train stations where you can get a seat in the morning

[hg1970]

Hi there

I work in London but am thinking of moving out of the city and commuting. I was considering Surrey, but if I'm going to commute I want to be able to get a seat on the train. I generally leave between 7.30 and 8.30 in the morning. Can any commuters give me some advice on stations where it's possible to get a seat in the morning rushhour (and are nice places to live)? Any tips much appreciated. Thank you!

Hello,

I don't commute to London very often by train - but when I do, I have notice that the trains after 6.30am are all super busy (last time at 7am, I took the train at Guildford Main Station with my 6 year old daughter and we were standing all the way to London!)
Therefore, now I take the "slow" train from Guildford to London (at Guildord London road station) and until we get to Effingham, it is quite quiet and we always have a seat.

Hope this help :)

The stations between Woking and Surbiton can be a decent bet, because anyone coming from Woking into London would get a fast train. West Byfleet and Walton on Thames are fairly busy as there are also faster trains from those stations; Byfleet and New Haw, Hersham, and Esher are the others. I used to commute from Hersham up until 2 yrs ago, and used to get a train between 8-8.30 and almost always got a seat. All seats are gone by Surbiton.
However in the evening you need to get to Waterloo a good 5 or 10 mins before scheduled train to get a seat even on the stopping services.

I used to get a seat on the 7.28am from Farnham to Waterloo but it takes an hour to get to Waterloo and trains only go every 30 mins so not very flexible. Farnham is a nice place to live though :-)
agree both Guildford and Woking VERY busy - I commute occasionally from Woking now and rarely get a seat in rush hour - it is however only 20-25 mins on a fast train so I don't mind too much (although I probably would if I was doing it every day)

Thanks all for your replies