Commuting to Canary Wharf from Bracknell/Twyford

[Felicity28]

Hi everyone

I live in Bracknell, on the horrendous SWR train line where it takes 60 mins to Waterloo and stops about 12 times. I am only a 7-8min walk from the station so it is easy, no driving etc...

I have been offered a job in Canary wharf for a big4 company. Its over double my current salary (as I am public sector) and also a decent bonus.

It's a bit annoying as they weren't too enthusiastic when I asked about WFH. Most companies are like "Yea sure, 1-2 days is fine at home". But this company were more like "maybe in time we would consider it but initially it would be 5 days in"

....

Anyway, Ive heard terrible things about daily commuting from Bracknell on the SWR line. I'm therefore looking at other options.

I could:.

1) turn the job down

2) just stick to SWR. It's a quick walk to station. One train and one tube. (but subject to frequent delays) and a soul destroying journey

3) drive to Twyford. 7.3miles (19 mins). Trains run every few minutes to Paddington. And they are quick. 25-30mins. I would have to pay for parking which is £122. I have read that parking is OK if you get there before 0745 which I would. From Paddington it would be tube to baker Street and then tube to canary wharf.

4) drive to maidenhead. 7.8 miles (24 mins). Trains really quick and frequent. Parking (I think) is harder but I'm not sure. £117 for parking.

5) go to some other station


The driving options obviously cost more. But on top of this it will cost petrol and car wear and tear.

Time is the same between SWR and Twyford. That is because I am driving and also the tube is quite a bit longer and involves a change.

Any thoughts on this or experience of this?

Thanks
Felicity

[NickXX]

EY? In my experience, you’re right in that working from home options are limited at the big 4.

Is it possible that you’ll be out at clients most of the time? If you end up with one more central or West, you could be ok. Is it a Banking assurance/advisory role?

Additionally, if you’re hoping to stick it out a few years, Crossrail might finally come to your rescue.

[Felicity28]

Hey, no it's actually KPMG in a Cyber Security role, senior manager. It's annoying as I read online before that everyone said the WFH was really widely encouraged and allowed.

Yea some client site stuff but I'm not sure exactly how often. Probably quite regular.

I'm meeting the director and the other senior manager in January (before accepting or declining). I will lay my cards on the table and ask the senior manager especially how often I will be elsewhere

[NickXX]

Ahh cool - yes, I’d ask the question about wfh expectations with a Director in your team. The big 4 tend to be quite fluffy about work/life balance and flexibility before you join but can be very different once you’re in. That said, every team will be different. If you’re expected to manage a team of 20 out at a client site for instance, it will be hard to not be there.

[PSB1]

In terms of the commute, what side of Bracknell are you on? Assuming the strike issue is resolved, have you considered driving to Farnborough?

Waterloo to CW is much easier, for now. You can take the Thames Clipper if the Jubilee Line is down.

Once Crossrail is working, Paddington would then make sense.

[UpTheIron]

Option 1 or 2. The rest are even worse commutes imho. The changes are the killer.

[Ean218]

4. Is no longer an option, pretty much all the morning fast trains disappeared in Monday's timetable changes. Presumably they think we all want to spend an hour on the Crossrail trains instead of the 20 minutes to Paddington as we had up to this week.

[DavieBNL]

I'd just go for it sticking with Option 2. I commuted into Waterloo for a few years on a trip just over the hour. Was dreading it before I started but actually you soon get into a kind of groove and, assuming you can get a seat OK, often found it quite relaxing. Up early and home a bit later just becomes part of your routine. And working in London is pretty neat on several levels. Lots of people have far longer commutes than that daily. It doesn't sound *that* bad!

[Krikkit]

Felicity28 said:

It's a bit annoying as they weren't too enthusiastic when I asked about WFH. Most companies are like "Yea sure, 1-2 days is fine at home". But this company were more like "maybe in time we would consider it but initially it would be 5 days in"

I think this is often about training and making sure you're up to the standards they expect, as monitoring home-working management can be very tricky without being invasive.

Obviously it's a pain commuting in, but it sounds like it'd be worth the effort.

[Bam89]

I'd stick to SWR.

I'm pretty sure driving from Bracknell to Twyford in the mornings is asking for trouble, there's only really one B road as an option isn't there? Not sure how familiar you are with Paddington, but it can be a long old walk from the train platforms to the tube - from my experience of hearing the announcements the Circle / H&C lines sound like they have more problems than almost any other line!

[Felicity28]

PSB1 said:

In terms of the commute, what side of Bracknell are you on? Assuming the strike issue is resolved, have you considered driving to Farnborough?

I live only a few minutes walk from Martins Heron. Farnborough isn't really a good option, it's a 25 minute journey on a good day (up to 45 minutes on a bad day) and then the trains there still take 45 minutes to Waterloo.

DavieBNL said:

I'd just go for it sticking with Option 2. I commuted into Waterloo for a few years on a trip just over the hour. Was dreading it before I started but actually you soon get into a kind of groove and, assuming you can get a seat OK, often found it quite relaxing. Up early and home a bit later just becomes part of your routine. And working in London is pretty neat on several levels. Lots of people have far longer commutes than that daily. It doesn't sound *that* bad!

Yea I'm quite excited about the idea of working in London. The company have an on-site gym so I hope to be able to use that 2-3 times a week, possibly before work. I would plan to use a tablet for watching TV shows and also use my Kindle.

The length isn't that big a problem for me, it's just the constant stopping. E.g. it sometimes feels you can never get settled or relaxed as the train stops every minute and the doors make that horrendous noise as they open, then more people start piling in.

But a good pair of headphones could help with that, and also just a different mindset.

Krikkit said:

I think this is often about training and making sure you're up to the standards they expect, as monitoring home-working management can be very tricky without being invasive.

Obviously it's a pain commuting in, but it sounds like it'd be worth the effort.

Thanks, that makes sense. I can imagine any boss would be nervous of saying "sure WFH" from day one. I can see why they'd want to just see after a few months that you're in control and doing well before relaxing a little.

Bam89 said:

I'd stick to SWR.

I'm pretty sure driving from Bracknell to Twyford in the mornings is asking for trouble, there's only really one B road as an option isn't there? Not sure how familiar you are with Paddington, but it can be a long old walk from the train platforms to the tube - from my experience of hearing the announcements the Circle / H&C lines sound like they have more problems than almost any other line!

Yes that's right, one B road unless you take a fairly annoying detour to get around it. Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Paddington and the tubes being a bit of a walk - good point

[DavieBNL]

You hit the nail on the head with "..a different mindset" - absolutely, but you'll get there pretty quick.

Good steer on Paddington - avoid if at all possible!

You're gonna do it, I can tell - good luck!

[psgcarey]

Will the new Elizabeth line, now running, not make it easier to get there?

Train from Bracknell to Reading, then hop on it there.

[Felicity28]

psgcarey said:

Will the new Elizabeth line, now running, not make it easier to get there?

Train from Bracknell to Reading, then hop on it there.

Not really

Train to Reading = 23 minutes
Walk to crossrail platform and transfer =5 minutes
Crossrail from Reading to CW = 68 minutes

A lot of faffing around for no time saving at all

[outnumbered]

Felicity28 said:

Not really

Train to Reading = 23 minutes
Walk to crossrail platform and transfer =5 minutes
Crossrail from Reading to CW = 68 minutes

A lot of faffing around for no time saving at all

Also Crossrail only runs to Paddington at the moment, and even when it goes through the tunnels in 2021 or whenever, a fast train from Reading & change at Paddington will be quicker.

[psgcarey]

Sounds like money well spent on Crossrail then!

[ReverendCounter]

OK, this is DEFINITELY a bit of a leftfield suggestion! Looks possible but I can't be sure of the return leg from Canary Wharf to Chelsea Harbour/Pier but it seems to arrive 6.17pm.

Train:

Bracknell > Clapham Junction > Imperial Wharf

Legs:

Walk down(/up?) Harbour Ave to Chelsea Harbour Pier

River Bus (service RB6 - 'Weekday morning peak and evenings only'):

Chelsea Harbour Pier > Canary Wharf - departs Chelsea Harbour Pier 7.48am, arrives C. Wharf 8.28am


http://content.tfl.gov.uk/river-services-map.pdf
https://tfl.gov.uk/river-bus/timetable/rb6?FromId=...

Sounds like an amazing opportunity, can't believe you even posted option 1) !

Edited by ReverendCounter on Wednesday 18th December 22:29

[Jonny TVR]

Apologies if this has not been mentioned before but why don't you move house? Are you single, no kids?

[aeropilot]

Felicity28 said:

PSB1 said:

In terms of the commute, what side of Bracknell are you on? Assuming the strike issue is resolved, have you considered driving to Farnborough?

I live only a few minutes walk from Martins Heron.

Haven't they changed the timetable for Martins Heron though, with every other train not stopping there now?

I was going through the process of buying a house about 3 mins walk from Martin Heron station last year, one of the big plus points was the proximity to the station for work in London at some point in future, and then saw things on the internet about plans reducing the number of trains that stopped there and several of the other stations to decrease journey times on selected trains

As it happened the vendor pulled out of the sale a week before exchange date so I was back looking again.

Have ended up buying a place west of the town now, and moving in after xmas and its not even within walking distance of Bracknell station (35mins walk) so if I have to take a job in London it will be the drive to Twyford option for me most likely. My cousin lives in Bullbrook and his wife was working in Paddington for 18 months and did the drive to Twyford, park and commute in on GWR option.

[hutchst]

ReverendCounter said:

OK, this is DEFINITELY a bit of a leftfield suggestion! Looks possible but I can't be sure of the return leg from Canary Wharf to Chelsea Harbour/Pier but it seems to arrive 6.17pm.

Train:

Bracknell > Clapham Junction > Imperial Wharf

Legs:

Walk down(/up?) Harbour Ave to Chelsea Harbour Pier

River Bus (service RB6 - 'Weekday morning peak and evenings only'):

Chelsea Harbour Pier > Canary Wharf - departs Chelsea Harbour Pier 7.48am, arrives C. Wharf 8.28am


http://content.tfl.gov.uk/river-services-map.pdf
https://tfl.gov.uk/river-bus/timetable/rb6?FromId=...

Sounds like an amazing opportunity, can't believe you even posted option 1) !

Edited by ReverendCounter on Wednesday 18th December 22:29

My money's on the Stig winning that one.