Trains from East Dulwich (seem to be terrible)

[Gardenia]

I've recently moved to the area and the trains from East/North Dulwich seem to be terrible. In fact even the Thameslink from Herne Hill doesn't seem much better. So many are cancelled and delayed. Is this due to the work at London Bridge, or has it always been like this?

[Jeremy]

Weekdays - it's mainly due to work at London Bridge, they used to be OK.

Weekends - no service on Sunday (sometimes the whole weekend) has been commonplace for as long as I can remember

[Gardenia]

Thanks, Jeremy. Sounds like there is a little bit of hope for the weekdays in the future then.

Any idea when things are expected to return to normal? On the work at London Bridge side at least...

[miga]

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[Earl Aelfheah]

The trains were pretty decent before the London Bridge work, but are now ridiculously unreliable. I have given up using them and swapped to a bike.

[Countrlass22]

Bus 40 goes london bridge,best check online before go to station do run with changes cancellations...is due upgrade at London bridge station.

countrlass22

[Too Good To Be True]

I live in Camberwell and occasionally get the 40 (usually run or cycle).

This explains why the 40 has become rammed in the last few months. I guess people substituting away from the train.

[Coach Beth]

The Overground from Peckham Rye or Denmark Hill is a very useful alternative too.

Thameslink service from Peckham Rye up to Blackfriars/Farringdon/King's Cross doesn't seem as bad as the London Bridge services.

[mikeb]

The loss of a decent train service from East Dulwich is a major negative for the area, and even more so for the North Dulwich catchment area.

When I moved in many years ago, the pitch was broadly: no tube but you're only 10 minutes from London Bridge - though even then, that turned out to be more like half an hour when you take into account walking and average waiting times. Without a regular train including at weekends, it's like living in Furzedown or Muswell Hill - all very nice but a little remote when your friends try to visit.

[ed - I cycle and run so generally this doesn't bother me too much, but I'd prefer that transport to and from my local area didn't actually deteriorate]

[Gardenia]

I agree that it's a big detractor. We are renting here at the moment and had intended to buy - but now I'm having second thoughts. The unreliable trains do make you feel very cut off. I'm not a confident cyclist and whenever I switch to the overground at Queens Road that always seems to be suffering from long delays too.

It looks like the service may be even more hampered from Jan 2015: http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/about-us/latest-news/southeastern-publishes-proposed-2015-timetable/

[Jeremy]

I think they're going to have to further cut the services to have any hope of running them on time. Too many trains on too little track. As soon as one train is delayed 2 minutes, everything is screwed.

[JohnL]

Thameslink is usually reliable - but has got more crowded recently too.

Coach Beth Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The Overground from Peckham Rye or Denmark Hill is

> a very useful alternative too.

>

> Thameslink service from Peckham Rye up to

> Blackfriars/Farringdon/King's Cross doesn't seem

> as bad as the London Bridge services.

[philosophie]

Thameslink is always delayed and you def don't get a seat from D Hill. Even at E.D station at 11.15 this morning (not rush hour) a train was suddenly cancelled without warning. East Dulwich is a lovely place to live but guaranteed to give you high blood pressure if you ever want to/have to leave it.

[KidKruger]

You'd expect a crap train service to town would impact house prices.

People can manage to infrequent trains, but consistently unpredictable and unreliable is a big ask.

[miga]

.

[Alan Medic]

I travel in before 7am and back before 5pm. I'd say that the service is reliable 95% of the time.

[Jeremy]

It's OK in the mornings usually (leaving around 7:30-7:50). Evenings (leaving LB at 7ish) are a joke.

[indiepanda]

I get the train into London Bridge later in the morning and it's been a mess recently, much less than 95% reliability. The train I used to get most days now only goes as far as South Bermondsey and the one after is often delayed in both arrival to board and in waiting outside LB to get a platform.

Am seriously considering not using the train and getting the 40 instead. I did in the week after the bank holiday when there were no trains into LB and though it took longer on average, it was more consistent as well as being cheaper. Plus I walked to the start of the route and got a seat which is a rare occurrence on the train.

[StraferJack]

1 year of trains for me

Followed by 12 years of 40 bus

Trains drove me mad. 40 got me a seat, no interruptions, closer to work and reading time.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Gardenia, if you're close to N Dulwich station a good fallback for getting into the city is the 42. It starts at the bottom of Sunray Ave and although it's a small bus you can always get a seat, even on train strike days. It's not the quickest but if you've arrived at ND to find trains are cancelled it's probably easier than heading back to ED or P Rye on the 37.

Also worth having a shortcut to the Network Rail live departures/arrivals board as it's usually more up to date than station announcements, even at LB itself.

[Gardenia]

Thanks for the tip, RPC. I'm aware of the 42 - but have yet to try it, buses feel a bit risky over a longer distance timing wise but the fact is that the trains aren't serving me any better at the moment. My final destination is most frequently Wapping so switching to the overground at Queens Road should make it a pretty straight forward journey. I guess I need to make the effort to get out of the house earlier, with 2 small people running around that can be a bit of a challenge!

[Robert Poste's Child]

I know what you mean, and if the trains weren't such a nightmare I wouldn't suggest it, but perhaps useful as a back-up, especially on those days when you get to work OK and the problems come later. The 42 goes over Tower Bridge so at least you'd be able to walk from there.

If you're OK with cycling locally, I sometimes cycle to D Hill or P Rye and cut out the LB line altogether. P Rye now has a free bike park.

[spark67]

When I worked at London bridge I caught the 40 on all the days I didn't cycle for 5 years, no problems, and you always get a seat if you catch it at the plough as it's its 1st stop :)

[Guest]

I have a weekly travelcard and I really resent having to take the bus when I could take the train. To get to L. Brigde these days i jump on any old bus to the Elephant and then hop on the tube for 2 stops. Its a bit longer than all train but a bit shorter than all bus in terms of journeytime.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Gardenia Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thanks for the tip, RPC. I'm aware of the 42 - but

> have yet to try it, buses feel a bit risky over a

> longer distance timing wise but the fact is that

> the trains aren't serving me any better at the

> moment. My final destination is most frequently

> Wapping so switching to the overground at Queens

> Road should make it a pretty straight forward

> journey. I guess I need to make the effort to get

> out of the house earlier, with 2 small people

> running around that can be a bit of a challenge!

If you're going to wapping from ED, I would take bus to Denmark Hill and then get east london line.