Planes, trains or automobiles

Last year I commented on the state of the rail service between Peterborough and London.

Noting that it had been largely trouble free for the 19 years I had been using it, I wrote:

The current operator is Govia Thameslink Railway which runs the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise.

A few weeks ago the company introduced a new timetable and to say the service has gone downhill is an understatement. Delays and cancellations on what was previously an excellent service are now commonplace.

An interim timetable is due to be introduced in a couple of weeks while they sort out the mess but my question is: 'Why can't they revert to the old timetable which worked so well?'

Fair’s fair and I can now report that everything has settled down and the new timetable appears to be working as well as the old one - which is to say, very well indeed.

The notable difference between old and new is that during the week most trains from Peterborough no longer finish their journey at Kings Cross. Instead they stop briefly at St Pancras International before continuing their journey to Horsham in Sussex.

For those who don’t know, St Pancras is just across the road from Kings Cross so the change makes very little difference. It does however make things a lot easier if you want to travel to several destinations in south London and beyond.

A significant advantage is that one of the stations en route to Horsham is Gatwick so I can now travel direct from Huntingdon - the nearest station to where I live - to the airport.

The journey time - two hours - is the same as by car but it avoids the unpredictability of the traffic on the M25 that can add an hour, and countless grey hairs, to that time.

Anyway, I’m flying to Geneva today and with options to fly from Heathrow, Luton or Gatwick I chose Gatwick. Watch this space.

Update: The journey from Huntingdon to Gatwick via St Pancras was exactly two hours.

Better still, as it crossed London the extended route went via Farringdon, City Thameslink (close to Holborn and St Paul’s Cathedral), Blackfriars (ideal for the South Bank and Festival Hall), and London Bridge.

If you’re unfamiliar with London you won’t appreciate how good this is in terms of getting around the capital when you live in Cambridgeshire.

Hats off then to Govia Thameslink. Whatever Southern and Northern Rail commuters might say, I think you’re doing a great job!

Not such good news about Gatwick, I’m afraid.

Until the look and feel of the existing terminals are improved I can’t for the life of me understand how anyone can take seriously its long-running and hugely expensive campaign for an additional runway - unless, that is, a significant rebuilding job is part of the project.

Sort it, Gatwick! (Rant over.)