Lewes Forum thread

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Lewes trains

On Sat 8 Aug at 12:20pm PollyT wrote:

Hello there everyone,
I'm new to this thread, and soon will be new(wish) to Lewes and was wondering if I could ask a question about the train situation?
I lived in Lewes until the end of 2016 and loved it there. And, happily, my partner and I have decided to move here in the autumn. I'm so thrilled to be returning. However, my partner will be commuting to Victoria, and I was just wondering what the trains to London are like these days? Especially the early ones? He would need to work on the train, so our decision to move is based very much on his ability to get a seat. It was never a problem when I last lived there, but things might have changed since then. It would be great to know before we make the jump.
Also, how easy is it to get seats to London off-peak, as I also have to travel into the city a bit for work? Looking at past posts on here it seems like a new timetable made morning off-peak trains a bit nasty, which is a shame.
Any insight would be most useful. Thank you so much.
Polly

On Sat 8 Aug at 6:04pm The Old Mayor wrote:

Buying a ticket doesn't get you a seat !!

On Sat 8 Aug at 7:13pm Blatant Liar wrote:

Buy a first class ticket if working on the train is so vital to you

On Sun 9 Aug at 2:45pm BN26 wrote:

A bit of info on this site. Search 'Lewes Trains' and see comments about loadings and May 20 alterations. I don't think anyone knows how commuting will change after the Virus changes. Recently and in the journey planner a modified Saturday service operates but a good feature is that these trains do not attach or detach Littlehampton trains at Haywards Heath and are at least 8 coaches.Much better than the nonsense when the Lewes route trains were only 4 coaches. Looking at Car Parks this week very few commuting

On Wed 12 Aug at 9:21pm BN26 wrote:

Update (12/08/20) only 1 train each way Lewes/London Bridge leaving Lewes 07 16 and from London Bridge 17 50, Journey planner shows changes from 07/09/20 with 2 weekday services Lewes/London Bridge leaving Lewes 06 00 and 07 02, From London Bridge 17 32 and 18 33

On Thu 13 Aug at 5:17pm LamDan wrote:

Polly as most of the responses don't seem to provide a complete answer to your question I can provide my experiences of the Lewes to Victoria commute. Prior to lockdown I was a week day commuter to Victoria leaving Lewes in the 6:30 am to 7:30 am time slot and returning from London between 6pm and 7pm. Other than the bad Spring/Summer/Autumn of 2016 when the guard dispute was in full swing and Southern Rail gained it's Southern Fail reputation the commute was usually incident free. If you get a twelve car train seats are available for those boarding at Lewes and likewise for the return journey and the free wifi works perfectly well. When there are short formations, late running trains and cancellations or rail replacement buses it of course can be a different story but prior to Lockdown I would guess that 95% of my journeys ran smoothly.
I hope this helps

On Sun 16 Aug at 11:05pm Basil wrote:

Why does anyone need to work on the train? If you can't get the work done in your specified hours at work presumably you are either incompetent or your boss is taking the mickey out of you. I know it makes people feel important to tap-tap-tap away on their laptops on the train or have absurd conversations with 'the office'... but is it necessary?

On Fri 28 Aug at 7:50am BN26 wrote:

Further update. Not relevant to original request and only limited involved but Journey Planner shows back to only 1 train direct Lewes/London Bridge
from 07/09/20. Was showing 2