In message ,
at 12:57:38 on Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Tom Anderson
remarked:
On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Roland Perry wrote:

As catching an E* is clearly some kind of ceremony (involving officials,
handing over passports and tickets etc), can we draw a veil over the
earlier red herrings and go back to wondering things like "would a
resident of Thurrock really get a local train [1] all the way to
Stratford, rather than hopping across the river to Ebbsfleet"?

No.

The reason we can't is because it's obvious - it would be madness to take
the train if the car is faster.

The argument we were having before all this county business blew up was
really a failure to agree on what 'Essex' means: you think of it as the
bit where you live (i'm guessing), and i think of it as the bit where i
grew up - let's call them Inner and Outer Essex.

I spent a long time in Essex, but live elsewhere now. I grew up with
Romford and Ilford as "genuine" bits of Essex, but these days I think
that psychologically most people regard inside the M25 as "London".

Meanwhile, there's not much population north of the A12, and past Witham
it's more realistic that a train would be faster than a car.

Which leaves the area I was talking about originally.

you seem to think Kent would be a better option from Chelmsford, but i
think the existence of fast trains means London would be competitive.

Yes, it's borderline, but there are two other factors: most Chelmsford
people live in big estates around the edge of town - getting to the
station is a pain, and there's no long term parking at all. And it's a
very car-orientated place, so people are likely to head for the A12 as a
reflex action.

I'm also not sure about the Harlow area; presumably,
the good connections to Liverpool Street, and the impending West Anglia
services direct to Stratford, would put it in the London basin.

But again, the station isn't the most accessible one in the world, and
the M25 beckons for getting to Kent.
--
Roland Perry