Hi - slightly OT topic for this forum, however, appreciate the help.Is there any effective way to find out whether rail station is a "stop" for fast train or not. I can go to nationalrail.co.uk and type station name and look for calling points, but I would like to know a more effective way of finding it out ?Thanks.

Ah, I see you're doing the same thing I am. Well, the answer is "yes". You have to download the mainline maps for the south east. And the answer to your next question is Milton Keynes, Reading, High Wycombe and Maidstone. But, I cannot provide an answer to your third question, which is "but all those areas are grim so where else should I consider living". If you find an answer to that one, or if you have any thoughts on it, please let me know. Becuase that's the one I'm stuck on, too.

Anon-what's the station and we can probably let you know? Also think where it goes into in London-if you are Banking focussed you don't want a train into Paddington for example as it will take you another 45 mins to get to the City.

Check out the National Rail network map. I won't tell you the fast train routes but you can figure it out roughly based on how far the place is from central London vs. how many stops are en route.Mark's right, Paddington will easily add 45 - 1hr to your journey. So this rules out Maidenhead and Reading.MK is slightly better - gets you into Euston, so just under 30 mins into the City.Woking, Guildford and SW Surrey areas get you into Waterloo, so under 30 mins into the City.I think anywhere that gets you into Kings Cross is your best bet for time/ease it takes to get to the City. So places like High Barnet, and oher surrounding areas, and Luton, Bedford and that sort of area.

Oops terrible typos this morning!!I meant the National Rail map won't tell you which is a fast train route. I'd tell you if I knew ;-)Peace :)

Try Brighton

Google "Live Departure Boards"You can enter a station name and it'll give you the train arrival/ departure times. You can then see journey times to/ from all/ specified destinations.

for the City. Liverpool St is your station - fast trains in from the likes of Colchester, any closer and you're in TOWIE land

Redhill - London Bridge = 30 minutes - walk into the city or get DLR across to Canary wharf (15 minutes)Redhill - London Victoria = 30 minutes (Westminster = 20 minute walk, 10 minutes by bus)

I hear St Albans is a decent commuter town as well. But to Dave's point, the only decent commute is the one not taken - I now work from home 2 days a week and it is glorious.

Colchester is still a trek into Liv St. You can go closer into London without hitting TOWIE-ville. The commute from Chelmsford is 34 minutes into Liv St and Shenfield is 25 minutes. Some lovely Essex villages within 5-10 minutes drive of either station. Just remember to stay north of the A12.

I live in Watford (unglamarous I know!) but have commuted into London for over 8 years now. Fast services are good but expensive .... yet with a walk from home to the station the City can be a pain at slightly over an at 1 hour's commute.

key factor for me is Intercity type trains versus local cattle trucks - I'd rather sacrifice a bit of time for comfort...

This might sound daft but GENERALLY larger towns and/or major junctions will be stops. “fast” trains are often not fast but are simply the name given to trains that don’t stop everywhere. For trains that actually are fast you need at least 4 railway tracks (ie two for stopping trains and two for fast trains to pass them.This is why it is quicker to get to Winchester that Ascot (he said bitterly)Your post is frustrating as it doesn’t explain why you need the info which would help the answer.

Sometimes it pays to be a geek. When I was faced with returning to a life of the London commute having lived “oop North”, I took a scientific approach.First my wife and marked the houses of our closest half dozen friends and family on a map of the South East.Then I marked a one hour driving circle around them.Then in the areas where there was a decent overlap of friends inside an hour’s drive I marked out the route (mainline and tube as required) into the City proper – not just to London terminus.Then I marked the 60 and 75 minute commute limits on each of those routes.Then I marked all the main towns inside 75 minutes.Then I marked all the villages within five miles of the 60 minute limit – to allow for a short drive to the nearest main station.The I took about two hours to check out the ACORN classifications on nethouseprices.com and took the dodgy ones off the list e.g. Three Bridges!Then I compared the average detached house process on rightmove.com for affordabilityThen I gave the list of villages to my missus and said – “you choose, we can spend up to £X”She chose a fantastic place – bit of a compromise in that it is not a very pretty town, but its 70-80 minutes door to door to the city AND docklands, has half a dozen restaurants (plus the mandatory 20 chinese and Indian takeaways) – decent pubs, schools and leisure facilities, low crime, 45 minutes from the seaside, 15 minutes from a national park has relatively affordable housing.

The obvious question is where is this mystical place. As a 1st guess I am assuming Crawley or Redhill?

can't be Midsommer, as they wouldn't have all the Chinese and Indian takeaways....

...and the crime rate in Midsomer is frankly appaling

Try Guildford (45 mins to Waterloo) and Petersfield (1 hour to Waterloo), both on the same fast (i.e. few stops) line out of London. Lovely towns, great schools and rolling countryside surrounds them. Also good road access to Heathrow and Gatwick for those Monday morning red-eye flights!!