Yesterday morning I took the 7.14 train from Chandler’s Ford to London Waterloo. The return ticket (including London Underground all zones) cost £90.
Ideally I should have taken the 6.06 train, but I wasn’t feeling safe to get to the station so early by myself. Recently I’ve heard of news about people being mugged in Eastleigh and Chandler’s Ford, so was a bit more concerned. I considered driving to the station, buying tickets from the machine near the platform, but …. what if someone jumped out from nowhere and I was on my own? I also considered driving to Southampton Airport Parkway but parking would have cost £15 per day.

I’ve taken the 7.14 train many times from Chandler’s Ford before so I knew that the ticket office would likely to be open, and there would be more people around. I wanted to feel safe. When I bought the ticket at the counter, I was reminded that I COULD NOT return via Southampton Airport Parkway, as the permitted route was via Eastleigh only. However in the past I wasn’t aware of this restriction (and many people probably are not aware of the restriction either) and had sometimes taken the Southampton Airport Parkway route. Now I know that we have to pay extra via the airport if we travel from Chandler’s Ford.
I used to live in London more than 20 years ago. But now, visiting London I feel like a tourist. In 2014 I made a trip to London Belgrave Square and I wrote about my experience of visiting the Malaysia High Commission.

I should have renewed my passport a few months ago – but unfortunately I didn’t have my passport with me then. The Home Office had got all my legal documents in the past few months, as I applied for a Biometric Residence Permit. As a foreign national with permission to settle (‘indefinite leave to remain’) we are now required to have a residence permit.
After spending closer to £300 in the application process and a few months’ wait, I have finally successfully obtained such permit. I am happy. I have followed the Home Office’s rules accordingly. I now have a residence permit. I have a reference number. This is a different immigration matter and I may talk about it in a separate post in the future (if anyone is interested. Would you let me know if you want to know more of this?).
My passport renewal fee was a moderate £41. There was no queue and there was only a handful of people there. My application took only about 10 minutes, and I had a few hours to spare before collecting my new passport at 3pm.

For many years you could enjoy traditional home made food at the High Commission. The food was authentic and inexpensive. However the food stall (like a little canteen) has now gone. Where else could I find proper, authentic Malaysian food from now? I feel lost.
I explored Belgrave Square a bit – someone seemed to be shouting about releasing Julian Assange and there seemed to be some tents around. Perhaps these people are his ardent supporters?
With the help of the sat nav on my new phone, I walked a short distance to Harrods. Now I felt like a true tourist. I took a silly selfie with the guard in his smart green uniform. There were a lot of tourists, and in particular, a long line of Chinese tourists queueing to pay for their LV bags.

Back to the High Commission, I collected my passport at 3pm. On the way home, I read the tragic news that a man was stabbed to death on a London Waterloo-bound South Western train yesterday afternoon. My husband texted me with worry.
At Waterloo station, I resisted the temptation of getting on the ‘wrong’ train via Southampton Airport Parkway. I remembered the warning I had received in the morning – “You can’t take any route; you can only take any route PERMITTED”. As a decent citizen, I waited for a later train for Eastleigh and Portsmouth Harbour instead.
When the train finally arrived at Eastleigh I was totally exhausted, so I popped over to see Chippy Minton and his family for a cup of tea. Do you still remember Chippy writing about his home-baking – making the Christmas Cake? Ladies and gentlemen, I was so lucky. I had a slice of Chippy’s home-made Christmas Cake. It’s so sumptuous! The decoration is also top class!

This was just what I really needed after my grand trip to London.
I’m sorry you feel nervous about travelling to London Janet. It really is no different from travelling anywhere else. Things occasionally happen but the likelihood of being involved in an “incident” is very remote.
Parking at Parkway is very expensive but has the advantage that one can catch a faster train so leave later and possibly get into the reduced fare zone.
Wait until you get older and the Senior Railcard reduces fares. Something to look forward to!
Hi Mary,
I’m fine travelling to London and I do like London. I’m more nervous being at an empty train station – I’m not sure how quiet the Chandler’s Ford station is before 6am in winter, and the thought of being alone (potentially) at the station before 6am did worry me.
My railcard has recently expired – even if it was still valid, it couldn’t be used during peak time, and the single fare to London would be around £45, though I could have saved a little on a single ticket back, but I don’t think it would have made a lot of difference with or without a rail card for the purpose of my trip.
I do look forward to being a ‘senior’. I’ve seen local pubs advertising special lunch deal for senior citizens and I feel they are so lucky! (plus free bus pass as well!)
Full fares are really expensive aren’t they and I do understand about waiting on a platform on one’s own. I didn’t know about “not via Parkway” and once, catching a train from CF to London, I caught the train back to Parkway. It was delayed and I missed the CF connection. Parkway was completely shut up and I was alone on the platform. I felt very uncomfortable and hopped on the next train which stopped at Eastleigh and waited for the CF train there.
Mary,
Now there is a BIG notice about ‘not via Parkway’ being pinned on the glass at the counter. I bet they want to warn people – as most people are not aware of the restriction.
P.S. That cake looks scrummy!
Good morning Janet
So glad you have returned safe and sound. Like you I am now reluctant to travel to London on my own by train – would love to go and see HMS Belfast as I did the very last commission on her before she was paid off – and thankfully saved from the scrapyard. The older I get the more reluctant I am to go. Happy New Year !!
Hi Roger,
I do like London, as still travel there occasionally. I’m sure you’ll find some interesting places in London to visit. It’s the travelling itself that is the problem. A while back there were many cancellations due to strke so it was impossible to go.
Commiserations regarding the train journey. My wife works in London and does the journey four times each week, usually taking the later train, around 9 am but once a fortnight the early one just after 7am from Eastleigh, arriving home at 8pm. Cancellations and late trains can be a source of annoyance. She is a Londoner and is wary of violence there. My son is a student dividing his time between Paris and London, but he travels late using the cheaper rates. Eastleigh can be scary with some nasty attacks lately.
Interesting that Southampton Parkway is not a valid route. I’ve just tried some train jouney planning on the South Western Trains website. From Winchester to Chandler’s Ford on a weekday morning, for example, it lists 0919 and 1019 changing at Eastleigh but also 0926 and 1033 changing at Southampton Parkway. However, when I click “buy tickets” the 0926 and 1033 trains are no longer shown.
Looking for trains from Waterloo to Chandler’s Ford shows only changing at Eastleigh. Whether this is because Parkway isn’t a valid route to London, or because the train timings means that this is a slower route, I don’t know.
If you have a ticket to travel from Waterloo to Southampton, how can there be a wrong train? Who cares, and who should care if you decide to alight before reaching Southampton? Perhaps some railway buff should explain. It seems that the rail company is not putting its paying customers first.
Loved the selfies, very cute
Sorry your residence permit cost so much. Rather re-inforces a comment I made in an earlier post.
Mike,
1) My understanding is – if you buy rail tickets from Chandler’s Ford to London Waterloo, the permitted route (returning) is via Eastleigh only.
Waterloo – Eastleigh, and change for Chandler’s Ford
2) if you buy rail tickets from Chandler’s Ford to London Waterloo, you CANNOT do this –
Waterloo – Southampton Airport Parkway, and change for Chandler’s Ford.
You can only do this if you pay extra to cover the journey from Eastleigh to Southampton Airport Parkway.
3) I’m now practising my ‘selfie’ skill as I can see taking selfie is now an important life skill – I’m amazed at the automatic beauty features (or whatever they call it), basically all wrinkles and marks on the face suddenly disappear, and skin tone changes as well …
4) Residence Permit – The application fee is £229, plus some other expenses (postage; Post Office charges for the biometrics to be taken at £19.20…). My local friend is applying for Indefinite Leave, and it has cost about £7,000 for her and her dependent.
My application has gone well luckily – I don’t mind going through the immigration process and getting my status / paper 100% correct, as in every country I’ve lived in, I have to deal with all sorts of rules and paperwork. Dealing with the Home Office certainly requires resilience.
Way back when, tickets were calculated purely on mileage. This could be the cause of the difference between C/F-Eastleigh-Waterloo and C/F-Eastleigh(non-stop)-Southampton Airport-Eastleigh(non-stop)-Waterloo. It’s an extra three miles. 🙂
It could also be (and this is pure speculation, with no evidence to support it) that Southampton Parkway used be a minor station, little more than a halt (I think it was called Eastleigh Airport). When it was upgraded to Parkway status, more trains stopped there rather than at Eastleigh. To compensate for the fewer trains at Eastleigh, “via Southampton Parkway” was added to the list of valid routes. However, because Chandler’s Ford station did not exist in those days, a similar waiver does not apply.
Here is the official version:
“The validity of tickets from Chandler’s Ford to London has remained unchanged since the station opened in 2003, although journey opportunities (e.g. 2004 timetable recast) may have offered more favourable journey times via Southampton Airport.
The national Routeing Guide (http://data.atoc.org/routeing-guide) determines which routes a customer can take between two stations, taking into account the route on the ticket and the fare paid. The Routeing Guide is incorporated into online journey planners which generally offer the quickest itinerary between the origin and destination stations. As you’re aware, the quickest journey from Chandler’s Ford to London is by changing at Southampton Airport, but fares are only valid when changing at Eastleigh.
In general, a fare from the origin station to destination station is valid via Station A (or B or C, etc), if the fare from Station A (or B or C, etc) to the destination station is cheaper the fare from the origin to destination stations. Additionally, you can’t pass through the same station twice (known as doubling-back) unless it’s permitted in the Routeing Guide.
For example:
Romsey to Waterloo:
• Is valid via Salisbury, as Salisbury to Waterloo (£82.50) is cheaper than Romsey to Waterloo (£87.50)
• Is valid via Southampton Central, as Southampton Central to Waterloo (£84.60) is cheaper than Romsey to Waterloo (£87.50)
But,
Chandler’s Ford to Waterloo:
• Is valid via Eastleigh, as Eastleigh to Waterloo (£74.10) is cheaper than Chandlers Ford to Waterloo (£81.40)
• Is not valid via Southampton Airport, as Southampton Airport to Waterloo (£84.60) is more expensive than Chandlers Ford to Waterloo (£81.40)
If a customer wishes to travel via Southampton Airport, they will need to buy two additional return ticket between Eastleigh and Southampton Airport – one for their outward journey and another for their return journey (to cover where their Chandler’s Ford – Waterloo ticket is not valid).”
We don’t accept this and are trying to find a solution to this administratively restrictive pricing guide.
We shall see how we go.
Regards
Mark
Mark Miller
Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership Officer
http://www.threeriversrail.com
http://www.facebook.com/threeriversrail
http://www.twitter.com/threeriversrail
I’ve just checked National Rail Enquiries and it is showing that Waterloo to Eastleigh via Southampton Parkway is more expensive than direct to Eastleigh, so this does concur with the official response that Mark has been given. The site also notes that “an additional ticket is required” for the journey via Parkway.
This may be new, or it may be that those times I’ve gone to Parkway and back to Eastleigh, I shouldn’t have.