 and 0653 which always seem to have plenty of seats at Twyford. I'd not feel over confident taking a Brompton with me but I know others do. There are special bike racks at Paddington for season ticket holders - I know several people who keep cheapish bikes there permanently.

Hello and welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!

I commute between Reading and Slough every day, so have a bit of insight if you're going to be taking the later trains into Paddington and the earlier ones out.

On the 08:26 from Twyford, you will get a seat, but it does get very full on departure from the only stop, Maidenhead. However, I believe its due to be upgraded from 3 to 5 coaches from Spetember 7th.

In the evening, if you want some space to breathe, especially at the front of the train, I would recommend the 17:12 to Henley. The 17:18 fast train to Maidenhead (an Adelante), is dodgy, as is the 17:35. But this is due to become a HST, also from September 7th, so conditions will probably improve considerably.

Finally, purely based on the number of complaints on Twitter, the 17:06 and 18:05 non-stop services back to Twyford in the evening are pure hell...some of the busiest trains in the peak.

Kind regards,
Alex

I've used the 1706 and 1805 quite a bit (as they also continue to Thatcham) and I can't remember ever not getting a seat from PAD if prepared to board about 10 mins before departure and to walk to the front few coaches.

These trains usually disgorge what seems like about half their load at TWY, then fill up again at RDG.

Thanks all for your welcome and helpful advice. I guess I will suck it and see to begin with. (And today the idea of cycling to the station is a little less attractive...!)

As the other's have said its not too bad in the morning but gets a bit cosy in the evening.

The 06.53 is probably the most civilized and you generally get a seat before the free for all at Maidenhead. The 07.23 (or about then anyway) is probably the most crowded as it starts in Henley and I'd avoid that one. The 07.05 is a semi-fast (haha 40 minutes) and pretty quiet. The fast trains after 8am are pretty crowded as they've gone back to 3 carriages but sounds like that's changing again which might make them worth trying again.

The other factor for me is the tube which I try and avoid between 8 and 9 but depends where you're travelling. When I worked in west London the 08.18 stopping service to Ealing Broadway was not a bad commute and quicker than now I'm in central London.

Coming home the 17.06 wasn't too bad if you got there before it was announced but the 8 car HST has been reduced to a 3 car turbo last couple of times I caught it and you'll be lucky to get on. The 17.35 use to be pretty quiet until timetable changes elsewhere but is probably less fraught than the 18.06 (or is it 5?) and 18.18.

A bit later I've found the 18.47 not too bad and the 19.18 pretty comfortable.

Edit: typos