Well, though the trains aren't what makes it so. Two stations. Buses at almost every corner. Full-fibre broadband to most front doors. More people here work from home than take the train, by a long way.
Isleworth has two stations of its own, Isleworth and Syon Lane, both on the loop line, with Hounslow and Brentford stations nearby. At the 2021 Census, only about 4% of Isleworth's working residents took the train to work. Buses carried about 9%, from 181 stops across the area.
Working from home was the biggest single answer at the 2021 Census, at about 40% of working residents. Driving came next at 26%. Walking was about 7% and cycling about 4%. About 28% of households have no car and about 23% have two or more. More of Isleworth commutes to the kitchen table than to either station.
On the Department for Transport's modelled journey times for the area, the nearest town centre is about 11 minutes by car, 17 by public transport, 13 by bike and 25 on foot. A GP is about 8 minutes by car, 11 by public transport and 12 on foot. A hospital is about 11 minutes by car and 20 by public transport. A food shop is about 7 minutes whether you walk or drive. Employment is about 11 minutes by car, 12 by public transport and 5 by bike. These are modelled averages from 2019. The distances haven't changed since, but the public transport times are the least reliable, because services can change in the meantime. Everyday life here mostly fits within a quarter of an hour.
Bus service is good on current timetables, not just stop counts. Across the 168 stops with timetable data, the average stop has about 313 scheduled departures on a weekday and about 18 buses an hour at peak. About 99% of stops have a weekend service. Isleworth has had buses to central London since a horse bus started running to St Paul's in 1856, and the network has had a long time to fill in.
Gigabit broadband reaches about 87% of Isleworth's premises, and superfast about 99%. No premises fall below the legal minimum for a usable connection. Mobile coverage is complete, with 4G or 5G from every operator across the area. For the 40% who work from home, that's what matters most.
Road noise is the cost of all that connection. Almost every postcode in Isleworth, more than 99%, is near or above the 65-decibel level at which official noise mapping treats road noise as significant. The loudest band reaches 75 decibels. Rail noise is mapped separately, and about 31% of postcodes are near or above 65 decibels from trains as well. Isleworth is also under the Heathrow flight path, and aircraft noise isn't counted in either figure. The Great West Road opened in 1925 to take traffic off the old high streets. It worked, and the traffic now runs past a lot of bedroom windows instead. The official noise map is worth checking for the exact address, because the difference between a back street and a frontage is large.
There are 48 public charge points in the area, with 66 connectors between them. Only two are rapid. Charging an electric car here is something to plan around, unless you have your own driveway.
For a typical commute, everything is close. The buses are frequent and the trains go direct, but most residents choose to work from home or drive.
Isleworth is better connected than most places, mainly because of its buses and broadband. It falls short of excellent because of the noise from the roads that connect it.