Commuting from Redhill - calling all Redhill locals!

[LM2020]

My partner and I are looking into making the move from South London to Surrey to get closer to the countryside. I work near London Victoria and so trying to work out what the commute would be like once we’re back to normality (whenever that will be ). I can see Reigate is at the start of the line to Victoria so would be ideal, but it is a lot pricier when compared to Redhill, and so I am wondering what the commute in normal times is like from Redhill to London Victoria. Can you still get a seat on the train at Redhill?

Post 2/2

The area nearer to Earlswood also looks nice and so one other option might be to jump on the train from there to Redhill and then change there for the train to Victoria – as far as I can tell there is not a direct service from Earlswood to Victoria. Grateful for any thoughts on the feasibility of that as an approach to the commute.

Many thanks in advance – we’d really appreciate any inside knowledge on this given unfortunately at this time we cannot just go and test the commute at this time

Lara

Redhill is generally much better for commuting than Reigate station.

Earlswood is a nice area of Redhill. People living in the northern part of Earlswood can walk to Redhill station in about 10/15 mins or go from Earlswood. Once you’re more southern in Earlswood, the walk to Redhill becomes a bit far but of course Earlswood is there.

I think people going to Victoria change at East Croydon not Redhill. The timetable is such that you usually stay on same platform and there’s only 3 or 4 mins wait. There are a couple that go direct to Victoria. It’s always direct to London Bridge and about 40 mins.

Children go to Earlswood or St Johns Primary schools depending on exactly where they live and both are considered desirable. There are enough local shops to mean you can get your basic essentials (post office, pharmacy, general store, takeaway, pubs) so you don’t have to go into main Redhill if you don’t want to. However, easy to get there if you want to or prefer Redhill for commuting. Earlswood has 2 trains per hour going to London if I remember correctly. Redhill will have more.

We moved to Redhill for an easy commute to London in a place we could afford to buy 4 years ago and so happy with our choice.

The poster above is right! Think there are a couple of direct ones to Victoria from earlswood in the morning as well. DH commutes and he said you’ll ALWAYS get a seat at earlswood but at Redhill there are seats but you need to stand in the right place/be quick! Otherwise you’ll get one at East Croydon when people get off. Service is frequent so doesn’t tend to be too overcrowded.

Thanks for the really helpful responses - really appreciate it! I'm prepared to get my elbows out if necessary to get a seat at Redhill but good to know if that's not possible then it's only a short while until East Croydon to get one. Just to check but does the seat situation at Redhill apply both to trains that have just started at Reigate as well as ones coming from further down the line?

Also great to hear you're happy with the choice of Redhill - it appeals to us for the access to countryside and also the mix of independent and practical shops and facilities that both Reigate and Redhill have to offer. Out of interest, are there any particular areas in Redhill that you would say to avoid in terms of purchasing somewhere?

Hey sorry I’m not sure about the seat situation on those trains particularly but I would think if it’s only coming from Reigate you have a reasonably good chance of getting a seat.

Not that I can think off of the top of my head... there are certain areas which are more desirable but that’s mainly due to school catchments etc.

Have you considered Dorking? It is a very nice town although a bit quieter than Redhill/Reigate. It has a direct line to London Victoria and most trains are relatively quiet.

A seat depends what time you go , less reliable after 7:30/7:45 but Reigate train does not fill up at Reigate. I don't think there is any advantage to Earlswood and you could walk to RH from there anyway. The issue is more in the evenings but if you time it right you can still get a seat when the gate opens.

Do you know Redhill at all? Ten years ago it was very mixed.

Still is , but as long as you don't live too close to centre it is ok. Redevelopment finally happening! Lots of varied styles and types of property, decent schools etc

Reigate very expensive and not as many trains. Redhill to Victoria - always trains to London but may have to run round platforms at East Croydon. Earlswood trains are the slow stopping trains so take thirty fivish mins to forty mins from East Croydon.

Go slightly further south and look at Horley, that way you can either walk or get the train down to Gatwick. Always trains to Vic from Gatters.

Re seats, dh gets on one stop further north than redhill and says he almost always gets a seat!

Redhill is getting a facelift and seems really good value for money. We love living near there, country and town on your doorstep and all areas seem to have thriving communities!

It tends to be busy - but never overcrowded. As a PP Horley is good - but the trains aren’t as regular.

Great - thank you all so much for your helpful messages! We actually went for a viewing the other day in Redhill - sadly the house wasn't quite right for us but we did generally take to the area - it's nice how you never seem to be too far away from some nice green spaces and walks. It's a massive relief to know the commute is fine from Redhill and that getting a seat should not be a huge issue.