Twyford has an excellent railway and makes little use of it. Direct trains to London leave from the village station. Barely one worker in thirty took them at the last census. The largest group worked from home. The line is there for the days people need it, and most days they don't.
Twyford station is on the main line to London and is the junction for the branch to Henley-on-Thames, which calls at Wargrave and Shiplake on the way. Earley, Winnersh and Winnersh Triangle stations are also in the area, on the line towards Wokingham. At the 2021 census about 3% of Twyford's workers commuted by train, and under 1% by bus. There are 62 bus stops, and the census suggests most of them see very few commuters.
Most of the village did not travel to work at all. About 57% of workers worked from home at the 2021 census, and about 31% drove. Walking accounted for about 4% and cycling about 1%. Car ownership explains the rest: about 45% of households have two or more cars and only about 11% have none. The railway is what people pay for when they buy here. The car is what they actually use.
The Department for Transport's journey-time statistics are modelled for the area as a whole, not timed from any particular front door. On that model the nearest town centre is about 7 minutes by car, 10 by bike, 11 by public transport and 14 on foot. The nearest GP is about 7 minutes by car, 14 by public transport and 15 on foot. A food shop is about 9 minutes' walk or 7 minutes' drive. The nearest hospital is further off: about 23 minutes by car and 40 by public transport. The nearest large employment centre is about 12 minutes by car and 14 by public transport. The public transport times date from 2019, and services may have been cut since, so trust the car and walking times more.
The buses run, but not often. Stops average about 30 scheduled departures each on a weekday, and about 2 an hour at peak. About 94% of stops have some weekend service. That is enough for a bus to get you somewhere, but not enough to run a life around.
Broadband is strong. About 99% of premises can get superfast broadband and about 81% can get ultrafast, with about 73% able to get gigabit. No premises fall below the legal minimum service. Mobile coverage is complete: every postcode has 4G or 5G from at least one operator, and every postcode has it from all of them. Working from home here is a practical choice, not a gamble.
Charging an electric car is harder. There are 3 public charge points in the area with 4 connectors between them, and none is a rapid charger. Charging here needs planning around a slow connector or a driveway. There is nowhere to top up on a quick trip to the shops.
A railway junction on the edge of a village is not quiet. Every postcode in Twyford sits near or above 65 decibels of road noise, the level at which official noise mapping treats traffic noise as significant, and the loudest roads reach the 75-decibel band. Rail noise is a separate source: about 60% of postcodes sit near or above 65 decibels from trains, with the loudest band also at 75. None of this says how loud any single house will be. Anyone buying near the line or the main roads should visit at rush hour, not on a Sunday afternoon.
For a typical working household, the pattern is to work from home most days, drive for most errands and take the train for the London days. That works well for a hybrid commuter. It works less well for anyone who cannot drive, relies on the buses, or needs the hospital in a hurry.
Twyford's connectivity is middling overall. The trains and broadband are excellent, while the buses, electric-car charging and traffic noise let it down.