We’ve crunched the data to help you swerve the worst of the delays
There are few things more frustrating than finding yourself stuck in a train station on a cold winter’s evening, delayed by the déjà vu inducing announcement of a ‘fault with the signalling system’.
To help you avoid this, The Kingston Courier has compiled data from the last 100 days on all the return journeys from Surbiton and Kingston to Wimbledon, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo using Recent Train Times, so you know which trains to avoid and when to expect delays.
If you’re heading into London from Surbiton, watch out for the 17:46.
The 17:46 was over five minutes late 60 per cent of the time and arrived eight and a half minutes late on average. Be very wary about using it for changeovers, as you’re likely to find yourself stuck in no-man’s-land.
The next train to watch out for is the 17:16, which was six and a half minutes late on average, and the 17:11 which was five minutes late on average.
In the morning, be wary of the 07:52 train, which is over five minutes late a quarter of the time, and the 8:57 train which is late almost 30 per cent of the time.
The graph above shows the likelihood of trains from Surbiton to Clapham arriving less than 5 minutes late throughout the day. Punctuality dips in the evening rush hour, with its lowest point around the 17:46 train.
You can count on services heading into Surbiton from inner London.
Trains headed to Surbiton from Clapham Junction and London Waterloo are consistently reliable, with 98 per cent of trains getting into Surbiton within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time.
One outlier worth looking out for is the 18:19 direct train from Clapham Junction to Surbiton, which is more than five minutes late 60 per cent of the time, and seven minutes late on average.
However, there are trains from Clapham to Surbiton roughly every six minutes, so you have plenty of alternatives open to you.
Trains from Surbiton to Wimbledon are especially inconsistent during evening rush hour.
Again, the 17:46 was the worst culprit, arriving more than five minutes late over 60 per cent of the time.
The 17:11 and 18:27 are also risky if you’re changing at Wimbledon running over five minutes late around a third of the time.
Services from 07:00-09:00 arrived on time on 95 per cent of occasions, but between 6pm and 8pm, that figure drops to only 78 per cent, meaning evening commuters are four times as likely to face delays.
The graph above shows how likely it is for trains from Surbiton to Wimbledon to arrive on time on a regular basis. While a few trains are often late, most are reliable, with the average service arriving on time on 86 per cent of journeys.
If you’re heading to Surbiton from Wimbledon, aim to get there before 6pm.
Between 17:49 and 18:52, trains from Wimbledon to Surbiton were at their least reliable, with the 18:36 train arriving on time on only 56 per cent of occasions, and the 18:06 not doing much better at 62 per cent
In the morning, the 09:07 from Wimbledon is likely to cause delays, running over five minutes late on 30 per cent of journeys.
Trains from Kingston towards London Waterloo are more reliable than from Surbiton.
The average train from Kingston to London Waterloo arrives within five minutes of schedule 89 per cent of the time, compared to Surbiton’s 85 per cent.
The graph above shows there are also fewer highly inconsistent services – the trains to watch out for being the 19:34 which is delayed 40 per cent of the time
Return journeys from London Waterloo to Kingston, however, were less reliable than trains to Surbiton.
Services were most inconsistent between 17:27 and 18:27, where trains have a one-in-three chance of arriving five minutes late or more.
The worst performing train of the day is the 18:27, which was delayed by more than five minutes on almost 40 per cent of journeys.
This contrasts with trains entering Surbiton, which were reliable throughout the day.
Services from Kingston to Wimbledon, again, performed worse in the evening.
The worst performing train is the 19:34 which was seven minutes late on average.
The 18:34 has a 39 per cent chance of arriving late, and trains around rush hour have around a one-in-four chance of getting delayed.
If you’re travelling from Wimbledon to Kingston in the evening, strive to get the 17:28 train or risk being hit with a block of delays.
The four trains that follow arrived late around 35 per cent of the time and a cold and dull hour on Platform 8 of Wimbledon Station is best avoided.
