Salisbury bus-train transfer time

[miklcct]

I want to go to Bristol on Saturday from my home in Lansdowne, Bournemouth as a day return. I'm investigating if I should take the train all the way, or to take an express bus to Salisbury first and transfer to the train in order to avoid a detour through Southampton.

After checking the timetable, the time needed are the nearly the same. Assuming I get on the train that arrive at 13:50 Bristol Temple Meeds, I need to take a train at 11:22 from Bournemouth to Southampton, with a 12-minute connection there for the train to Bristol. That train will depart at 12:42 (sorry, not 12:39) from Salisbury.

If I use an express bus to Salisbury, I will need to board it at 11:11 at Lansdowne and get off at 12:30 at the terminus, which allows me 12 (sorry, not 9) minutes to get to the train station. The transfer is 1 km there which is definitely enough for me if I can stay on the correct path. After factoring the time between getting from my home to the station, the difference in the whole journey should be within 5 minutes.

In the return trip, assume that that I get on the train at 16:22, it will arrive Salisbury at 17:32 and Southampton at 18:03 with 21 minutes wait to connect to Bournemouth, arriving at 19:00. If I get off at Salisbury instead and run to the bus station to take the 17:40 bus (1 km in 8 minutes is still runnable for me), I will get off right outside my home at 18:50, saving me up to 20 minutes for the whole journey.

The total fare of using bus+train is cheaper than using train+train. Bus fare is £9 and train fare from Salisbury with railcard applied is £16.5, while train fare all the way is £29.95. Therefore it seems that bus+train is a better valued journey here, given the time saving on the return trip and the fare saving as well.

Here are my questions:
1. Is there an official MCT number transferring between buses and trains? Do you think the above bus-train connection is feasible for a reasonably fit person who can run the whole way between the bus station and the train station? (The bus is half-hourly and the train is hourly)

2. Does delay repay cover a combined bus-train journey? That is, if one part of the journey is delayed causing me to miss connection or even abandon the trip mid-way, does it cover the whole trip?

[edit - last question moved to another more suitable forum]

 

[vikingdriver]

I want to go to Bristol on Saturday from my home in Lansdowne, Bournemouth as a day return. I'm investigating if I should take the train all the way, or to take an express bus to Salisbury first and transfer to the train in order to avoid a detour through Southampton.

After checking the timetable, the time needed are the nearly the same. Assuming I get on the train that arrive at 13:50 Bristol Temple Meeds, I need to take a train at 11:22 from Bournemouth to Southampton, with a 12-minute connection there for the train to Bristol. That train will depart at 12:39 from Salisbury.

If I use an express bus to Salisbury, I will need to board it at 11:11 at Lansdowne and get off at 12:30 at the terminus, which allows me 9 minutes to get to the train station. The transfer is 1 km there which is definitely enough for me to run it if I can stay on the correct path. After factoring the time between getting from my home to the station, the difference in the whole journey should be within 5 minutes.

In the return trip, assume that that I get on the train at 16:22, it will arrive Salisbury at 17:32 and Southampton at 18:03 with 21 minutes wait to connect to Bournemouth, arriving at 19:00. If I get off at Salisbury instead and run to the bus station to take the 17:40 bus (1 km in 8 minutes is still runnable for me), I will get off right outside my home at 18:50, saving me up to 20 minutes for the whole journey.

The total fare of using bus+train is cheaper than using train+train. Bus fare is £9 and train fare from Salisbury with railcard applied is £16.5, while train fare all the way is £29.95. Therefore it seems that bus+train is a better valued journey here, given the time saving on the return trip and the fare saving as well.

Here are my questions:
1. Is there an official MCT number transferring between buses and trains? Do you think the above bus-train connection is feasible for a reasonably fit person who can run the whole way between the bus station and the train station? (The bus is half-hourly and the train is hourly)

2. Does delay repay cover a combined bus-train journey? That is, if one part of the journey is delayed causing me to miss connection or even abandon the trip mid-way, does it cover the whole trip?

3. If I have an Salisbury-Bristol day return ticket, and, in the return trip, the train is delayed before arriving Salisbury that I determine it will no longer feasibly for me to make my connection at Salisbury, can I excess the ticket to Bournemouth (with railcard discount applied on it) on the train without alighting, and claim a delay repay based on the time when the train actually arrived at Salisbury?

Saturday is market day in Salisbury. Good luck.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

There will certainly be no delay repay for missing a train due to the bus, its not an official connection and the bus is operated by Go South Coast doesn't do anything with the railways. There is no Minimum Connection Times either for the above reasons.

It is a straight road after Blue Boar Row bus stops and along Fisherton Street, I would leg it like mad rather than jog or run, but bear in mind if the train at Salisbury is on the middle platforms, then once you get through the ticket barrier you have to go down a long subway slope down and up to the platform. Very tight connection to be honest with all that I personally wouldn't try it

 

[Gloster]

Although it is forty years since I lived in Salisbury, recollection of the distance alone makes me feel that there is not a hope of doing the distance in that time, even if you don’t take a wrong turning. If actually catching the train arriving at Temple Meads at 13.50 is more important than the possibility of Delay Repay, then twelve minutes at Southampton Central is cutting it a bit fine and you should consider catching the previous train from Bournemouth.

 

[rg177]

Google Maps seems to suggest getting off at "New Canal, Stop U" at 12:27 for the bus you're after. That gives a slightly more optimistic 12 minutes.

 

[miklcct]

Although it is forty years since I lived in Salisbury, recollection of the distance alone makes me feel that there is not a hope of doing the distance in that time, even if you don’t take a wrong turning. If actually catching the train arriving at Temple Meads at 13.50 is more important than the possibility of Delay Repay, then twelve minutes at Southampton Central is cutting it a bit fine and you should consider catching the previous train from Bournemouth.

Getting the 13:50 train is the most important for me - do you think in this circumstance I should opt for a 17-minute connection at Southampton rather than a 12-minute connection? If this is the case I need to board the train 17 minutes earlier than the 12-minute connection because the earlier connection is a stopping train! and thanks #5 suggesting that I can get off one stop before the terminus to get 3 minutes time to make the connection, but surely I still have to get to the terminus for the return trip, right?

 

[Gloster]

Getting the 13:50 train is the most important for me - do you think in this circumstance I should opt for a 17-minute connection at Southampton rather than a 12-minute connection?

At the very least.

 

[NorthOxonian]

TheGetting the 13:50 train is the most important for me - do you think in this circumstance I should opt for a 17-minute connection at Southampton rather than a 12-minute connection? If this is the case I need to board the train 17 minutes earlier than the 12-minute connection because the earlier connection is a stopping train! and thanks #5 suggesting that I can get off one stop before the terminus to get 3 minutes time to make the connection, but surely I still have to get to the terminus for the return trip, right?

Personally, I'd get the bus leaving Lansdowne at 10:41 - that gives you a lot more time for your connection.

On the way back, I'd not stress either - there are far worse places to spend half an hour than Salisbury (I've whiled away a couple of afternoons in its cafes and pubs).

If your priority is journey time alone then just get the train, but you'll enjoy yourself much more (and probably save money) if you get the bus and train combination.

 

[miklcct]

Update: I think I have quoted the wrong time from journey planner - the train to Bristol departs at 12:42 from Salisbury instead of 12:39, giving me 15 minutes to connect applying the advice for #5 so it should be more than enough if the bus is on time. For the return journey, the bus after 17:40 is 18:50 from Salisbury because there is a short working only to Ringwood in between. Is Salisbury a good place if I end up spending an hour there on the return?

 

[NorthOxonian]

Update: I think I have quoted the wrong time from journey planner - the train to Bristol departs at 12:42 from Salisbury instead of 12:39, giving me 15 minutes to connect applying the advice for #5 so it should be more than enough. For the journey, the bus after 17:40 is 18:50 from Salisbury because there is a short working only to Ringwood in between. Is Salisbury a good place if I end up spending an hour there on the return?

Yes - very much so. It's a lovely little city.

 

[miklcct]

Yes - very much so. It's a lovely little city.

Thank you all for the above replies. I will go the cheap direct way to have a bus-train connection and allow extra time at Salisbury.

 

[Kite159]

Quite a few sideroads you will need to cross on the fast walk from the bus stop to the station, add in congestion caused by slow walkers (not always possible to go into the road to bypass them).