Epsom to St Pancras International

[zoneking]

The national rail journey planner suggests going via Vauxhall and Victoria line, why not via London Bridge and Thameslink to St Pancras?

Which is faster/more efficient/easier? I have to get 10.24 Eurostar to Paris.

 

[swt_passenger]

Routeing via Vauxhall and the Victoria line is recommended routinely for many through journeys from the SWR area to the north, for services that happen to call there. Maybe the NR to LU interchange time there is significantly less than at the major termini, so in general you’ll be well on your LU leg from there before you’d ever get to Waterloo underground?

 

[paul1609]

I don't have any experience of the interchange at Vauxhaul but generally from the South unless you have a direct service to St Pancras its fastest to use the Victoria Line. Its because of its superior frequency plus the fact that Thameslink is quite slow through the core.

 

[A Challenge]

The national rail journey planner suggests going via Vauxhall and Victoria line, why not via London Bridge and Thameslink to St Pancras?

Which is faster/more efficient/easier? I have to get 10.24 Eurostar to Paris.

Where are you actually coming from?

 

[MikeWh]

Where are you actually coming from?

The clue is in the title: Epsom.

If timings can be made to work the least hassle will probably be Epsom to Sutton on Southern followed by Sutton to St Pancras on Thameslink. It's same platform at Sutton and you'll be nearer to Eurostar than from the Victoria line platforms. And it'll be cheaper if using Oyster/contactless as it's National Rail throughout.

 

[A Challenge]

Didn't see that, don't know how I missed it!

That would be what I'd recommend as easiest, especially if you have luggage, which I imagine you may have, going to the Eurostar.

 

[swt_passenger]

Adding a via point of Sutton brings up various other options, including through Thameslink trains and even changing from NR to LU Northern Line at London Bridge. They usually take just a few minutes longer which is presumably why they don’t show in the basic journey planner, as they’d be overtaken by the next train heading to Vauxhall or London Victoria.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I would myself change at Sutton onto Thameslink, as MikeWH says. Incidentally there are CIV fares available from Epsom if you want to take all the risk out of it. Be aware, though, as you are aiming at the 10.24 Eurostar that the Thameslink isn't every half hour in the morning peak - unless the timetable has been plugged recently, there are some serious gaps at Sutton in the morning peak!

Another possibility: Epsom to London Bridge, then Thameslink.

Having tried the recommended Vauxhall change previously - not in connection with Eurostar - I would say avoid that; it would be better to carry on to Waterloo then for Eurostar the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus then Victoria Line to King's Cross. ( NB The planner will also suggest Vauxhall for journeys that involve Euston, and in those instances it's definitely faster to go via Waterloo and the Northern Line! But that's for another thread... )

 

[Belperpete]

Having tried the recommended Vauxhall change previously - not in connection with Eurostar - I would say avoid that; it would be better to carry on to Waterloo then for Eurostar the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus then Victoria Line to King's Cross. ( NB The planner will also suggest Vauxhall for journeys that involve Euston, and in those instances it's definitely faster to go via Waterloo and the Northern Line! But that's for another thread... )

Having made the change at Vauxhall many times myself, I am wondering why you have such a downer on it? Certainly I would prefer it at rush-hour to fighting through the crowds at Waterloo, and then having to change yet again at Oxford Circus. Changing at Vauxhall allows you to get on the Victoria line before all the crowds at Victoria get on, and takes you straight through to St.P. As long as you are on a service that stops at Vauxhall, I would recommend it as an interchange.

However, as others say, if you are travelling with luggage, I would recommend Thameslink - if the times suit. If you MUST be somewhere for a set time, e.g. for airline check-in or Eurostar, then it is always worth thinking about catching an earlier service, rather than one that gets you there just in time, in case it is cancelled. Thameslink, with its lower frequency (particularly at peak times, as others have pointed out) may mean leaving much earlier than going via a higher frequency route.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Having made the change at Vauxhall many times myself, I am wondering why you have such a downer on it? Certainly I would prefer it at rush-hour to fighting through the crowds at Waterloo, and then having to change yet again at Oxford Circus. Changing at Vauxhall allows you to get on the Victoria line before all the crowds at Victoria get on, and takes you straight through to St.P. As long as you are on a service that stops at Vauxhall, I would recommend it as an interchange.

Because, having tried it, I find it slower and considerably more awkward than going via Waterloo. Vauxhall in the rush hour is extremely crowded and the stairways are very narrow. Off peak, Waterloo is not crowded so that issue doesn't arise in the first place. In the peak, there is an officially delineated clear space on the concourse at Waterloo* for walking the width of the station which most passengers do seem to observe.

The Oxford Circus change is straight across the platform, typically taking less than a minute from getting off one train and onto the other.


*Between the hatched "keep clear" zone next to the barriers and a line on the floor roughly 10 metres further out.

 

[Belperpete]

Because, having tried it, I find it slower and considerably more awkward than going via Waterloo. Vauxhall in the rush hour is extremely crowded and the stairways are very narrow. Off peak, Waterloo is not crowded so that issue doesn't arise in the first place. In the peak, there is an officially delineated clear space on the concourse at Waterloo* for walking the width of the station which most passengers do seem to observe.

The Oxford Circus change is straight across the platform, typically taking less than a minute from getting off one train and onto the other.


*Between the hatched "keep clear" zone next to the barriers and a line on the floor roughly 10 metres further out.

Each to his own, I suppose. I find Waterloo in the rush-hour an absolute nightmare. Likewise Oxford Circus.

 

[paddington]

Be aware, though, as you are aiming at the 10.24 Eurostar that the Thameslink isn't every half hour in the morning peak - unless the timetable has been plugged recently, there are some serious gaps at Sutton in the morning peak!

What gaps are you thinking of? Today I see departures at 0816 (arr 0903), 0846 (arr 0933) and 0916 (arr 1003 so really only for business premier or people who like living on the edge), and if those trains are cancelled or severely delayed you can go the other way round the loop 3 mins later and taking 12 minutes longer, or bail for the Victoria / Vauxhall route etc.

 

[WesternLancer]

As others have said I'd def use a change to then use Thameslink, and I'd get a CIV ticket too (takes risk out of things even on a short journey)

My reasons for thameslink are:
if you have luggage it's easier than using tube,
usually less crowded,
cooler temps on board
and far less walking to do at St Pancras when you get off the train compared with when you get off the tube.

 

[telstarbox]

I was going to say that it's a very long walk from the tubes up to the surface at STP.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I was going to say that it's a very long walk from the tubes up to the surface at STP.

I don't think the distance to the Eurostar check-in from the Euston Road tube exit is significantly longer than from the Thameslink barriers; providing you're at the right end of the tube train, and go up through the old KX tube exit route (ie not via the half-mile-hike through the new tunnels that the signs tell you to use these days), then 100 yards up Pancras Road, it's only 2 or 3 minutes from the tube to the check-in.

 

[Belperpete]

I was going to say that it's a very long walk from the tubes up to the surface at STP.

Lifts are available, but not all are that obvious.

 

[WesternLancer]

whenever I end up there by tube I always seem to walk miles in tunnels! No doubt my own fault but the thameslink distance always seems easier and the lifts more logical.

Although I've never understood why design work was not done to allow one lift shaft from platforms A-B to platforms 1-4 on the upper deck for example. Too much danger of people missing the shopping option I suppose....

 

[Peter Mugridge]

What gaps are you thinking of?

They've probably plugged them, then, since I last travelled to Paris.