Once on the train I choose a seat at the front of a carriage. This is important because without air conditioning it’s better to be at the end of the carriage where some fresh air can get in. By getting the same train every day I see many of the same people. As we’re British, we never talk to each other, or even acknowledge the presence of anyone else if we can help it. I try and avoid the seat opposite the man who always puts his briefcase behind his legs so that his feet stick out too far.

Met line trains through Chorleywood run to a set timetable every 17 minutes, and in the mornings are usually on time. However, the trains are old and the track is older, so it’s always a relief to get past Harrow on the Hill, 15 minutes down the line. There are often problems in the area, with all passengers frequently being turfed off trains without warning.

Trains on the Amersham branch of the Met line (which includes Chorleywood) are designated as ‘fast’. In practice this means they don’t stop at all stations, though they are known to crawl along at a pace that allows passengers to watch flowers grow in neighbouring fields. Assuming it’s a good day, we rattle along at 35 miles per hour, passing slower trains and disgruntled passengers at non-stopping stations. On a very good day the disgruntled passengers are also getting wet.

After 25-30 minutes we reach Finchley Road, where many passengers disembark and change to the Jubilee line. Many others get on, and by this time it’s standing room only, if that. At last we enter a tunnel and the tube can live up to its name. About ten minutes later we emerge into the light at Baker St. Again many get off but more get on. From here the Met Line joins the same track as both the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines to run from Baker St to Aldgate. No one would describe this section of track as ‘fast’. There are too many trains and too many people.

Those of us in seats can look smugly out as we pull into platforms and see the crowds at each station. Fortunately we’re back in the open air after three stations, so not only is it lighter and brighter but there’s fresh air available – very pleasant when the train’s underseat heating is still on in July and the backs of my legs are nicely toasted.

Finally, after one hour and thirteen stops we pull into Aldgate. If we’re lucky the driver will make comical announcements such as, “This train terminates here; please leave your valuables on the train and I will collect them at the end of my shift.” If we’re unlucky there’s no announcement and the few people who’ve fallen asleep remain slumped in their seats. We leave the train strewn with discarded free newspapers and emerge onto the street, thankful it’s over but knowing that eight hours later we’ll have to do it all again in reverse.

From Baker Street Station, I catch the 08:11 Eastbound Jubilee line to work in the morning. I aim to be on the platform, waiting for the train, by 08:05 – if I miss my usual train I have to wait a whole ten minutes before the next one comes, which is a lifetime to wait for a tube service. Most trains on other tube lines come every 3 to 5 minutes.

There aren’t very many passengers and I usually find a seat, or at least, a strategic place to stand when I board. Everyone sits huddled over their papers, books and iPods. It takes about 13 minutes to get to London Bridge Station, where I leave the underground chaos of the tube and change for the Thames Clipper.

Most Londoners don’t even think about the river as an option when they commute, but taking the Clipper is an underrated transport option. I prefer it to the dirty and claustrophobic tube, even if it is slightly more expensive. I use a monthly season ticket that costs £100. Oyster card holders get a slight discount on Clipper tickets, and from November 2009 commuters will even get to touch in and out like they already do on buses and the tube. I have the added plus of not worrying about tube strikes and the like – as long as I can get to London Bridge or even to Westminister or Waterloo, the Clipper will take me straight downriver from these stops to Greenwich, whether or not the tube lines are running.

My boat comes at 08:32, and I catch the Clipper towards Queen Elizabeth II Pier. It is a pleasant morning journey, taking approximately 20 minutes depending on the tide. We call at Tower Pier, pass the brooding Tower of London, skim underneath Tower Bridge, then stop at Canary Wharf with its glossy, glassy skyscrapers, then at Greenland Pier and before arriving at my final destination – Greenwich Pier.

Join this journey from Baker St to Greenwich

I catch the 08:28 or 08:31 southbound train to Morden, though sometimes if I am running late it might be the train after that. They come about every 3 to 4 minutes, if there are no delays on the tube. If delays occur, the platform is often packed three deep and everyone has to wait while stress levels climb. Unlike trains, commuters don’t usually board a regular carriage – often it is just the one that is least packed, or the one you manage to squeeze on. By the time the Northern Line gets to Angel, it would have passed by high traffic areas like Hampstead, Camden and Kings Cross – so perish the thought of an available seat! We are packed like sardines on as the tube whizzes past Old Street, then Moorgate.

After about seven to ten minutes, the tube stops at Bank station, and the human confluence spills out of the carriage, only to be replaced by a fresh set of elbows, knees and shoulders all squeezed tightly in. Rush hour on the London Underground is not for the fainthearted. I sometimes choose to change for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) here if the Jubilee Line is experiencing delays. To reach Canary Wharf, I catch the Lewisham bound DLR from Platform 9, which departs every five minutes. The journey to Canary Wharf from Bank takes eleven minutes and is a pleasant ride above ground.

If the Jubilee Line is running smoothly, I stay on the Northern Line until it gets to London Bridge. Here, I change for the eastbound Jubilee Line, which departs every two to three minutes. The Jubilee comes more often than the DLR, and there are also fewer stops along the way, which is why I choose to change at London Bridge rather than catch the DLR from Bank. The Jubilee is London Underground’s newest line, and the only one to interchange with all other tube lines. That’s why it’s always packed to the gills with commuters. It takes only eight minutes on the Jubilee before I am at Canary Wharf, at the end of my daily morning journey.

Join me on my journey