Great Western Coffee Shop

Planning for tomorrow, I have to change from a train to a bus at "0650" (see attachment) ... where's that?

Engineering work out of Liverpool Street means 0650 (station code maybe?) is Newbury Park tube.....you're on a bus from there to Witham

It'll be a code set up specifically for a bus to/from a (LU Central Line) location that doesn't normally appear in the National Rail locations database.

The NREs planner does however understand it to be Newbury Park, but that doesn't appear to have filtered through to whichever journey planner Grahame has used.

Paul

It's GWRs planner.

I have found that National Rails planner (and by the looks of this screenshot, other rail based ones) does not tell you that an underground journey from one station to another could well involve more than one tube train. They don't tell you which lines to catch or where to change. If I am planning a journey that I know will involve a cross London journey or one that will involve a bus I will use Google Maps, traveline or Citymapper instead, then go back to GWR to book train tickets if I need to.

Thanks, folks ... I think the people on here know more that the LiveChat people on the GWR web site  ;)

It's Witham......pretty poor really, but no one else uses tube & bus (yes, it'll be a bus, not a coach (or it usually is) & late afternoon can produce big crowds at Newbury Park (it's on the Central Line)

I've concluded from discussions here to go via Newbury Park ... but (my goodness) if I didn't have a bit of knowledge and hadn't done some research, I might end up on a wild goose chase and miss my ferry at Harwich.   I was really hoping for 100% clarification from Chloe and not what's clearly incorrect data, followed by "ask at the Station".

Yeah ... Paddington to Liverpool Street, then a Hainault train to Newbury Park.

Hope you get there ok. Traveline is showing a much longer journey time than Google Maps or GWR. Up to 1½ hours longer!

National Rail also showing a direct bus from Liverpool Street to Harwich ... and confirmed by their guy on the phone (which probably isn't a surprise because I expect he's reading the same web site!).

* Fastest for the Melksham to Paddington leg not involving buses at 13:54 is change at Trowbridge and Bath Spa, for 16:57 in London.

* Changing at Westbury (as offered by National Rail) gets me to London at 17:27 with a wait of over 90 minutes at Westbury.

* GWR offers me Melksham to London leaving at 14:50, change at Swindon, bus to Reading, 13 minute walk there (ouch) and train to Paddington, also arriving there at 17:27

I'm very tempted by the First Bus from the end of my road at 14:30 to Bath at 15:27, and the train at 15:42 to Paddington at 17:27.

For the whole journey, Google has me leaving at 15:54, change at Westbury, Salisbury, Basingstoke, Waterloo (to the tube), London Bridge (to a bus) and then on a rail replacement bus to Harwich.  I am not convinced that 33 minutes is enough time from arrival in Waterloo to departure from Liverpool Street, so won't be doing this.

Watch this thread for the next exciting episode in which I choose!

Makes my current task of trying to sort a day in Fort William in December look so simple!

Wouldn't it be easier to drive? It'd only take about 3 hours and a whole lot less faff judging by everything you've described above.

Yes. Except that I can't drive for longer than about an hour these days.

Fort William? Hah....I'm trying to get to/from Portree on the Isle of Skye on January 1, while aiming to celebrateNew Year's Eve at home!

Early flight from Heathrow to Glasgow, picking up one of very few trains to Kyle of Localsh & persuading a taxi to take me 34 miles over the bridge to Skye. Seems Scotland's public transport is still stuck in the 20th Century over that holiday!

Wow!  Never mind the 0650 - we now have a whole new can of worms (or, a Kyle of Lochalsh) conundrum!  :o

There appears to be no ScotRail trains on 1st January? I guess you'll need to hire a car (assuming you drive of course) from Glasgow airport, unless you've typo'd on the date above!

Indeed, no trains in Scotland on New Years Day. That may seem very last century, but it's a long standing close down in Scotland. England and Wales are also very last century with their near total network close down on Boxing Day.

I'm seeing a CityLink Coach from Glasgow to Portree on 2nd January at 10 a.m. - the only one that day - as the first service of the New Year to Portree ... no way on 1st, without a car or taxi (you could charter a limo if you wanted to turn heads, I suppose  ;) )

On original topic ... In spite of the offering via "0650" and Whitham/Witham from the GWR site, I'm fairly convinced there's a bus / coach at 19:32 direct from Liverpool Street, and in view of the heavy luggage I'll have, I'll look to minimise changes.  An hour and 50 minutes wait at Westbury is unpleasant and I may call in a favour and get a lift there from home, or use a taxi.

Indeed, and it's high time the situation changed on Boxing Day.

That direct bus is is RTT, and in GA's timetable here (https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/sites/default/files/alterations/lst_-_nrw_su_061116.pdf). So why are you only "fairly convinced" in its existence? Whether you believe the timing for its arrival is another question.

Because two separate official channels for my enquiry told me "no trains ... and sent me via Newbury Park and Witham (or 0650 and Whitham if you prefer), and one of the sources that DID give me the bus / coach was also clearly faulty in that it gave me an 18:59 arrival into Waterloo to connect with the bus/coach at 19:32, which I also think is flawed.

I'm sure enough to be convinced that the 19:32 exists, with a fallback to being able to make merry hell if it didn't.  ;D . In contrast, I'm rock sure that the 23:00 boat from Harwich to Hook of Holland does exist and won't be replaced by a bus service between the two places.

Where RTT is someone's 'plaything' snd not official at all

All data on RTT comes from the Rail Delivery Group's (formerly ATOC's) Rail Settlement Plan feeds. For which a licence is required. It is updated on a weekly basis and is just as accurate as the feeds provided directly to Train Operating Companies. 

The direct bus this evening to Harwich International from London Liverpool St is listed on all booking engines I've viewed as well as National Rail Enquiries. It's a direct replacement for the usual Sunday timetabled 1932 direct boat train.

So ot doesn't go onto Harwich then, but just to the port.

Do you know how far short of Harwich that is? Not a cheap taxi

There is a local train running (if anyone needs it) ... half an hour after the scheduled bus arrival to Dovercourt and Harwich Town - a couple of miles.

Definitely a BOAT train replacement, this one.  Skips little hamlets like Chelmesford and Colchester along the way!

Turned out to be a 2 coach service  ;D

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/2coachservice.jpg)

On time at Liverpool Street, about 20 minutes late by HPQ

If only Melksham could have that   ;)

Looks like high quality coaches too.

Undoubtedly so ... but still the most enormous reminder that trains are far smoother and quicker.  Almost impossible to type / work ... resorted to sleeping and catching up with what I had to do on the ship!

Interesting Scotland not running many trains on Boxing Day.

In the early 60s keen gricers used to go to Scotland for Christmas as they ran trains on both  Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

A4's Glasgow - Aberdeen?

Seriously? I don't think even religious cults demand that sort of commitment!!!  ;D

In the early 1960s trains used to run in England on Christmas Day. They were progressively cutback from the mid 1960s onwards.

... until 0650, when they were discontinued altogether.  ;)