Royston (or Cambridge calling at Royston) - Kings Cross Commute

[Spalva]

Hello,

I see that most Royston queries don't get many replies, so I'm asking anyone who does the Cambridge-Kings Cross commute on the train whose last call before KingsX is Royston.

What's it like? Crowded? Long? Horrible? Constant delays?

My dh is very, very reluctant to do this commute -- he needs to get to Old St., so includes a tube journey.

Thanks for any advice!

Hi - my husband did this commute ( from Meldreth, just N of Royston) for some years, it was a pretty easy commute about 50 minutes into Kings X and trains very frequent and not over full, and at that time, season ticket wasnt exhorbitant, but this was about 10 years ago, so with the recent cuts may have changed? Meldreth was a lovely little village to live in, about 15 mins on train into Cambridge etc, lots of people in the area do commute into the city, so hopefully you will get a more up to date poster with the truth as it is today!

Thank you guineapiglet! It's nice to know. I do think, though, that dh won't be convinced! :-))

Hi- I did Cambridge-London commute, also 10 years ago though. Who knows.. may have met guineapiglet's dh

We lived more or less same distance from Cambridge, Royston and Whittlesford, so boarded the train at either of these stations. I usually found that few seats were available at Royston, and that even though i was heavily pregnant at the time, I sometimes ended up standing all the way to Kings X . I remember once seeing someone putting her wedding dress on the seat next to her, and refusing to remove it so i could sit. A very kind man who sat across the isle then gave up his seat for me, and ended up toppling on top of the dress. I am still not sure if this was on purpose...

If you are not in Royston, but near, your dh might be better off taking the Cambridge-Liverpool street branch; it is much less busy, and though slower will take him to near Old Street. IIRC this is also a much cheaper journey.

I've done it (a while ago) and always got a seat on trains around 8-ish. Could drive to Cambridge, but I preferred Royston, and it always felt pretty quick -- but i was working near KX so didn't have to do the underground bit.

Actually, could he do Whittlesford or Audley End to Liverpool St and then just walk the last bit (depends how near to/which side of Old Street he works, but i can't be bothered with the underground for short distances).

DH has done it for years (Cambridge to King's X) and rarely complains, except about the price and some of his fellow passengers! Liverpool St line supposed to have got quicker from Cambridge.

Might also be worth looking at walking routes from either station to Old St. DH prefers to walk from Liverpool St to Bloomsbury if there's a problem with King's X, rather than take tube.

You could post on Cambridge local site for more opinions.

Yes, the thing with commuting from CB though is that you are pretty much guaranteed a seat, whereas if you get on at Royston all those Cambridge early birds might be sitting in them...

Hmm, dh currently walks from Liv St so no problem with that (he's just a few steps from Old St. station). It's that I'm having trouble finding a location that would be good for dd who would need to go to Whittlesford and for dh who wants to be at the office in less than 1 hour -- with a very tight budget (under 1000 pcm) to boot. I would looove Saffron Walden but it's such a hike to the station that dh would never go for it. There's nothing to rent in Audley End or Wemblo whatever. Haven't looked at properties in Whittlesford.

Also, he can commute later. He already doesn't want to be in office before 9 and said he can switch to 10 if necessary, so perhaps the trains are less crowded.

Another thing he's worried about is missing that fast train in the evening and then having to get the slower one (he's coming up with every argument possible). Bah!

Ah. Does your DD need to commute in the opposite direction then, to get to Cambridge?

Honestly, Whittlesford to Liverpool street is OK, and he'd get a seat (bit over the hour if you add on the walk though). Beware smaller, closer stations as not all trains stop there.

Royston to KX is quicker and at least has a coffee shop/newsagent! Whittlesford has... an open bus shelter thing, and a ticket machine. Not much to do if you miss a train and have to wait.

Dd will attend school in a village near Whittlesford (there will be a shuttle).

I'm liking Royston as there is a leisure centre (just for swim lessons), a decent-looking library, some music lessons and decent and AVAILABLE schools for younger dd.

Dh is being a real stickler (ahem) about that one hour door-to-door. But he's willing to try.

I don't understand. The fastest trains to Kings X are 38 mins, right? Plus a bit to get onto the Tube, then walk ten steps to the office! I am so frustrated.

There's nothing for rent around Whittlesford anyway. I'm having a look at BS, though we stayed there in the summer and didn't like it. Dd's commute would be a bit long for my taste, though not that horribly bad.

The new trains from Whittlesford to Liverpool St are much better and more comfortable than the old trains and the 1 hour (exactly) journey now seems to fly by! No problems with seats unless the Kings X line is down.
There is usually a coffee van at the station in the morning (excellent coffee and much cheaper than the chains) on the London bound side. The ticket office is open every morning from silly o'clock to lunch time (and there is a spanking new ticket machine outside ready to be vandalised again). On the rare occasions there are problems, there's an open covered shelter and a shelter with doors on the London side (and if things get really bad, there's the pub next door!)

hello lovely hertfordshire folk
Have you had a look at MN local for Herts?
Good luck with commute op - that liv st to old st walk is not much fun in the rain

If your dd has to go into Cambridge, perhaps Sawston, Stapleford and Shelfords are also ok? Shelford station is also on the Liverpool St line and is lovely. The ticket office is open most of the time, and you can get a cup of coffee, and a friendly chat with the lady who sells the tickets. (There is also an excellent Indian restaurant next to the station). Just within your budget I saw this house in Sawston, which i think looks nice. It says it is 1.5mile to the station, so perhaps a little too much of a hike?

sorry, cross posted due to my slow typing..

Hi OP,
I do this commute several times a week (from further up the line than Royston). Crowding depends on what time you travel but it seems to be better now that they run 12 coach trains on some peak hour services. It's generally very reliable and I have colleagues who live in north London who take as long to get to work in central London as I do.

Sorry, didn't see your other post OP. Unless he's planning to come back at midnight, he's not going to miss the fast trains, which run well into the evening. And if he's travelling off peak it will be much cheaper too, obviously.

Thank Lilymaid and ILiketoMowit. I had seen that house in Sawston. I still need to find somewhere that will at least be under 60 mins on the train.

FBC -- Yes, I suspect it's not all that bad. Ooh! Just saw your last post. Please, please enlighten us as to how he can travel for less. This has been so confusing to us. He currently just buys a 7-day ticket as he never knows when he might be travelling abroad. Is it cheaper to buy day-by-day? Is there an off-peak 7-day ticket? They don't exactly help commuters understand these things.

And what I meant by missing the fast train is that if he is on his way to the station and gets help in the Tube or whatever and misses that train, the next train seems to him to be a slow train. So then he either lulls about in the station or spens an hour and a quarter on the train home.

I live in one of the villages 3 miles north of Royston and have often taken the commuter train to London. At peak hours they run (at least) one train which starts at Royston so your DH will be guaranteed a seat if he can get that one.