train service in Great Britain

Posted by Jill (Bay Area, California, USA) on 07/17/10 08:52 PM

We are planning a trip to England, Wales and Scotland in September and will be purchasing our train tickets from the US. We would like to know how reliable and punctual the trains are. For example, one of our travel days will be from Bath to Conwy. Does anyone have a recommendation as to which of the following 2 train routes would be best/most reliable with the short time for train changes?

Leave Bath 12:36, arrive Newport 13:25, leave Newport 13:34 (only 9 minutes to change trains), arrive Conwy 17:17

Leave Bath 13:00, arrive Bristol 13:15, leave Bristol 13:30 (only 15 minutes to change trains), arrive Birmingham 14:56, leave Birmingham 15:26 (30 minutes to change trains), arrive Conwy 18:23.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

Posted by Pamela

New York City, NY, USA

07/17/10 11:32 PM

5678 posts

In my experience trains are generally punctual in the UK unless there is something going on regarding the lines or if there are weather issues. You can check online to see if there are issues. On weekends there can be work on the lines which slows down the service.

Pam

Posted by Jill OP

Bay Area, California, USA

07/18/10 12:23 AM

14 posts

Thanks, Pam and Bob for the responses. We missed some train connections while traveling in Italy last year so were curious how punctual the UK trains are.

Bob, your suggestion is very helpful. We will look into the possibility of an earlier train to Newport. Also glad to know about the more scenic route.

Thanks for the feedback.

Posted by susan

aberdeen, scotland & london, uk

07/18/10 12:37 AM

241 posts

Trains reatively ok on main routes during week - but there will be delays sometimes. They try to catch up if possible. BUT Sunday travel is REALLY bad - track maintainance - delays and detours.
S

Posted by Bob

Bristol, UK

07/18/10 02:03 AM

619 posts

This is a tough question. The times between changes of train should be enough, but the train only has to be a few minutes late for you to miss a connection. That's OK if there is another train within an hour, but the train from Newport to Conwy, for example, runs very infrequently. The fewer changes of train, the better. Another consideration is that the journey from Newport through the Welsh Marches to Chester and Conwy is probably more attractive overall than the route through Birmingham.

You want to be at Newport in good time to start that long through journey to Conwy. The train from Bath to Newport starts at Portsmouth, and it can be delayed. Why not catch an earlier train from Bath to Newport? Direct trains run every hour, while intermediate journeys require a change at Bristol.

For full details of trains between Bath and Nepwort, go to the First Great Western website at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk and look for the timetable 28 Cardiff-Bristol-Bath, which shows all trains and permutations.

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

07/19/10 12:01 AM

33583 posts

I think the advice above is good.

I can't find the Birmingham connection you mention. I do see one 10 minutes later which requires a change in Crewe and another in Chester, arriving at your 18:23.

That way you really would be going around the sun to get to the moon. By the way, the official minimum connection time at Birmingham New Street is 15 minutes. If you don't know the station with its 25 platform portions that can seem pretty tight.

If it were me, I'd get to Newport with plenty of time, and go that way.