Barnham is a railway-junction village where almost no one actually takes the train. Around three in a hundred residents commute by rail. About a third work from home. Just over half drive to work. Broadband is what actually works, the road handles most of the rest, and the line through the village mostly carries other people's journeys.
The rail picture is the village's strongest connectivity card on paper. Barnham Rail Station sits in the middle of the village, on a line that branches toward Bognor Regis and continues through Ford toward Arundel and Littlehampton. Buyers willing to drive a few minutes can reach the station at any of those four neighbouring places too. Despite all that, only about three in a hundred residents commute by train. The line is more useful for journeys through the village than journeys from it. The bus network is more a presence than a service in commuter terms. Around 67 stops cover the village and the surrounding parishes. Less than half a percent of residents commute by bus. The buses are there if you need them. Most residents do not think of them as a real option for a working day.
Broadband is where the village quietly out-performs its rural setting. Gigabit availability reaches around six in ten premises. Ultrafast covers about the same share. Superfast covers nearly all of them. The work-from-home third of residents will not be held back by the pipes, which is one of the reasons Barnham feels more connected to people who live here than to people who only look at the train numbers.
In practice, this means the car carries most journeys. The nearest town centre sits about sixteen minutes by car, closer to half an hour by public transport. The nearest primary school is roughly a quarter-hour walk for most residents. The nearest secondary school sits about nine minutes by car. Mobile coverage is solid: every postcode in the village reaches at least one operator's network, and nearly all reach every operator. Anyone whose work fits inside a quarter-hour drive will find the village functions cleanly. Anyone whose work needs the train will find a station within walking distance, and a service that fewer than one in thirty residents actually commute on, which tells you what you need to know about how it stacks up against driving or working from home.
Broadband and road do most of the actual work. Trains and buses are part of the village's geography rather than a tool most residents use. Better connected than a hamlet. Not as connected as a town.