Changing at Liverpool Street National Rail to Liverpool Street Elizabeth Line

[mawallace]

What's the quickest way to get to the Elizabeth Line from the mainline station, please?

 

[Class800]

Alight from the 1st carriage, follow the signs for Elizabeth line and walk as briskly as you can.

 

[mikeb42]

As above - there are no quirky shortcuts unless anyone here knows better.

Be prepared for it to take as long as you think it should, plus about another 100%. It is one of several (unavoidably?) rather poor interchanges from the EL which compromise its overall speediness. Liverpool St Elizabeth Line station is roughly speaking beneath Moorgate and it feels like it on foot.

If your train to Liverpool Street stops at Stratford it's sometimes quicker to change there instead, depending on familiarity, crowding levels and EL train imminence at the time.

 

[Brooke]

I agree with the posters above: there seem to be no shortcuts, other than using Stratford instead, depending on where you are coming from.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Agreed - I once got off a Norwich service at Liverpool Street, was first off (as I was in First Class) nearest to the buffers, straight across the concourse into the tube and on the Circle Line to Paddington (pre-Lizzy Line days). I was in Paddington about 20 minutes after arriving at Liv Street!

 

[VauxhallandI]

If arriving at Liverpool St by foot from the west would you think that using the new street level entrance is quicker than going into the station?

 

[mawallace]

Just wondering in view of the above. Is it quicker to walk to the central line and catch the underground to Tottenham court road rather than catch the Elizabeth line from Liverpool Street to Tottenham court road

 

[mikeb42]

The Central Line platforms are also a bit of a schlepp from the concourse at Liverpool Street, though not as much as the Liz.

4.5 min journey time on the Elizabeth from Liverpool St to Tottenham Ct Rd. 5 stops on the Central, so that's going to be slower at 9-10 mins.

It's going to depend on how fast you walk & your luck with crowds & the longer headways between EL trains. Overall there's not going to be much in it on average. The EL is almost always a less unpleasant & ear-splitting experience than the Central though.

Where the Liz wins hands-down on time is situations like managing to change quickly at Stratford when going to Paddington or beyond. Providing, that is, it's one of those semi-mythical days on which the gaffer tape and bits of chewing gum that seemingly hold the infrastructure west of Paddington together haven't come loose yet again, but that's for a different thread.

 

[VauxhallandI]

The Central Line platforms are also a bit of a schlepp from the concourse at Liverpool Street, though not as much as the Liz.

4.5 min journey time on the Elizabeth from Liverpool St to Tottenham Ct Rd. 5 stops on the Central, so that's going to be slower at 9-10 mins.

It's going to depend on how fast you walk & your luck with crowds & the longer headways between EL trains. Overall there's not going to be much in it on average. The EL is almost always a less unpleasant & ear-splitting experience than the Central though.

Where the Liz wins hands-down on time is situations like managing to change quickly at Stratford when going to Paddington or beyond. Providing, that is, it's one of those semi-mythical days on which the gaffer tape and bits of chewing gum that seemingly hold the infrastructure west of Paddington together haven't come loose yet again, but that's for a different thread.

Yes and factor in air con in the Summer and the EL has it won

 

[Horizon22]

There’s no “quick” route. That being said if you’re a fast walker and walk down both escalators, it can be done in 4 minutes.

Depends where you’re coming in from Liverpool Street though; Central, Met/Circle, NR platforms or street level.

The small entrance on Broadgate might be quicker form street level and if you’re coming from National Rail changing at Stratford might be quicker, although you have fewer trains (no trains from Abbey Wood) so might be a slightly longer wait.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jun 2023 ==

Just wondering in view of the above. Is it quicker to walk to the central line and catch the underground to Tottenham court road rather than catch the Elizabeth line from Liverpool Street to Tottenham court road

Small saving in walking to Central line but more stops and more cramped trains and crucially at this time of the year, no air con! Frequency is similar.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Jun 2023 ==

If arriving at Liverpool St by foot from the west would you think that using the new street level entrance is quicker than going into the station?

It’s the same general horizontal distance but possibly due to less crowding. Although going through Broadgate you technically go back on yourself very slightly. But I’d say there’s seconds in it, so not worth thinking about.

 

[Basil Jet]

The small entrance on Broadgate might be quicker form street level and if you’re coming from National Rail changing at Stratford might be quicker, although you have fewer trains (no trains from Abbey Wood) so might be a slightly longer wait.

In this day and age, one would be checking exactly how long the Stratford wait would be before one got off the mainline train.

 

[Horizon22]

In this day and age, one would be checking exactly how long the Stratford wait would be before one got off the mainline train.

Of course you could. On average you'd wait around 4 minutes (it's a 7-8 minute frequency so you could be lucky and not wait at all, or get the full 8 minutes) so these are all very small margins considering the high frequencies involved.

 

[Sunil_P]

If you want the Circle Line/Metropolitan/Hammersmith & City, try to ride the Lizzie Line in the front carriage westbound (or last carriage eastbound), then alight at Liverpool Street and head towards the Moorgate exit, it's a much shorter walk, and only TWO lifts if you need step-free!

And obviously the reverse when you come off the Circle: get off at Moorgate, and head towards the Lizzie Line from there. Another option is catching the Circle westbound from Barbican after getting off at Farringdon's "Barbican exit" using the "secret lift"!

 

[BRX]

So... Liverpool St NR platforms to Farringdon (for Thameslink) - is the circle/hammersmith line actually a better bet than the Elizabeth line, due to the long walk to the EL platforms?

 

[Brooke]

So... Liverpool St NR platforms to Farringdon (for Thameslink) - is the circle/hammersmith line actually a better bet than the Elizabeth line, due to the long walk to the EL platforms?

In my view, yes. Less walking and often more frequent trains!

 

[Hadders]

So... Liverpool St NR platforms to Farringdon (for Thameslink) - is the circle/hammersmith line actually a better bet than the Elizabeth line, due to the long walk to the EL platforms?

Yes, plus an easier interchange at Farringdon.

 

[BRX]

I actually tried doing the switch at Stratford in the end, and it worked fine. I got a Thameslink train at Farringdon that I think I'd have missed had I tried to switch to EL at Liverpool St. Might have just made it using circle line.

At Farringdon, northbound thameslink to EL is not too bad. For southbound thameslink, I often use the lift that takes you straight between the TL platform and the EL platforms. Unless there is a queue for it, it can be quite a lot quicker than the overbridge plus escalators and is especially satisfying if you've got heavy stuff with you.

Westbound circle line to southbound thameslink is the easiest of course.