English course · Unit 30

Getting There

Train timetables · Present simple · Questions · Travel conversations

How to use this unit

In this unit, you will use two sample railway timetables to plan a journey from Brighton to Redhill. Read the documents carefully before answering. The timetables are fictional and have been created for English practice; they are not real travel information.

Timetables often use the present simple: The train leaves Brighton at 10.02. We also use the present simple in questions: What time does it leave?

In real conversation, What time will it arrive? is also a natural question about a future arrival. Where a task asks for information rather than a particular verb form, the checker accepts natural alternatives.

Answering: Some questions ask for a short piece of information; others ask for a complete sentence. Follow the instruction for each question. Show answers provides complete model answers.

Step 1

Timetable 1: Brighton to London Victoria

Monday to Friday · All trains call at every station shown.

Timetable 1 — Brighton to London Victoria
Brighton	Haywards Heath	Gatwick Airport	East Croydon	London Victoria
09.02	09.17	09.35	09.51	10.12
09.32	09.47	10.05	10.21	10.42
10.02	10.17	10.35	10.51	11.12
10.32	10.47	11.05	11.21	11.42
11.02	11.17	11.35	11.51	12.12

Answer the questions using the timetable. You may give just the time where the question asks for a time.

1. What time does the first train leave Brighton?

Enter the time.

2. When does the 10.02 train arrive at Gatwick Airport?

Enter the time.

3. Which train arrives at London Victoria at 10.42?

Write a short answer.

4. How long does the journey from Brighton to London Victoria take on the 10.02 train?

Enter the duration or a complete sentence.

5. How often do the trains leave Brighton in this timetable?

Write a short answer or a complete sentence.

Complete model answers

The first train leaves Brighton at 09.02.
The 10.02 train arrives at Gatwick Airport at 10.35.
The 09.32 train arrives at London Victoria at 10.42.
The journey from Brighton to London Victoria takes 70 minutes.
The trains leave Brighton every 30 minutes in this timetable.

Step 2

Timetable 2: Horsham to Redhill

Monday to Friday · This fictional service runs from Horsham through Gatwick Airport to Redhill.

Timetable 2 — Horsham to Redhill
Horsham	Three Bridges	Gatwick Airport (arrive)	Gatwick Airport (depart)	Platform	Redhill
09.32	09.48	09.56	10.00	2	10.18
10.02	10.18	10.26	10.30	2	10.48
10.32	10.48	10.56	11.00	2	11.18
11.02	11.18	11.26	11.30	2	11.48

Planning the connection: The 10.02 train from Brighton reaches Gatwick at 10.35. The next train to Redhill leaves Gatwick at 11.00 from Platform 2 and arrives at Redhill at 11.18. In this sample timetable, the earlier 10.30 connection leaves before the Brighton train arrives.

Use both timetables to answer.

1. What time does the 10.02 train from Brighton arrive at Gatwick Airport?

Enter the time.

2. What time does the next suitable train to Redhill leave Gatwick after 10.35?

Enter the time.

3. Which platform does the 11.00 train to Redhill leave from?

Enter the platform or write a complete sentence.

4. What time does that train arrive at Redhill?

Enter the time.

5. Where does the connecting train come from?

Write a short answer or a complete sentence.

Complete model answers

The 10.02 train from Brighton arrives at Gatwick Airport at 10.35.
The next suitable train leaves Gatwick Airport at 11.00.
The 11.00 train to Redhill leaves from Platform 2.
The train arrives at Redhill at 11.18.
The connecting train comes from Horsham.

Step 3

The present simple in timetables

Timetables commonly use the present simple to describe scheduled events. Notice the form with he, she, it and singular subjects: the train leaves, it arrives, the journey takes.

Complete each sentence with the present simple form of the verb in brackets.

1. The 10.02 train ______ Brighton at 10.02. (leave)

Enter the missing verb.

2. It ______ at Gatwick Airport at 10.35. (arrive)

Enter the missing verb.

3. The journey to London Victoria ______ 70 minutes. (take)

Enter the missing verb.

4. The connecting train ______ Gatwick at 11.00. (leave)

Enter the missing verb.

5. The train ______ at Redhill at 11.18. (arrive)

Enter the missing verb.

Complete model answers

The 10.02 train leaves Brighton at 10.02.
It arrives at Gatwick Airport at 10.35.
The journey to London Victoria takes 70 minutes.
The connecting train leaves Gatwick at 11.00.
The train arrives at Redhill at 11.18.

Step 4

Asking about train times

Use the timetables to ask for information. In real English, both What time does the train arrive? and What time will the train arrive? are natural questions. The present simple is especially common for timetabled events, but a future form is not automatically wrong.

Complete each question. Write the missing words or the whole question.

1. What time ______ the 10.02 train arrive at Gatwick? (present simple)

Enter the missing auxiliary.

2. ______ the 10.02 train stop at Haywards Heath? (present simple)

Enter the missing word.

3. What time does the 10.02 train arrive at London Victoria?

Write a natural question asking for the arrival time.

4. Does the 10.02 train arrive at Gatwick at 10.25?

Write a complete answer.

5. How long does the train take to get from Brighton to Gatwick?

Write the duration or a complete sentence.

Complete model answers

What time does the 10.02 train arrive at Gatwick?
Does the 10.02 train stop at Haywards Heath?
What time does the 10.02 train arrive at London Victoria?
No, it arrives at 10.35.
It takes 33 minutes to get from Brighton to Gatwick.

Step 5

At the station: a conversation

Passenger: What time is the next train to Redhill?

Station employee: The next train you need leaves Brighton at 10.02. It reaches Gatwick at 10.35, where you change for the 11.00 train to Redhill.

Passenger: Do I have to change?

Station employee: Yes. Change at Gatwick Airport.

Passenger: Which platform does it leave from?

Station employee: Platform 2.

Passenger: What time does it get into Redhill?

Station employee: At 11.18.

Answer questions about the conversation. Short answers are natural in this dialogue, but the model answers are complete sentences.

1. Which train does the passenger take from Brighton?

Write a short answer or a complete sentence.

2. Where does the passenger change trains?

Write a short answer or a complete sentence.

3. Which platform does the train to Redhill leave from?

Write a short answer or a complete sentence.

4. What time does the train arrive in Redhill?

Write the time or a complete sentence.

5. Is “What time will the train get into Redhill?” an acceptable question?

Answer Yes or give a complete sentence.

Complete model answers

The passenger takes the 10.02 train from Brighton.
The passenger changes trains at Gatwick Airport.
The train to Redhill leaves from Platform 2.
The train arrives in Redhill at 11.18.
Yes, “What time will the train get into Redhill?” is an acceptable question.

Step 6

Schedules and arrangements

The present simple often describes scheduled events. The present continuous can describe a personal arrangement in the future.

Timetable: The train leaves Brighton at 10.02.

Personal arrangement: I'm meeting my friend at Gatwick at 10.35.

Choose the natural form for the context.

1. According to the timetable, the train ______ at 10.02. (leave)

Enter the missing verb.

2. I ______ my sister at Gatwick at 10.35. We have arranged it. (meet)

Enter the missing words.

3. The train ______ at Redhill at 11.18. (arrive)

Enter the missing verb.

4. We ______ lunch together after I arrive. We have already arranged it. (have)

Enter the missing words.

5. The next train to Redhill ______ from Platform 2. (leave)

Enter the missing verb.

Complete model answers

According to the timetable, the train leaves at 10.02.
I am meeting my sister at Gatwick at 10.35.
The train arrives at Redhill at 11.18.
We are having lunch together after I arrive.
The next train to Redhill leaves from Platform 2.

Step 7

Final review

Use the timetables and the language you have practised. The questions mix comprehension, present simple forms and natural ways of asking about future travel.

1. Write a present simple question asking when the 10.32 train leaves Brighton.

Write the complete question.

2. What time does the 10.32 train arrive at London Victoria?

Enter the time or a complete sentence.

3. Correct the statement: “The train leave Brighton at 10.02.”

Write the complete corrected sentence.

4. Give the platform and arrival time for the next suitable Redhill connection after the 10.02 Brighton train reaches Gatwick.

Write a short answer or a complete sentence.

5. Write one natural question asking about the future arrival of the 11.00 train in Redhill.

Write a complete, natural question.

Complete model answers

What time does the 10.32 train leave Brighton?
The 10.32 train arrives at London Victoria at 11.42.
The train leaves Brighton at 10.02.
The train leaves Gatwick at 11.00 from Platform 2 and arrives at Redhill at 11.18.
What time does the 11.00 train arrive in Redhill?

What you have practised

You have read two timetables, planned a connecting journey, asked for travel information, practised present simple statements and questions, and contrasted schedules with personal arrangements.

Remember: the present simple is common for timetabled events, but a natural question using will may also be correct. An answer should be judged by its meaning and grammaticality, not simply by whether it matches one model sentence.