Commute from Bedford to Edgware (North London)

[jchia]

Hi everyone,

I will move to Bedford in the coming months and plan to commute to my work near Edgware form Bedford station, and just wanted advice on commuting options. Does anyone else have experience commuting from Bedford into the north of London?

As far as I know access to the centre is pretty easy with a direct train to Kingscross by East Midlands Trains taking about 45 mins, but it would take even more time for me to travel back up on the northern line from there taking 1 45hrs, door to door.

The other option is a transfer at somewhere before reaching kingcross to reach mill hill broadway and go to my work from there.

I just wanted to ask does a commuter/season pass only work to a specific train station, is it possible to change the station destination during the season ticket period in the case I happen to change job e.t.c. Is there a season pass that covers journeys on both thameslink and eastmindlands trains.

I will try the commute by train for a month or so, however depending I might try commuting by car, however this also has some cons with limited parking spaces near my work, traffic jams etc.

Does anyone have any advice for this commute?

 

[Bald Rick]

Train to Mill Hill Broadway (changing at St Albans, although there are a handful of direct trains), and walk / bus from there. There’s 4 bus routes between Mill Hill Broadway station and Edgware station with one every 4-5 minutes on average, taking 10-15 mins. Walking would take about 20 mins.

Going via central London will take much longer, and cost much more.

Ticket wise, you need a Bedford to London’s Zones 4-6 travelcard. It’s around £103/week, £400/month and £4188/year. This includes the bus, and is cheaper than buying seperate rail / bus tickets. In comparison a ticket via Central London will be approx 40% more.

If you change job locations, you can get a refund on the remaining validity of your season ticket, and then buy a new one for your new journey.

Driving is an option, but expect to be in solid traffic on the M1 from J11 or J12 to the M25 every day between 0630-0830 and 1630-1830.

 

[yorkie]

Bedford to Mill Hill Broadway seasons are available for 1 week or any period between 1 month & 1 year, use the calculator here for periods of between 1 month and 12 months:
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=BDM&dest=MIL&grpo=0410&rte=1000&tkt=7DS

If you require the use of buses, it will be cheaper to get a Travelcard; use the Bedford to London Zones 4-6* season ticket calculator here:
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=BDM&dest=MIL&grpo=0410&grpd=0057&rte=1000&tkt=7TS

(* You can actually use buses in any zone)

If you change job locations, you can get a refund on the remaining validity of your season ticket, and then buy a new one for your new journey.

Agreed, but ask for this as a changeover, to avoid any admin fees.

 

[Hadders]

Note that East Midlands Trains do not serve Bedford southbound in the morning peak or northbound in the evening peaks so you will be limited to Thameslink trains.