Slightly OT: Travelling to London for assessment day

Hi all,

I have an assessment day coming up in London for a graduate job so a bit nervous about it. I have to go in to the company's office for 8.30am on Tue 11 Feb. As I live in Southampton, I'm getting the train up and should get to London Waterloo Station for about 07.47. From there I need to get the Underground to Aldgate Station.

Now, apparently the Underground drivers will be on strike on this day, but I can't find anything conclusive as to whether this is only in the evening or in the morning too. Does anyone know if this will affect me traveling in the morning?

Also, are there any London based forumers who can point me as to the best route to take from Waterloo to Aldgate? And am I leaving myself enough time to get through the underground (the office is 5min from the station) considering I am traveling during rush hour?

Thanks a bunch,

Reply 1

mywayornoway

Original post by THEALB10N

Hi,

The strike starts tuesday evening so you should be perfectly fine to get to Aldgate on time ( http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/29555.aspx )

I've never personally done the journey from Waterloo to Aldgate but I'd just suggest TFLing it so just go to www.tfl.gov.uk and use the journey planner and it should give you some good routes

:smile:

Reply 2

donutaud15

according to an app I use, it takes 20 mins on the tube. from Waterloo take the Waterloo and city line eastbound and change off at Bank. from there take the Central line eastbound and change at Liverpool street for the Metropolitan line southbound to Aldgate.

just leave yourself plenty of time as it can get hectic.

also just a quick suggestion, I'm not 100% sure but I think you can take a train from Southampton to London Victoria. it's just if you do, you can just take the circle line eastbound to Aldgate. easier as no switches but still takes 20 mins.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

ForgetMe

You can catch up bus 40 from London Bridge station. Route's 40 last stop is Aldgate station.

Reply 4

Hedgeman49

Original post by donutaud15

Much easier just to walk from Bank, it's 10 mins max to Aldgate

Reply 5

alibee

Original post by donutaud15

You can take the train direct to Victoria but I would NOT suggest it. It takes an extra hour over the fastest train to waterloo. It's also only 1 an hour and is frequently late. If I was travelling to victoria, I would get the waterloo train and get the tube round or change trains at clapham.

OP I think that 45 minutes is not enough time from Waterloo to Aldgate considering that you'll be travelling at peak time and that presumably the office is not in the tube station at the end. Do you know the area? I normally get the 5.55 to my morning assessments and even that can get tight sometimes if there's some issue (seems to be a daily event on the train...) Your other option is to ask if they will pay for a budget hotel for you, is that definitely out of the question?

Reply 6

username337247

Original post by mywayornoway

Thanks for clearing that up for me re the strike!

Original post by donutaud15

The direct train to Victoria is the Southern one which goes along the south coast practically to Brighton and then up. It's cheap, but takes ages as it stops at every small villageon the way! Unfortunately I travel to Brighton every other week so I know it well.

Thanks for the underground route though.

Original post by Hedgeman49

Much easier just to walk from Bank, it's 10 mins max to Aldgate

I spoke to my Dad today who suggested this, seems like the best option actually. Is the City/Waterloo route usually very busy/difficult to get a train on?

Original post by alibee

Thanks for the info, do you think it is still not enough time even if I get the city/waterloo line to Bank and walk the half-mile from there to the office?

Are the trains from Southampton usually late getting into Waterloo?

Thanks everyone for the input. My plan is currently:
Train at 6.30ish gets into Waterloo 07.47
Get city/waterloo line to Bank
Walk half-mile from Bank to office on Jewry St.

Unless my train is likely to be late as suggested, in which case I shall leave Southampton Central earlier.

Reply 7

username337247

I'm also not going to lie: I didn't spot the City/Waterloo line before as it was the same colour as the river! :smile:

Who came up with that?

Reply 8

Chewyy

Original post by THEALB10N

Thanks everyone for the input. My plan is currently:
Train at 6.30ish gets into Waterloo 07.47
Get city/waterloo line to Bank
Walk half-mile from Bank to office on Jewry St.

Unless my train is likely to be late as suggested, in which case I shall leave Southampton Central earlier.

That's not enough time in rush hour. It's better to be half an hour early than cutting it that close.

Reply 9

alibee

Original post by THEALB10N

I think it's rare to be on any train that isn't a few minutes late. If you've only left yourself half an hour for the journey before you should be arriving, then 5 minutes is a big deal. If it was me, I would be getting the train before but obviously it's up to you. I really don't think walking is going to be quicker than the tube under normal circumstances... Also if you're late, you're going to start power walking and arrive all stressed/sweaty. I just don't think it's setting yourself up for a good day!

Reply 10

username337247

Original post by Chewyy

That's not enough time in rush hour. It's better to be half an hour early than cutting it that close.

Original post by alibee

Okay, does the 05.55 getting in to W'loo at 07.24 seem like enough time or should I get an earlier one do you think?

Reply 11

Chewyy

Original post by THEALB10N

Okay, does the 05.55 getting in to W'loo at 07.24 seem like enough time or should I get an earlier one do you think?

Yeah that should be fine. I know it's an earlier start but you will feel much better if you're early than if you're rushing at the last moment or worried you might not make it.

Reply 12

username337247

Original post by Chewyy

Yeah that should be fine. I know it's an earlier start but you will feel much better if you're early than if you're rushing at the last moment or worried you might not make it.

Yes I think you are right. Just got to get this assessment day over with now! My first one so not really sure what to expect :/

Reply 13

Old_Simon

I do not want to stress you but trains into London are frequently late/held up/delayed/cancelled.

Reply 14

username337247

Original post by Old_Simon

I do not want to stress you but trains into London are frequently late/held up/delayed/cancelled.

Well if it's late then it's late and I will just have to be late to my assessment day. I can't really leave any earlier than 05.55.

Reply 15

username337247

I thought I might as well update this for anyone who is ever in a similar situation.

I caught the 05.55 from Southampton. The train arrived (from Poole) on time and got into London Waterloo exactly on time (doors opened about 10 secs before the official expected arrival time!). So that was good. 07.24 I think it was due to arrive at.

I got the Waterloo/City line to Bank (which was relatively crowded but I got a seat) and walked from there to the office on Jewry Street. I was in the reception for just before 08.00.

So all in all the advice to get the earlier train was spot on, as I would have been cutting it fine with the 06.27 train. Thanks a bunch.

If anyone is interested, the assessment centre was quite fun. Got to meet lots of new people and learned a lot on the day. Afterwards I got the underground to London Bridge and got a train down to Brighton for a football match which was nice!

Got an e-mail today saying I didn't make the final interview stage but it was a good learning experience none-the-less. I'm going to take some time off job hunting now and just focus on my degree again as the process was too stressful all-in-all. I am sure I will find something in the summertime :-).

All the best,