Transfer London to Harwich

[Pugdog007]

I read somewhere that there is a special cruise train from London to Harwich on days ships are leaving out of Harwich. Anyone know anything about this or know how to book this?

[c-to-sea]

It leaves London Liverpool Station at either 1200 or 1205 depending on the

day of the wee. There is more information and a link at

http://www.harwich.co.uk/News.htm

 

THe fare is the normal fare but the advantage is that is goes directly to

the cruise ship terminal and allows time for unloading baggage, etc.

[Pugdog007]

Thanks for the info. I can't figure out how to pre-order on that site. Do I need to make reservations or can you walk up on the day-of for tickets?

[sumguy1]

I have been contacting One Railway (the company who runs these trains) by phone and emails and they have no idea when those trains run !! What I am going to do, is book the trains on day of travel. If they were not available for whatever reason, will book the regular ones; they take 15 minutes longer that is all.

[c-to-sea]

Yes, the website is not all that user-friendly. Am having the same

issues with some other OK sites. However, here is the reply I did get

from Onerailway:

 

Thank you for your recent email.

I can confirm the current costs from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International are #24.30 for a Standard Open Return (valid for return within one calendar month) #21.80 for a Standard Open Single

The train carriages are the normal ones used on that particular route, the advantage of using the additional services is that it is a connectional train with Jewel of the Sea cruise ship.

I hope this is of use to you and you have a pleasant journey.

Yours sincerely,

 

We will be in London for several days pre-cruise and will probably make

our arrangements there. Also, we plan to take a taxi from our hotel

to Liverpool Streeet station as the tube is not luggage-friendly.

[eldercruser]

Three years ago, we simply walked on the train at Harwich and bought our tickets on board from the conductor on the way to London. He took Visa as well as cash (pounds of course). I have read that the train company prefers you to buy your tickets before departure when traveling from London to Harwich. You can do that the morning you depart. To the best of my knowledge there is reservation for this trip.

 

Looks like the ticket prices have gone up. The cost was between 17-18 pounds in 2003. Still a bargain for the service and when compared to the ship bus transfers ( which take about twice as long!)

[sumguy1]

c-to-sea

Did they say when these trips are scheduled?

[c-to-sea]

Here is the schedule. There is also a good map of the port on this website.

 

http://www.harwich.co.uk/News.htm

[traveljunky]

:) Thanks so much, c-to-sea, my e-mails to One Railway have gone unanswered. We are looking to go from Harwich to London which is posted on the Harwich International website for our date of July 28 with a departure of 9:20 but no fare and no mention of how to make reservations. They direct you to One Railway who does not appear to have any information on their web site about the cruise train. The fare stated in your e-mail of #21.80 or #24.30 is significantly less than the regular fares from Harwich to London. I was able to find those on the One Railway website and they were #41.80 and #43. Is your e-mail response recent or from a previous year? It seems strange that there should be such a big difference.

[Globaliser]

The fare stated in your e-mail of #21.80 or #24.30 is significantly less than the regular fares from Harwich to London.

It's about right. I've just tried pricing this on the official National Rail journey planner. It's showing me:-

£20.90 for a Standard Cheap Day Single

£21.50 for a Standard Open Single

£34.00 for a First Open Single

£25.00 for a Standard Saver Return

£39.00 for a Standard Open Return

£68.00 for a First Open Return

[farm girl]

My husband and I plan to be on the Cruise Train on 7/28 at 12:05. We are on the Rotterdam.

We will arrive in London on 7/25 so we will go to the train station and buy our tickets as soon as possible after we arrive. I want to get that done.

We are staying at the London Bridge Hotel, so we will take a taxi to the Liverpool station after reading about all the steps:mad: at Liverpool!

 

Does anyone know if we can drop off our luggage at the Rotterdam and then go walk around the port or can you store luggage at the station in Harwich before you get on the ship?

 

Thank you all for the information. This has been a great help;)

 

Sharon and David

Carrollton, Ga

[2ladies]

We came in at Harwich off the Jewel in May after our transatlantic. I did get a reply at the time that there wasn't a cruise train.

 

We eventually shared a limo, which was an excellent way of going to London.

 

However, try and avoid changing at Manningtree, as apparently there are NO luggage carts!!

 

Farmgirl - why on earth would you want to walk around this port? For security reasons, I am not sure you can anyway!!!

[Iceeni]

The Train Timetable for London Liverpool Street Railway Station to Harwich International can be found here:-

 

http://www.onerailway.com/timetable/timetables/downloads/june_10_2006/11-harwich-town-to-london.pdf

 

It was last updated on June 11 this year so it's pretty current.

 

It's worth noting that there is no longer a special 'Cruise Train'. All trains from London Liverpool Street to Harwich stop at Harwich International.

 

You'll need to buy your ticket at Liverpool Street before you can get on the train, otherwise you'll not be able to get through the barriers.

 

Leaving from Harwich International to London Liverpool Street is a bit easier. If you don't have time to buy a ticket at the station you can get one on the train.

 

These trains usually go through to Harwich International without the need for changing, however you should double check that you'll not need to change at Manningtree Station as it can be awkward moving from one platform to another (lots of steps). Speaking from experience (I live in Harwich) I can't remember the last time I had to change at Manningtree.

[eldercruser]

Thank you very much for the info. It is very helpful.

 

Since you live in Harwich, do you have any recommendations for a nice local inn or hotel if we arrived in Harwich a day or two early?

[Globaliser]

Since you live in Harwich, do you have any recommendations for a nice local inn or hotel if we arrived in Harwich a day or two early?

Sorry to butt in on this, but you might want to have a look at the Pier, which usually gets favourable reactions.

[Iceeni]

Globaliser is quite right when he mentions The Pier, probably the nicest Restaurant/Hotel in Harwich. It's right on the the Quay so there will be some rooms with a very nice view over the estuary to Suffolk. On the other hand some rooms will have a view across the water to Felixstowe Container Terminal which is one of the biggest in Europe.

 

Other Hotels in the area are the Cliff Hotel (http://www.thecliffhotelharwich.com/) and the Tower Hotel (http://www.tower-hotel-harwich.co.uk/), both of which are in Dovercourt (Dovercourt and Harwich are more or less the same place although some locals would disagree). There's also a Travelodge within sight of the Cruise Ship Terminal.

 

The Tower Hotel is probably better than the Cliff Hotel (I've stayed in both). There are quite a few first rate hotels in the area if you venture out of Harwich, it really depends on what you're looking for.

[eldercruser]

Thanks to both of you for the info. I had seen some info on The Pier, but is good to have a first hand recommendation. We will look into it.

[farm girl]

2ladies, thank you for the informaiton. All the web sites for Harwich talk about how pretty the port is so I did not want to miss anything. I think we will go to the ship and enjoy the port from there if it is not as pretty and safe as described. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Also, One Railway does have a web site that shows the "Cruise Train" is running on the days the cruise ships are in. It says the train leaves Liverpool 7/28 at 12:05 to Harwich Port. I will check that out as soon as I get to London (3 days before departure). It for some reason they are not running the cruise train, we will take the regular train and spend more time in London that day! My husband and I love London.

 

Thank you all for the information

Sharon and David

[Globaliser]

Also, One Railway does have a web site that shows the "Cruise Train" is running on the days the cruise ships are in. It says the train leaves Liverpool 7/28 at 12:05 to Harwich Port.

Have you got a link (URL) to this page, please? I've not been able to find it, and it would be really useful for everyone else who's interested in the special cruise train.

 

Thanks!

[c-to-sea]

Globalizer

The info is actually on the Harwich International Port site.

 

http://www.harwich.co.uk/News.htm

 

I obtained the times and prices by e-mail from onerailway after some

waiting. There is not a great time saving with the special trains but

I believe they allow a bit more time on arrival at the port to unload

baggage.

 

Will know in a few weeks if it is a worthwhile service or not.

[farm girl]

c-to-sea is correct. It is on www.harwich.co.uk.

 

Good luck to all of us that plan on using these trains.

 

Sharon

[Brucemcdou]

We're planning to use the boat train to get from London to Harwich International to board the Jewel of the Seas on August 30th. Thank you to everyone who has posted such useful information about this!

 

This is for Iceeni, since you live in Harwich and probably have first-hand experience. What is the differences between Coach and First-class seats and carriages for the short ride from London Liverpool to Harwich International? The One website doesn't provide any description which I find a little amazing. We would choose it anyway as First class is normally less crowded so more room for our big cruise luggage. On European trains I'm used to First class seats being more spacious 2-1 seating instead of the 2-2 seating in coach. Is that true for these trains? Anything else? Is there an on-board steward/ess serving included refreshments or meals during meal time? Again, I'm just basing it on my experience on long-haul European trains, but these are such short trips. Plus, it would save us some moments in the station to pick up a lunch to bring on the train if there is an included meal.

 

Again, thanks to everyone for all the useful posts!

[Globaliser]

On European trains I'm used to First class seats being more spacious 2-1 seating instead of the 2-2 seating in coach. Is that true for these trains? Anything else? Is there an on-board steward/ess serving included refreshments or meals during meal time? Again, I'm just basing it on my experience on long-haul European trains, but these are such short trips. Plus, it would save us some moments in the station to pick up a lunch to bring on the train if there is an included meal.

The London-Harwich train should be broadly the same in terms of seating. I suspect that the reason why there's no description on the website is that the seating arrangements are so standard across the entire national network.

 

For the normal scheduled trains, the timetable ought to say whether there are catering facilities on board, and if so whether there's a trolley service that brings refreshments to your seat or whether you have to go to a buffet car to get it. However, I wouldn't necessarily expect anything to be included in a first class fare; at most, I'd only expect tea/coffee/soft drinks to be included.

 

I don't know, however, whether the special cruise ship trains are any different.

[Iceeni]

Well First Class Rail Travel isn't what it once was. I'm not too sure about the Cruise Train (as you can see from above I was wrong when I thought it had stopped) but First Class Accommodation on One Railway usually consists of a seperate compartment at the front of certain carriages. I'm afraid that all you get is the seat which is somewhat more private than the rest of the carriage (sliding door separates you from the rest of the travelling public) and the seats certainly look more comfortable.

 

In my experience it's generally One Railway employees who tend to use First Class :) .

 

There's no buffet service on board these days; there used to be refreshments served but alas those days are gone. I'd suggest you stock up at Liverpool Street Station. It's only a short journey (1hr 30 to 1hr 45) - the nicest part is when you leave Manningtree and head towards Harwich on the Mayflower Line (named for Christopher Jones, Master of the Mayflower who's house is still perfectly preserved in Harwich). After leaving Mistley the line runs closer and closer to the River Blackwater and there are some lovely views across the Estuary towards Suffolk. Make sure you sit on the left hand side when leaving Liverpool Street, this will give you the best views.

 

Getting back to your specific question, seating in First Class tends to be 2-2 with only 8 seats per compartment. Depending on the time of day the train will either be ridiculously full (rush hour) or fairly empty. First Class is never full. The rest of the train is quite comfortable but is open plan without any tables. Trains are modern (about 3 years old) and have air conditioning. On a day like today when it's 32 centigrade in London and 30 down in Harwich (very unusual), you'll be glad of it.

[2ladies]

When we arrived in May off the transatlantic on the Jewel of the Seas, there wasn't a boat train. I received conflicting info from the Train Company.

 

From what I gather, it doesn't really matter anyway. As long as you don't have to change at Manningtree!!!

 

And don't bother paying for first-class - it isn't!!!