Maidenhead to Paddington - Morning rush hour ?? (help)

[whole diary]

[Coulsonm]

Hi

New to the forum and looking to move to Maidenhead. I'd really appreciate some honest feedback from those commuting in from Maidenhead.

I'm looking to buy a house near Maidenhead Station and commute into London. I want people's opinions about the busy-ness of the trains.

If I travel on the fast trains to Paddington at rush hour (typically catching either 7:16am, 7:29am, 7:59am, 8:02am) what is the likelihood of being able to get a seat most days ?

When I've got on at Slough in the past on rush hour, it's been pretty achievable if you stand in the right spot etc.

Appreciate your thoughts

Thanks

Mark

[johoare]

Hello Coulsonm. Welcome to the Forum. Hopefully you'll find the information on here very useful when you've have a chance to look around.

I commute in from Maidenhead daily. The rush hour trains in the morning are all very busy.. I can't comment on the likelihood of getting a seat in standard class as I have a "First Class Eastbound only" season ticket.. This costs about ^3 per journey more than the standard class season ticket and usually guarantees me a seat on any of the three morning trains that are HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) (6.40, 7.08, 7.59).. There is work underway to reduce the amount of First class seats on these trains though so this may change. Also the 7.08 is by far the busier of the 3 trains I mentioned.

Hopefully someone else can let you know the best trains to get to increase the chance of getting a seat in standard.

[Coulsonm]

Thanks Jo

What is the current annual cost of the First class eastbound only from Maidenhead ? I couldn't see it listed on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

Avoiding the 7:08, do you tend to get a seat every day in first class currently ?

Thanks again for the reply

Mark

[johoare]

There is a season ticket calculator on the Nation Rail Website.. Looking at that it says for annual tickets:

Maidenhead to Paddington Standard class - ^2840
Maidenhead to Paddington First Class Eastbound only - ^3552

Maidenhead to Zones 1-6 (travelcard) Standard Class - ^3604
Maidenhead to Zones  1-6 First Class Eastbound only - ^4356

I get the 7.59 usually and on a normal day there is more than enough capacity in first class. This can change when there is disruption as you may imagine. However if you don't get a seat in First Class you can request a refund for the difference between standard and first class for that journey (which you will get in the form of a voucher).

[gpn01]

Thanks Jo

What is the current annual cost of the First class eastbound only from Maidenhead ? I couldn't see it listed on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) website.

Avoiding the 7:08, do you tend to get a seat every day in first class currently ?

Thanks again for the reply

Mark

07:02 (or 07:04 whatever it now is) - standard class you will usually get a seat but not always. Same with 1st class.
07:08 believe you can often get a seat.  Becoming harder in 1st class!
07:18 only occassionaly get this but usually there's seats as long as 07:02 and 07:08 are operating

I don't typically catch anything later as the car park is usually full by then.

Suppose it's possible that FGW may withdraw the 1st class eastbound only surcharge as they're apparently reducing the number of 1st class carriages

[Coulsonm]

Thanks everyone so far

So if I got the standard ticket, what's the chances of a seat on most days on the 7:16, or 7:29 ?

Thanks

Mark

[Western Enterprise]

Better off going for the 7.16; slightly slower but more seats up front.
(Welcome to Maidenhead, I too moved from Slough, some ten years ago).

There is also a fast at 8.36 and 9.02, but the 8.36 has recently been downgraded and thus 5 mins slower (in PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) at 09.00).

[Coulsonm]

Better off going for the 7.16; slightly slower but more seats up front.
(Welcome to Maidenhead, I too moved from Slough, some ten years ago).

There is also a fast at 8.36 and 9.02, but the 8.36 has recently been downgraded and thus 5 mins slower (in PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) at 09.00).

thanks for this. Do you find Maidenhead a lot busier than it was (or is) at Slough ?
Do you think the 7:29 is pretty much standing room only ?

Cheers

[Western Enterprise]

I'm not sure about the service from Slough, but I do know that pre-Westbourne Grove crash, you could get a Turbo from Slough to Paddington in about 17 minutes. Now, I try to avoid a Slough stop at all costs as that means running on the relief lines which normally slows to the speed of an old snail...
I think the 7.29 comes in off the Henley branch so is usually pretty packed. It might have been one of Britains most crowded trains once....
W.E