Well, but not mainly by train. There are three stations nearby and hardly anyone takes the train to work. Buses run all day, every day. Fast broadband reaches nearly every home. Brentford is connected by road, bus and broadband more than by rail.
Brentford Rail Station, Kew Bridge Rail Station and Syon Lane Rail Station all serve the town. At the 2021 census, only about 4% of working residents took the train to work, fewer than the 6% who walked. Buses do far more of the work. About 10% commuted by bus, from 119 stops across the area. Those stops average about 348 scheduled departures each on a weekday and about 19 an hour at peak, and every one has a weekend service. In Brentford the bus is a turn-up-and-go service, not something you check a timetable for.
The largest share of workers, about 43%, worked from home at the 2021 census. Driving was next at about 22%, then the bus, then walking at about 6% and cycling at about 4%. About four in ten households have no car and about 13% have two or more. Having three stations nearby has not made Brentford a train town, and most of its commuting is done by people who stay home or drive.
On the Department for Transport's modelled journey times for the area, the nearest town centre is about 13 minutes away by car, 16 by bike, 20 by public transport and 34 on foot. Walking into a town centre takes over half an hour, which is a long time for a walk with shopping bags.
The same modelled statistics put a GP about 8 minutes away by car, 13 on foot and 12 by public transport. A hospital is about 12 minutes away by car and 22 by public transport. A food shop is about a six-minute walk or a seven-minute drive. The nearest large group of jobs is about 2 minutes by car and 12 by public transport. These are averages for the whole area, and the routes and distances don't change. The public transport times date from 2019, though, and bus and train services can have changed since, so they are the least reliable figures here.
Gigabit broadband reaches about 87% of premises, and superfast about 96%. No premises fall below the universal service minimum. For the 43% who work from home, that coverage is the network they use most.
Mobile coverage is complete, with every postcode covered for 4G or 5G by at least one operator and by all of them.
Road noise is the cost of all this. About 98% of postcodes are near or above 65 decibels of road noise, the level at which official noise mapping treats traffic as significant, and the loudest band recorded reaches 75 decibels. Rail noise is a separate source, with about 31% of postcodes near or at 65 decibels from trains. Neither figure tells you how loud a particular bedroom will be, so it is worth visiting at rush hour with the windows open. The same roads that make Brentford easy to reach make it loud.
The area has 44 public charge points with 86 connectors between them, but only two are rapid chargers. Charging an electric car here is something you plan for rather than do while you shop.
For a typical commute, the bus and the car do most of the work, and a big share of residents don't commute at all. The stations are an option for those who need them more than the way most people get around.
Brentford is better connected than most places. Frequent buses, near-complete broadband and short drives to everything make up for a railway that few residents use to get to work.