Southampton to Waterloo vs Southampton to Victoria

[Steve4031]

I will be arriving on the QM2 on Friday, July 14. I did a ticket inquiry and noticed that there were choices for a 1-hour 20-minute trip to Waterloo or an approximately 2-hour trip to Victoria station. What is the equipment is operated on these trains? Is one route better than the other? Once we get to London we would take a taxi to the hotel.


Thank you.

 

[zwk500]

The train to Waterloo will be operated with Class 444 or 450 Desiro EMUs by South West Trains and takes the fastest route to London via Winchester and Woking, the train to Victoria will be operated by class 377 or similar Electrostar EMUs by Southern, a brand of GTR, and is routed along the coast initially via Chichester before following the Arun Valley line via Horsham to Three Bridges where it joins the Brighton Main Line via East Croydon and Clapham Junction to Victoria.

The Southern train is usually cheaper if you buy the tickets specific for their train. I'm not sure how big the difference is. It may be worth factoring in what the taxi fare difference would be from Victoria or Waterloo, although they're not that far apart.

 

[Tubeboy]

444s into Waterloo. 377s into Victoria. Unless you’re desperate to do the track, Waterloo is far more quicker and convenient.

 

[Class800]

Waterloo is the principal rail route from Southampton

 

[PGAT]

This video may be of good use to you:

 

[Meglos]

Southern via the Arun Valley line is possibly a slightly more scenic route than the SWR service on the Portsmouth direct line. However others may disagree.

To be honest I would consider where your hotel is is relation to Victoria/Waterloo, as the saving in taxi fares might swing the decision.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Cheapest walk up ticket will probably be the (Southern-priced) Super Off Peak Single, route via Three Bridges, priced at £22.40.

Presume after passing through Three Bridges, the OP could then travel on to any convenient London Terminal on the South side, not necessarily just London Victoria or London Waterloo.

 

[KeithP]

Southern via the Arun Valley line is possibly a slightly more scenic route than the SWR service on the Portsmouth direct line. However others may disagree.

I don't think the OP was considering the Portsmouth Direct route.
That would require a change at Havant.

 

[Steve4031]

I appreciate the responses. We will have at least two rollaboards each for the two of us. One or two of those Rollaboards will be large enough not to fit in those luggage racks shown in the video. I suspect the trains into Waterloo are similar. We might be in a situation where we have to place luggage on the seats to avoid having them roll around.

I don't want to be the ugly American and take up more seats than I am entitled to. At the same time, if the train is not crowded I am thinking we are ok. If the Waterloo service is crowded then we might need to stick to the original plan of using a private car service to avoid problems with the trains. Regardless, I do not want to be a bother to the other passengers on the train.

Thank you in advance for your advice. We would definitely focus on trains running outside of rush hour.

 

[endecotp]

The SWR trains have amazingly little luggage space. I have had to stand in the vestibule when travelling with Christmas presents for my nephews.

As you say, you can expect to be able to put bags in seats on quiet trains.

 

[NSE]

The Southern route is generally quieter but has less carriages so the four operating it could fill up quicker. More carriages get attached at Horsham so that does help. The Southern one will fill up at Gatwick as that’s always busy.

One perk of the Southern one is you can get on as it starts its journey giving you prime placement to get everything sorted in the luggage racks. Equally, the bike area by the disabled bog is quite spacious so you may be able to fit things in there.

But like others, I’d take into account where your eventual destination is cause Taxis ain’t cheap.

 

[themeone]

The Southern service is nearly always cheaper but unless you're desperate to save money, or have some other specific reason for using it I wouldn't. It's slow and tedious and doesn't have a great record for punctuality or cancellations.

 

[DelW]

The "natural" route from Southampton to London is the South-Western service to Waterloo. Not many people would consider the Southern option to Victoria - that's really two local routes from west Sussex, one to London and the other to Southampton, joined end to end.

SWR trains will be class 444 or class 450 - the 444s are preferable, with 2+2 seating in standard class, where 450s have 3+2 (both are now 2+2 in first). 444s also have the external doors in separate end vestibules, meaning they're quieter and less draughty. Unfortunately it's not always easy to find out which will work any specific service much in advance.

The train to Waterloo will be operated with Class 444 or 450 Desiro EMUs by South West Trains and takes the fastest route to London via Winchester and Woking,

Ahem, South Western Railway please

 

[zwk500]

Ahem, South Western Railway please

Showing my age!

 

[alistairlees]

Your Rollaboards should fit in the luggage racks on the trains from Southampton to Waterloo - see this image (it's of 1st class, but the same luggage racks are in standard class). Obviously depends on exact size!

File:Class 450 Refurbished First Class Interior.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org

 

[Techniquest]

If I was doing that journey, I would 100% be on SWR. No its, no buts, no coconuts. I like 377s, so nothing against that, but as others have said it's slow and tedious. Far better to go the fast route via Winchester!

Curious though, why the taxi to the hotel? I can appreciate having large luggage will make things awkward on the Underground, but taking a taxi seems incredibly wasteful in a city with an excellent network of trains, trams and buses.