Some Helpful Advice on South West Trains To Southampton Based On Our Recent Trip

We just returned from an 8-day cruise out of Southampton on the Independence of the Seas, and wanted to give some hopefully helpful advice based on our recent experience.

As background, we spent a few days in London prior to the cruise, and our daughter, who was studying in the UK the past year, reserved tickets on the 11:05 South West Train from London Waterloo to Southampton for the Friday morning of our departure. She had taken a large number of train trips around the UK over the last year, so was pretty well acquainted with the UK rail network and the train operators, but had not been on a South West train prior to our cruise. So with that, here are some hopefully some helpful observations from our ride to Southampton.

1. There is very limited luggage space on the trains. Unlike the other trains my daughter had traveled on in the UK, the South West Train we traveled on did not have any designated luggage space. It did have an overhead rack that could accommodate a small carry-on bag and the like, but not large storage areas. Instead, people stuffed their luggage between their seats, or sat their luggage on seats.

2. The trains can get really crowded. The South West Trains act as commuter rail, and can get extremely crowded with commuters, especially on Fridays, so be prepared you will be sharing the train with people heading to and from work.

3. Be ready to get on the train,when first called. We started heading towards our 11:05 train at 10:55 from the area outside the ticket gates, and got to the train about 11:00. By the time we got there, the train was was already pretty well filled up with people and luggage. My wife and daughter were able to find places to sit (not next to each other), but my son and I stood in the vestibule between the cars with all of our luggage from London to Southampton. We were also not alone. Also stuck in there with us was a young lady returning home from university with her large suitcase, and another lady with a stroller and two pieces of luggage.

Let me end my remarks by stating I in no way intend to denigrate South West Trains or any of its staff. All of the staff we spoke with were very helpful, and did their best to accommodate us. We just were not quite ready for the challenge we faced by taking a fair amount of luggage on what is effectively a commuter train. If we took another cruise out of Southampton again, I would still take the train. It was fast, efficient and relatively inexpensive. I would just be better prepared next time, and plan accordingly.

To add to the valuable comments above.

The trains to Southampton can be very busy. However there are both fast and slow trains, with the slow trains taking one hour twenty minutes not one hour. The slow trains are a *lot* less busy than the fast trains.

Although people do put bags on seats you will find commuters just ask/tell the owner to move it so they can sit down.

The overhead luggage racks will take a reasonably sized suitcase, if you can lift it over your head.

To give you a headstart in beating the rush to the train, there are websites which will tell you the platform the train is planned to leave from, so you can be stood there waiting for it to appear on the departure boards.

I hope your daughter booked your tickets through the Megabus site and took advantage of the massive discount. Fares can be as low as £1.00 (One GBP).

https://uk.megabus.com/

I hope your daughter booked your tickets through the Megabus site and took advantage of the massive discount. Fares can be as low as £1.00 (One GBP).

 

https://uk.megabus.com/

Was thinkin' the same, Bob.

Especially since the train was busy.

But the 11.05 isn't on the Megatrain/Megabus schedule (the 11.39 is).

Did daughter miss a trick?

BTW that's a very busy commuter route (hence more seats, less luggage space), with very frequent trains.

Trains out of London at that time of day aren't usually packed, but being a summer Friday mebbe a lot of Londoners pulled a sickie and sloped-off for a long weekend on the south coast?

JB :)

Especially since the train was busy.

But the 11.05 isn't on the Megatrain/Megabus schedule (the 11.39 is).

Megabus tickets are on the slower and less busy trains I mentioned.

The problem is many ticket booking sites don't show the slower trains, and obviously don't show the Megabus tickets (whilst Megabus still exists on this route).

We've used this route fairly regularly and have always found trains at mid-day/ early afternoon less busy and had lots of space for our luggage.

How was Waterloo Station. We understand there is construction currently going on there?

How was Waterloo Station. We understand there is construction currently going on there?

That's next month. The part-closure starts on 5th.

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For what it's worth, I've never had problems finding a seat & stowing luggage when boarding the 11:39 at Waterloo Station.

These photos were taken on a few minutes before the train departed the station on a Thursday morning this past winter:

Perhaps that's the key word "winter"? Does anyone know how crowded the fast Southeastern Javelin train is on a weekend morning? STP to Dover Priory.

For what it's worth, I've never had problems finding a seat & stowing luggage when boarding the 11:39 at Waterloo Station.

 

These photos were taken on a few minutes before the train departed the station on a Thursday morning this past winter

The 11:39 is the slow service. You would find the fast 11:35 to be very different.

The 11:39 is the slow service...

It's always been fast enough for me. At the megatrain price, I don't mind at all. :D

It's always been fast enough for me. At the megatrain price, I don't mind at all. :D

Ditto.

We're talking 10 minutes difference on a journey of about 90 minutes.

And a fare saving of £30 person or more. :)

JB :)

Ditto.

We're talking 10 minutes difference on a journey of about 90 minutes.

And a fare saving of £30 person or more. :)

Enjoy it whilst it lasts, as the existing franchise ends in August.

Enjoy it whilst it lasts, as the existing franchise ends in August.

That's a good point - Stagecoach group have lost the South West franchise, so presumably the Megatrain offers will end (Megabus is also part of Stagecoach)?

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That's a good point - Stagecoach group have lost the South West franchise, so presumably the Megatrain offers will end (Megabus is also part of Stagecoach)?

The franchise changes on the 20h August and the Megabus website shows the furthest ahead you can book a ticket is the 4th August.

The franchise changes on the 20h August and the Megabus website shows the furthest ahead you can book a ticket is the 4th August.

That date will be due to the service alterations when the Waterloo works start on 5th, presumably, but no reason to think the Megatrain to Southampton will reappear.

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Good spot!

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Those are good tips. When we got on, we were wondering where to put the luggage. We ended up just sitting with the luggage beside us. We took the 12:30pm weekday train and it was quite empty and comfortable.

We will also be staying a few days in London before our BI cruise, was wondering if there are other options for the train to Southampton besides leaving from Waterloo station. Any trains from Paddington station (close to where we will be staying) or Victoria station?

If I remember correctly, when I was booking, there was a slower train leaving from Victoria Station to Southampton (2.5 hours). Trains from Waterloo station are faster. Check the Southwest Trains website for options. I booked through the Megabus website to get cheaper fares, and they were only available for trains from Waterloo Station.

It is quite easy to take the underground/Tube to Waterloo station, from anywhere in London, so it's worth it to take a cheaper train or a faster train from there.

Another alternative is to take the bus from Victoria Coach Station (beside Victoria train station) straight to Southampton. It takes 2 hours and 20 minutes. Go to the website to see prices.

We will also be staying a few days in London before our BI cruise, was wondering if there are other options for the train to Southampton besides leaving from Waterloo station. Any trains from Paddington station (close to where we will be staying) or Victoria station?

Yes, you can catch a train at Paddington--but you will have to change trains at Reading. Still, this is a viable option, and (according to the schedules I'm seeing) does not take appreciably longer than the trip from Waterloo Station.

As blakejared says, there are direct trains to Southampton from Victoria Station, but they are somewhat slower and less frequent than the trains from Waterloo Station. I'm seeing prices starting at £8.50 for tickets purchased in advance for this route, which is far cheaper than the standard £40.40 off-peak fare for trains from Waterloo. (See the discussion above re. the imminent discontinuation of the "megatrain" cheap fare on the Waterloo-Southampton route.)For an overview of all train services from London to Southampton, use the Journey Planner function at the National Rail website:

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

Good information from the Captain.

If you're handy to Paddington station (and only if you're handy to Paddington station), take a train from Paddington to Reading & change there to a Southampton-bound train. Total journey time around 1hr 40/50 mins depending on connection times - not a lot longer than Waterloo to Southampton.

The service is frequent, 2 to 3 trains per hour.

A through ticket costs £40.40, about the same as a ticket from Waterloo to Southampton.

But due to the vagaries of ticket pricing, if you avoid commuter times by travelling after about 10am it's cheaper to buy separate tickets from Paddington to Reading (£18.60) and from Reading to Southampton (£11.30). Total £29.90, saving over £10 per person compared to a through ticket.

Buy "off-peak" tickets in advance (you can wait until you're in London), they're good for pretty-well all trains after commuter-time. And if you buy separate Paddington to Reading and Reading to Southampton tickets, buy both in advance to avoid having to visit the ticket office in Reading.

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The hourly trains from Victoria to Southampton take a different & much longer route via Gatwick airport, hence journey times of around 2hrs 30. They are ideal for travel between Southampton and Gatwick.

But they are operated by Southern Trains - a franchisee which is having long-running industrial disputes with staff & consequently sometimes the service is limited. Because of the ridiculous way that this particular franchise is funded (very broadly, the Govt foots the bills & shares the profits) there's no great incentive for Southern Trains to resolve the dispute, which has been grinding on for well over a year and causing misery for both the region's commuters and for the tax-payer.

The one positive is that due to legislation in the UK there are no "wildcat" strikes. So no-one gets stranded, but everyone taking Southern Trains should keep an eye on http://www.southernrailway.com/ in case their date is affected.

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Because of the uncertain service on Southern, I'd advise folk in the Victoria area to take the Nat Express bus from Victoria coach station (advance booking strongly advised), which is simple, cheap, and reliable and about the same journey time as trains from Victoria

http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx

Alternatively take a cab (with luggage) to Waterloo station, and a Southampton train from there, but that's much more expensive and probably not much fun during the major upgrade work at Waterloo.

JB :)

Thanks for sharing the info.

But they are operated by Southern Trains - a franchisee which is having long-running industrial disputes with staff & consequently sometimes the service is limited. Because of the ridiculous way that this particular franchise is funded (very broadly, the Govt foots the bills & shares the profits) there's no great incentive for Southern Trains to resolve the dispute, which has been grinding on for well over a year and causing misery for both the region's commuters and for the tax-payer.

As you mention, Southern don't have the usual 'risk and reward' franchise (keep the fares and receive a subsidy) but have an 'operating contract' franchise (hand over fares to government, get paid to run trains).

So if Southern is making such a bad job, and it the government not Southern who are losing money as the dispute drags on you might question why the government has not taken the franchise away from Southern.