Commute into London from Stevenage Or Hertford?

G'day everyone,

Next year our youngest daughter and her boyfriend are planning to buy a house together. Her boyfriend is a newly qualified teacher teaching at a school in Hertfordshire and they are looking at either buying a house in Stevenage or Hertford. My daughter works close to Moorgate station and they have decided to base their final decision on the best bet for traveling into London.

Essentially I'm looking for advice on whether my daughter would be better off taking the train from either Stevenage or Hertford. Any information would be gratefully received!

Kind regards,

Richmond Commuter!

The direct train from Stevenage to Kings Cross would be much quicker if a change for Moorgate is made at Finsbury Park. Hertford has the benefit of trains from East station into Liverpool Street should there be issues on the East Coast main line.

Hertford has a nicer town centre, though Stevenage Old Town is nice too and in walking distance of the station. Houses in Stevenage are cheaper and in my view there is more supply and choice.

Have they considered Hitchin, Knebworth or Watton-at-Stone? The latter two are nice villages and good if they plan to have a family in future years.

Bear in mind that the connection between Stevenage and Hertford North will be severed and replaced with buses for some time, meaning living in Stevenage effectively forces a journey to Finsbury Park and changing.

That will be quicker anyway, but potentially more expensive.. although Stevenage will be a cheaper place to buy property and to live compared to Hertford. Swings and roundabouts.

When your daughter says she is after her 'best bet' for travelling into London what are her priorities? Is she doing OK for money or does she need to save every pound? Does she want a seat? Is a direct train or a shorter journey time more important to her?

From next year Hertford North will have 6tph to Moorgate. As jon says trains in the other direction will terminate at Watton-at-Stone for bus replacement forward to Stevenage (if they ever wish to travel north). Stevenage currently has 7 trains per hour to London, although be warned two of these take over half an hour to reach Finsbury Park and one is non-stop to Kings Cross. Morning and evening peak-flow timetables are a bit more intense though.

Likelihood of a seat is rather higher from Hertford North (almost guarenteed if she travels from Hertford East - presumably she can walk to work without problems from Liverpool Street). I wouldn't like to comment on the effect of new rolling stock on seating availability but in general it will probably go down as a result of class 700 introduction on services from Stevenage (and class 710 introduction on services from Hertford North) with their spartan interior.

If money is a top concern, it's £90.30 a week from Stevenage (or £144.50 if she is after First Class) and £67 a week from Hertford North (no First Class available). If she can afford an Annual, or if her employer offers a season ticket loan, that's £3,612 Stevenage and £2,680. Obviously there will be gold card benefits too to that.

Timetables will be changing and you don't say what time she needs to be at work, but assuming 0900 there is a 0746 from Hertford North that arrives at 0832. That train makes it in 46 minutes, but most take longer, with journey times up to 55 minutes. Trains from Stevenage are generally quicker, so generally as long as she catches a train which is fast to Finsbury Park it will be possible in around 40 minutes. Her ticket to London Terminals would be valid on London Underground from Finsbury Park too.

The final thing it might be worth mentioning is that there is more redundancy in Hertford because there is an alternative route, although the walk to Hertford East might not be very appealing.

A'plan B' option is always nice. At Hatfield, you can get a bus (or taxi) to St Albans when things go badly wrong. Likewise at Hertford you have two totally separate lines so you'd have to be very unlucky to have both go wrong at the same time. The walk isn't too bad (certainly quick enough you don't need to wait for a bus or pay for a cab).

At Stevenage, we've had some recent incidents between Alexandra Palace and London, meaning the fact there are two routes is immaterial. Although if the disruption is between Alexandra Palace and Hertford North or WGC, trains can and are diverted the other way.

I can't really comment on the service from Hertford North but the service from Stevenage is generally excellent. A few things to note:

The fastest trains eg 0658, 0736, 0758 are 12-car non stop which get to Kings Cross in 24 minutes
There are also fast trains that call at Finsbury Park and Kings Cross taking around 26 minutes.
From next year many of the services will go through the core rather than to Kings Cross
A Stevenage - London Terminals ticket is valid on the Underground between Kings Cross and Moorgate (but not to alight at intermediate stations except Old Street). A paper season ticket would be best for this rather than The Key.
Alternatively change at Finsbury Park for a Moorgate service.
Outside of working hours the last train from Kings Cross to Stevenage is at 0135 (and the first train is at 0415). Useful to know for nights out etc.
If the mainline is closed then the Hertford North service often gets curtailed so that mainline services can be diverted although you do have the option of Hertford East services.
Stevenage has good inter-city connections to the North and is conveniently located on the A1(M). Hertford's road connections are not so good if this is a consideration.

Now, if your daughter qualifies for a 16-25 Railcard (or 26-30 railcard when it launches) then a season ticket is not good value!

Stevenage - London Terminals Anytime Day Return is £21.30 or £14.05 railcard discounted.
Five journeys a week totals £70.25 compared to a weekly season ticket price of £90.30

Is Stevenage to London Terminals valid via Hertford into Liverpool Street?

A Challenge said:

Is Stevenage to London Terminals valid via Hertford into Liverpool Street?

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Definately valid via Hertford North, but I doubt it's valid into Liverpool St

cactustwirly said:

Definately valid via Hertford North, but I doubt it's valid into Liverpool St

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Correct. Valid via Hertford North into Kings Cross or Moorgate only. Not valid into Liverpool Street.

I live in Stevenage and commute to London daily.

The service from Stevenage is excellent and will get better from May next year due to the new Thameslink options through the 'Core'.

Hertford is a lovely town, but not without it's problems. We once lived in Hertford and moved to Stevenage because the commuting is better and the house prices more acceptable.

We love Stevenage and despite its reputation find it to be a great place to live. The Old Town is becoming very popular with numerous bars and restaurants (and not aimed at the 18-23 brigade).

Transport links, not just the train, are first class. I travel by road, rail and air and very few towns offer what Stevenage does.

But it all comes down to personal choice.

Good luck with their choice

Welcome to the forum Stevenage town mayor.



(Seriously, I agree that there are plentiful services to London and the benefit of a 'backup route' when things go wrong, unless the problem is between Alexandra Palace and London).

You're stealing all the points I made Lee_Again and jon0844 !