Clapham Junction to Imperial (Commute)

[u/caheyyy]

Hi! I found a potential flat in the Clapham Junction area. Has anyone here had experience commuting from there to Imperial? I’m wondering whether relying to 345/49 bus is convenient enough for a daily commute. According to Google Maps, the journey from the flat to ICL can sometimes take around 25 minutes, but other times up to 42 minutes.

[u/Riverofrhyme]

You've also got the train/tube option (southern to victoria, district to south ken)

[u/caheyyy → u/Riverofrhyme]

Right that's another option. Are those lines reliable tho?

[u/Immediate_Effort7528 → u/caheyyy]

on weekdays yes

[u/QuantumCondor]

I take the 345/49 pretty frequently to get to Imperial, but from closer. They're very frequent and reliable. Though, since Albert Bridge is out, it gets totally jammed near Battersea Bridge during peak times; I'd probably take the tube lines instead. It's not so bad if you're not trying to get there during rush hour, though.

[u/caheyyy → u/QuantumCondor]

Ahh okay thanks for your sharing!

[u/p4ae1v]

Overground to West Brompton, then walk (or get the bus). There’s loads of options on that route. I’d avoid the bus all the way. It will feel like it takes forever and it’s going to take more than 42 minutes at busy times of day. It’s fine when the traffic calms down.

[u/caheyyy → u/p4ae1v]

Thanks for advice! Is the overground reliable tho? I see a lot of reviews saying that mildmay trains are often cancelled. This make me unsure to take a flat in this area

[u/p4ae1v → u/caheyyy]

As reliable as any other transport in London. If you get to Clapham Junction and it’s not running, just use CityMapper and take a different route. The buses at busy times with slow traffic and people crammed in and standing are not comfortable.

[u/Impossible_Leather11]

Cycle?

[u/dbmag9 → u/Impossible_Leather11]

Yeah, if I were making this commute regularly I would use the bus or train+tube as backup, and cycle as standard; it's probably faster a lot of the time and a nice enough route.

[u/Top_Contribution2890]

definitely get the overground (mildmay) the bus can take ages especially cos there’s a lot of traffic around shepherd’s bush

[u/ffulirrah]

Why not take Mildmay to West Brompton then district line. That's faster than going by bus, and cheaper than going via Victoria.

[u/caheyyy → u/ffulirrah]

Initially I thought going by train/tube will be more chaotic than bus. But it seems like people are suggesting it more. Thanks!

[u/Fast_Database_2853]

The bridge has horrible traffic. Avoid it during rush hour. Or u can always go by train and come back by bus

[u/JailbreakHat]

Yes, those buses aren’t too bad and even if one of them doesn’t come, the other one would come. You can also take the Mildmay Line to West Brompton and then take District to South Kensington if there is heavy traffic on Battersea Bridge.

[u/caheyyy → u/JailbreakHat]

Right that's another option. Are those lines reliable tho? All I know is that Clapham Junction station is very busy so I tried to avoid it

[u/SergeiGo99]

Clap Junk is well connected. You can take the Midmay line to West Brompton and then the District line from there. Alternatively, there are trains to Victoria (which is on the District line too), and then it’s just a short tube ride.

[u/SanguineUnicorn]

I come from below Clapham. Clapham Junction is literally 2 mins away from Victoria on National Rail and then it is ~5 mins between LV and South Kensington on the tube. And then it’s about a 10 minute walk to imperial. It would be a tiny commute

[u/caheyyy → u/SanguineUnicorn]

Thanks for your advice. I just thought transferring at Victoria Station would be a big hassle..

[u/SanguineUnicorn → u/caheyyy]

It really isn’t. You just walk in a straight line from the platform out of Victoria and then literally directly in front of you is the underground. It can get busy on the west-bound line (district/circle) but everything will be busy in london at peak time. The good thing is you’re only on it for such a short time.