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21 minutes Eurostar-King's X possible?

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mad_rich

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Hi folks,

I'm looking at travelling Paris-Newcastle. The official connection Eurostar.com has me arriving into St Pancras at 1939, and departing King's Cross at 2100.

It's a long connection, onto a slow EC service, and gets me into NCL too late for the last Metro.

How realistic is it to make the 2000 train instead? It would have to be separate tickets, and no CIV protection because it's an illegal connection, but I think very do-able if I arrive on time?

Any particular coach best for a quick exit from the Eurostar?

Cheers.
 
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Phil.

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As soon as the train passes/leaves Ebbsfleet start walking towards the front of the train. Upon arrival at St. Pancras you'll be right by the exit down the travelator into the arrivals hall. Providing the train is not late in and a customs/immigration/security person decides that they don't want to be your friend you'll be on the concourse in King's Cross within ten minutes.
 

Johnuk123

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As soon as the train passes/leaves Ebbsfleet start walking towards the front of the train. Upon arrival at St. Pancras you'll be right by the exit down the travelator into the arrivals hall. Providing the train is not late in and a customs/immigration/security person decides that they don't want to be your friend you'll be on the concourse in King's Cross within ten minutes.

Good advice but personally I think the connection is somewhat tight.
 

bb21

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You'd be mad to go for a 21-minute connection without protection.

Buy a ticket for the 2000, and one for the 2100, if they are cheap enough. You will then cover yourself in the event you don't make the 2000.
 

Greenback

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Too many things can go wrong with a 21 minute connection. The Eurostar could be delayed, you could be slow getting off due to passengers being in front of you with luggage, or like Phil. said you could be stopped by customs, immigration or security.
 

CyrusWuff

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With less than 20 minutes between your arrival and a Brussels arrival that's stopped at Lille, I suspect you may well find there's a passport check on arrival, which would scupper any chance you may have had of getting the 2000.

Suffice to say, it's not a "connection" I'd even consider attempting!
 
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If you have a flexible ticket for your journey out of Kings Cross you might has well have a go at the earlier train out of King Cross. Are you an active person who can walk quickly with luggage? I would plan my route in advance using the station plans on websites. That way you will not have to stop and find your way.

When you arrive at St Pancras make sure you are first off the train. Have your luggage and be standing in the door area well before you approach St Pancras. You do not want stuck behind a couple or family slowly unloading a mountain of luggage.

If your Eurostar runs late or their is a passport check at St Pancras I think you will be on the later train from Kings Cross.

Best wishes, Stephen.
 

edwin_m

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Most people exit the platform via the travelator and stand on both sides of it, but there are also two escalators behind the buffer stops, which probably save a few seconds.
 
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With less than 20 minutes between your arrival and a Brussels arrival that's stopped at Lille, I suspect you may well find there's a passport check on arrival, which would scupper any chance you may have had of getting the 2000.

Suffice to say, it's not a "connection" I'd even consider attempting!

Do Lille trains still generally get a passport check in London? The last couple of times I have not been checked in St Pancras. I hope that has not changed?

Best wishes, Stephen.
 

Tetchytyke

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You'll be hard pushed to make a 21-minute connection. It is possible if everything works in your favour- I've made a 20-minute connection to Euston off the Eurostar (and that was off a Brussels train that had stoppped at Lille!)- but I wouldn't even consider it unless I had a walk-up ticket that was valid on both trains.

If you're looking for advances, I'd say go for the 2100 and have a leisurely pint in the Parcel Yard.
 

mad_rich

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Thanks all. Particularly the info about the Lille train, which I hadn't factored in.

You'd be mad to go for a 21-minute connection without protection.

Buy a ticket for the 2000, and one for the 2100, if they are cheap enough. You will then cover yourself in the event you don't make the 2000.

I think this is what I'll do.

I'll buy the connection with 2100 train on Eurostar and then get a separate ticket from London International to Newcastle on the 2000 train. Only £17 for that one.

Any further guidance on which coach I should book into?
 

Clip

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Which coach you book is irrelevant however is that £17 you are going to waste as youll miss the connection going to be the same price as a cab home when you get to Newcastle?
 

Tetchytyke

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then get a separate ticket from London International to Newcastle on the 2000 train. Only £17 for that one.

Depends where you're going to on the Metro, of course, but given EastCoast taxis have a £16.50 flat fare for Central to Whitley Bay/Monkseaton/Seaton Delaval that seems a waste of money. Bear in mind the Metro at Central Station is closed from 2000 midweek anyway.
 
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mad_rich

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Depends where you're going to on the Metro, of course, but given EastCoast taxis have a £16.50 flat fare for Central to Whitley Bay/Monkseaton/Seaton Delaval that seems a waste of money. Bear in mind the Metro at Central Station is closed from 2000 midweek anyway.

Bugger, had forgotten about the Metro closure! Thanks for the reminder. Bus it is.

It's as much about the waste of time as not having to get a taxi though. (It's not just that it leaves an hour later, it takes 50 minutes longer too. Arrives at Central at 0043 vs 2234.)

As appealing as a couple of pints in the Yard sounds, I'd like to crack on if there's a half-decent chance of making it.
 

endecotp

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I've made similarly tight connections in the past - with a flexible ticket for the onward journey.
 

mad_rich

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It's phenomenally expensive, one way (which is what I need). €200 including a bag (which I will have).

BA via LHR is cheaper - about £140.

Eurostar is £67 one way, and about the same journey time as CDG-LHR-NCL.

Oddly, I do end up using BA between Newcastle and London almost as much as the train these days, for cost reasons - particularly southbound - but this time the train won.

Anyway, all booked now, coach 4. I will endeavour to update the forum shortly after 2000, either as I whizz by the Emirates Stadium, or as I sink a pint in the Parcel Yard!
 

dk1

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I recently arrived on the 14:56 from Brussells into St.Pancras at 16:07. I unbelievably made it to Liverpool St, boarding the 16:30 Norwich with 3mins to spare. Everything from no security to the H&C line tube arriving as I did on the platform worked in my favour :D
 

Groningen

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Is there in London a (possible) second borderinspection? What is the benefit for having one also in Paris or Brussel?
 

Mag_seven

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Of course Paris-Newcastle on the promised but never materialised "Regional Eurostars" would have been a piece of cake - another example of the regions of the UK being short changed again. :(
 

CyrusWuff

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Is there in London a (possible) second borderinspection? What is the benefit for having one also in Paris or Brussel?

It is (or was) possible to travel from Brussels to Lille on such services without going through immigration in Brussels. Hence being known as the "Lille loophole".

At one point, France decided they didn't want passport checks being done at Lille, so they were being done on arrival at St Pancras instead.
 

mad_rich

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Of course Paris-Newcastle on the promised but never materialised "Regional Eurostars" would have been a piece of cake - another example of the regions of the UK being short changed again. :(

Yes, its a shame they never succeeded, but the idea was killed-off fairly and squarely by easyJet et al!

They would have been pretty slow. There's a timetable from 1998 which suggests a single train per day leaving Gare du Nord at 1307 and arriving Newcastle at 1902. Assuming those are local times, that's a shade under 7 hours.

I wonder how much that would've reduced with HS1. If I make my connection, it will be 5.5 hours exactly.

It's astonishing that no HS1-HS2 link will be built. Journey times from Manchester/ Leeds/ Sheffield to Paris/ Brussels could be sufficiently quick to compete very favourably with air travel.

Obviously there would be immigration hurdles, but if they can't be fixed in 15 years then we're not trying hard enough!
 

anme

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Do Lille trains still generally get a passport check in London? The last couple of times I have not been checked in St Pancras. I hope that has not changed?

Best wishes, Stephen.

No - Lille trains do not regularly get a passport check at St Pancras. I'm a regular user and I've only seen this once, and that was a couple of years ago. There are arrangements in place to separate passengers going only from Brussels to Lille from passengers cleared to enter the UK.

Even if a passport check does happen, it shouldn't delay you much IF you are at the front of the train.

If you have a flexible ticket, go for the 20:00 train - you will probably make it. If you're buying an advance, go for the 21:00.
 

mad_rich

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I bring you good news from platform 0.

A couple of minutes late into St Pancras, but I was still at Kings X by 1945 and even had time to visit M&S before boarding.

The Plum and Split Milk will have to wait for another time
 

SpacePhoenix

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As soon as the train passes/leaves Ebbsfleet start walking towards the front of the train. Upon arrival at St. Pancras you'll be right by the exit down the travelator into the arrivals hall. Providing the train is not late in and a customs/immigration/security person decides that they don't want to be your friend you'll be on the concourse in King's Cross within ten minutes.

I don't know about the train times but if the SouthEastern trains (the Javlins) run late enough into the night I wonder if the OP might be better off leaving Eurostar at Ebsfleet, getting the Southern High Speed to St Pancras, then over to Kings Cross. Even if Ebsfleet has a passport check it probably won't be as the queues at St Pancras. it might be worth looking into to see if it's a doable/viable option
 
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