Topic ID 646
Ok, after reading all of the posts in this section I'm wondering just how bad the rail service from Hertford's stations really is? I'm looking to move to Hertford towards the end of this year and although I currently work on the outskirts of London my job is constantly moving and working in central London is only a matter of time. So, how bad is the service from ONE and WAGN? What is the better station to travel from? People seem to be talking about the 6:xx train this and 6:xx train that - is it desireable to travel in that early? I'd expect to start work at 9am so a 7:xx or even 8:xx train would be preferable for me - is it that bad on these later trains? I'd never expect a seat every day and a comfortable quick journey to London (this is the UK you know!!) but is the service so bad that I should consider another town in Herts/Essex/Bucks? I'd picked Hertford as an affordable area with relatively quick links into London - any further out and it'll take too long to get to work and any closer and housing becomes unaffordable. I'd also appreciate anyone's input into the issue of reducing the number of fast trains to London. I'm having serious doubts about moving to Hertford now - someone please put my mind at rest. Cheers
Reply ID 6593
A quick reply (bit busy), and I may miss a few points. I don't generally commute to London, but I do go to Stevenage (which uses trains that are to/from London) and last year I did a few months worth of London commute - arriving around 8:30-9:00. All of this is from North. I always got a seat (expect for the odd time that I just made a return train at Moorgate - but it was rare I didn't get one even then), and the number of cancelled trains was not particularly high. The trains can be late - but as they are quite frequent at rush hour it's not a huge inconvenience. The reliability has improved since they re-did the track, the main cause of it these days seems to be unit failure - which only causes major problems if it happens south of Finsbury Park. Over-crowding tends to occur from Palmers Green onwards and can get very bad then - but if you sit by the window you're normally spared the worst excesses. Finsbury Park can be a little hectic if you get off there. If things go wrong they can go badly wrong and WAGN don't seem to be particularly good at contingency plans. If there's a problem on the mainline then the Hertford North line is a bit of a Cinderella line and the mainline services get diverted through the loop at the expense of the Hertford services. This is often the cause of the worst points Service frequency to Stevenage is a joke.
Reply ID 6594
HN service is reliable if slow (HN to Moorgate 47 mins). Trains fill up after Hertford so a seat is usually ok. The good thing about Hertford is that with 2 stations and lines if one is up the spout you have an alternative...with Liverpool Street and Moorgate only 5 mins apart HN & HE 15 mins apart on foot. I have been commuting for 19 years...the HN service is not as bad as some would have you believe.
Reply ID 6595
Should also add that in the evening rush hour trains to HN leave Moorgate every 10mins.
Reply ID 6774
I have been commuting from Hertford North for a couple of years. Whilst the service is frustratingly slow when you consider how close we are to London, it is reliable, and has been increasingly so over the past few months. As has already been mentioned, the frequency of trains leaving London in the evening is good, as is having the back-up of another station into Hertford if it all goes wrong on your chosen line. You are guaranteed a seat when leaving Hertford North as most trains begin their journeys there (or else have only done a couple of stops where few people join). Note - At the moment many of the morning services are terminating at Old Street due to escalator work at Moorgate, but the full service is due to resume in the Autumn.
Reply ID 6931
Just dont rely on Hertford East service...
Reply ID 7113
I hope this helped because I'm a bit of a fan of the train service. I get the Moorgate train from Hertford North, which is frequent both into and out of London. We always get a seat and it's pretty reliable these days. I'd pretty much echo skanky, carlos and kate and agree with frenchie that ONE out of Hertford East can be a bit unreliable both ways and the carriages are certainly grubbier. WAGN does fall down badly on customer service if you want to talk to them when things have gone wrong.
Reply ID 7126
The service out of Hertford North has been superb since I started re-using it back in October. The odd blip, but nothing major. If you have an o2 mobile, try this website http://o2.mytrains.kizoom.co.uk/#main and search for your station. The info is much more accurate than WAGN's website.
Reply ID 7135
You don't just nee to be an O2 user. For a full list of Kizoom's services: http://www.kizoom.com/products/our_services.html It's worth noting that the train indocators on the Hertford Branch line aren't particularly accurate. They can say a train is on time when it is already late, and the trains to Stevenage can be indicated as 3 mins late when they are on time (worth noting if you're thinking of getting a coffee while you're late). AFAIA (though could be wrong), this is the same system that supplies the websites - so it's worth not. The National rail website has train updates but tends to be less reliable than WAGN's - I haven't compared WAGN's to KIZOOM as I use them in different situations.
Reply ID 7140
Kizoom is much more accurate than WAGN. I've stood on the platform at Alexandra Palace and compared the two. They show if a train is expected 1 or 2 minutes late when the WAGN indicators showing the train on time (even though it is already late).
Reply ID 7144
That's good. I'll have to use it more often. Thanks for that. [:D]
Reply ID 7145
Of course I happen to be on the one network they don't cover...good old 3.
Reply ID 7158
My recommendation. Move to Broxbourne. Fantastic options for fast trains into London, yet 15 mins the other way to come to Hertford for the night.
Reply ID 7257
quote:Dude, I'd rather live in Hertford any day. I've not lived in Broxbourne but anywhere that elects a BNP council member is not somewhere I'd want to live.
Originally posted by Dude
My recommendation. Move to Broxbourne. Fantastic options for fast trains into London, yet 15 mins the other way to come to Hertford for the night.
Reply ID 7258
The only reason people go to Broxboune is for the train station, there is nothing else there !
Reply ID 7385
I've lived in Broxbourne and Hertford, and Broxbourne has a lot to offer. So Broxbourne has a BNP council member!? Hertford has Sele Farm. Shall we tarnish the whole population with the same brush? At the end of the day, Broxbourne has become more desirable than Hertford, as it now tops the house price list for east herts. Fact! As Devid Brent would say.....
Reply ID 7388
quote:The towns are different and have different things to offer. I much prefer Hertford.
Originally posted by Dude
I've lived in Broxbourne and Hertford, and Broxbourne has a lot to offer. So Broxbourne has a BNP council member!? Hertford has Sele Farm. Shall we tarnish the whole population with the same brush? At the end of the day, Broxbourne has become more desirable than Hertford, as it now tops the house price list for east herts. Fact! As Devid Brent would say.....
Reply ID 7391
I've never thought of Broxbourne as a town. I thought it was just an area. It doesn't really have a nucleus, does it? And it seems to merge into Cheshunt, Wormley etc. without any clear boundary. It's just a stretch of the old A10 as far as I can make out. You couldn't say the same of Hertford, so the 2 are not really comparable.
Reply ID 7392
quote:Not a particularly intelligent acronym to use in the same sentence as BNP Council Member, or were you trying to be funny?
Originally posted by Dude So Broxbourne has a BNP council member!? Hertford has Sele Farm. Shall we tarnish the whole population with the same brush?
Reply ID 7394
[quote]Not a particularly intelligent acronym to use in the same sentence as BNP Council Member, or were you trying to be funny?/quote] I think you mean idiom. BNP is the acronym.
Reply ID 7402
I stand corrected, thank you.
Reply ID 7403
quote:What exactly are you implying?
Originally posted by Dude So Broxbourne has a BNP council member!? Hertford has Sele Farm. Shall we tarnish the whole population with the same brush?
Reply ID 7404
Off topic...put your handbags away. This thread is to tell the world what a wonderful service we have to HN and what a crappy one to HE.
Reply ID 7409
Is it me, or are there a lot more buses on the late night services for north station? It's a very poor show if that's the case, and I hope only temporary. Note from Admin: Please post as new topic
Reply ID 7515
quote:I'm saying Broxbourne should not be slagged off, because of one BNP member. Only a small minority could have voted BNP, otherwise they would have a lot more seats. For someone to suggest that Broxbourne should be avoided because of one BNP member is a slap in the face to an area some regard more highly than Hertford. I used Sele Farm as an example, to show how silly the original suggestion sounded. Sele Farm has its fair share of trouble. Should we therefore condemn all the people on Sele farm, or of Hertford for that matter? Of course not. The fact remains, Broxbourne is far more desirable to the commuter than Hertford and is now far less violent. These facts are reflected in the house prices.
Originally posted by JohnSmithquote:What exactly are you implying?
Originally posted by Dude So Broxbourne has a BNP council member!? Hertford has Sele Farm. Shall we tarnish the whole population with the same brush?
Reply ID 7525
I have lived and commuted from both places. The train service from Broxbourne is infinitely superior from there and that (in my humble opinion) is reflected by house prices. Whether it is a better or worse place to live is purely a personal choice. The BNP could just as easily get a councillor in Hertford and not all of broxbourne is made up of the polite middle classes. Now lets get constructive and stop bickering.
Reply ID 7547
I have been commuting, all by 2 years since 1985 !!!! Long service medal please. This from Hertford North. Sadly it is better, but they have cut and cut and cut again services in peak and off-peak, although generally much more reliable than ONE's service from Hertford East (except when they do a Hatfield or Potters Bar, then expect 18 months of hell!!!!). The service is okay, could/should be quicker, but quite overcrowded as they are not going into Moorgate till later this year for the 2 hrs in the morning 7.30 am till 9.30 am due to escalator repairs. They go from Kings X at 7.50 pm now, but much nicer station, plenty of Transport police if you stay up in town and now safer to wait than Finsbury Park if you're a lady! So I would say Broxbourne service good, but Hertford North okay too....
Reply ID 7649
quote:I take my hat off to you! I did it for a few years (Hertford East line) and I had to quit. I felt it was sucking my life. I have a god job, but I was happy to quit a great job just to get out of working in London.
Originally posted by Drama Queen
I have been commuting, all by 2 years since 1985 !!!! Long service medal please. This from Hertford North. Sadly it is better, but they have cut and cut and cut again services in peak and off-peak, although generally much more reliable than ONE's service from Hertford East (except when they do a Hatfield or Potters Bar, then expect 18 months of hell!!!!). The service is okay, could/should be quicker, but quite overcrowded as they are not going into Moorgate till later this year for the 2 hrs in the morning 7.30 am till 9.30 am due to escalator repairs. They go from Kings X at 7.50 pm now, but much nicer station, plenty of Transport police if you stay up in town and now safer to wait than Finsbury Park if you're a lady! So I would say Broxbourne service good, but Hertford North okay too....
Reply ID 7691
I am trying to do that.. but then so is everybody else so its not easy to get a local job, I think people think we're too good for a job locally and show them all up!!! I reckon to another 2 years of life in London then I am looking for better work locally, I keep trying but the positions are keenly fought for.. I can remember purchasing my first monthly ticket for £95.00!!! to Oxford St, its now about £250.00 I think!!! good grief....
Reply ID 7750
Was also looking to stay local but came to the unfortunate realisation that I am completely unqualified for any job outside of my current arena....20 years in the City and good for nothing!
Reply ID 7763
I was daft enough to go to Butlars Wharf yesterday for Lunch! although the journey to and from Broxbourne was fairly quick (Bus service Hertford North) After seeing the state of the train I got back on to go home, plus the temperature, I am soooooo glad I am out of the rat race (gloat gloat gloat)
Reply ID 7776
Yes, you take your life in your hands on trains/tubes in these temperatures. But hey, Mr Bob Kiley said if I have a "shower and take a bottle of water" with me on the tubes for the benefit of other passengers I should be okay.. Sweet [V] Pity the bloke next to me today has lost the abilty to use soap!