Trivia: Your favourite cross-platform/same platform connections

[sjoh]

Pretty self explanatory. Tube counts too.

Think my most useful one is the Highbury Victoria to Northern City Line. So handy!

Bonus points if you can think of any soon-to-be cross platform changes that could be useful.

 

[Hadders]

Oxford Circus from the Victoria Line to the Bakerloo.

Lille Eurostar to TGV (only works southbound as northbound it's necessary to go through passport control)

 

[David Andrews]

Lancaster rather than Preston between West coast main line and Manchester trains.

 

[Mag_seven]

There are loads in Switzerland - two of my favourites are SBB (eastbound) to MOB at Montreux, and MOB (eastbound) to BLS (eastbound) at Zweisimmen.

 

[EM2]

Stratford - eastbound Central line to eastbound TfL Rail and vice-versa westbound.

Edit to add - if you time the westbound one right, and you're exiting at Stratford, you can get off the TfL Rail service, walk *through* the Central line carriage and head to the exit, because the Central Line has a platform either side.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Any station with one island platform!

But, changing at Cardiff Central on the Valleys network is handy as you just have to wait on platforms 6 and 7.

Bristol Parkway is a handy one also, changing from GWR service to London onto northbound XCs are all on platform 3, and the GWR stopper to Weston leaves on platform 4. I alighted off the 1000 to Paddington (0926 off Cardiff) on Saturday, and the doors aligned perfectly straight with the 1012 to Weston on platform 4, so when I got off the HST I walked in a perfectly straight line onto the 150 opposite!

 

[PHILIPE]

Truro off Down train for Falmouth
Oxenholme off northbound for Windermere

 

[rebmcr]

Finchley Road

 

[al78]

Three Bridges, changing from a Brighton-Victoria service to a Horsham bound service. If I'm lucky, the Horsham service will be at or approaching the platform as the Victoria service arrives, straight off one train onto another with a 20 meter walk in between.

 

[Deepgreen]

Redhill, on the uncommon occasions when down trains are routed via platform 2, allowing a connection to the North Downs line across the platform, thwarting the staff's attempts to break the connection by their blinkered attitude to passengers having to cross via the congested subway from platform 3!

 

[AndyY]

Lille Eurostar to TGV (only works southbound as northbound it's necessary to go through passport control)

I thought that you go through passport control before boarding the train at St. Pancras?

 

[trivran]

I thought that you go through passport control before boarding the train at St. Pancras?

You do. Northbound from the South of France you have to go through passport control.. at Lille, rendering the cross-platform interchange useless.

 

[erk]

Manchester Oxford Road, changing from a Cheshire Lines stopper to the East Midlands or TPE express that has followed it from Liverpool. The connection is time is below the minimum required so it doesn't show in journey planners. But it's reliable (as long as the express doesn't start short at Manchester).

 

[DarloRich]

p4 to p5 at Bletchley - means i am going home!

 

[Bald Rick]

Mine is a multi, albeit you might say the last one is not strictly speaking in the spirit of the question.

I often do Wood Green to London Bridge:

Picc - Vic cross platform at Findbury Park
Vic - NCL cross platform at Highbury & Islington
NCL - Northern down the escalator at Moorgate (it's as easy as a cross platform)

The second time I did this, it all clicked with trains in the platform as I got to them. I think I did it from entering Wood Green station to leaving London Bridge station in 23 minutes.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Manchester Oxford Road, changing from a Cheshire Lines stopper to the East Midlands or TPE express that has followed it from Liverpool. The connection is time is below the minimum required so it doesn't show in journey planners. But it's reliable (as long as the express doesn't start short at Manchester).

Similarly changing from the 1816 semifast from Euston onto the Southern service at Leighton Buzzard to go to Bletchley. Because letting the stopper go first would cause well over 5 minutes of delay to the semifast, the stopper is always held at Ledburn for the semifast to go first unless there are very severe delays. There's then the backup of the 1805ish from Euston behind it.

About 50 people do this daily, it's extremely reliable but similarly isn't an official connection.

 

[adrock1976]

A couple of local ones for me:

Partick or Hyndland - same platform interchange between trains via Glasgow Central or Queen Street, and also via Yoker or via Westerton.

To or from Intercity trains:

Lancaster for southbound journeys, as it is same platform.
Darlington Bank Top - it is one island platform with two London facing bay platforms, making interchange between Intercity trains and local services that run on Stockton & Darlington Railway metals.

 

[xotGD]

Once did a very useful cross-platform connection when travelling from Loughborough to Gatwick with lots of luggage.

TPE promote Huddersfield for same platform connections from (for example) a Newcastle - Liverpool service onto a connection to Manchester Airport.

Changing at Chesterfield rather than Derby or Sheffield offers same-platform connections rather than a journey over the footbridge.

Back in the day, I witnessed some cranks doing a quick leap between the old platforms 10 and 9 at Newcastle between two trains that were never stationary at the same time.

 

[urbophile]

Liverpool Central: from Hunts Cross line to Ormskirk line. Similarly for Kirkby, although it involves a slightly longer wait (and it's usually the same platform, not cross-platform, to be pedantic)

Journey planners indicate (or at least used to) that you should change between Scarborough bound TPE and Newcastle bound services at York. That usually involves a hike over a footbridge, whereas Leeds often affords a same platform connection.

 

[NSE]

Having elderly relatives that needed to get from the Morden area to St. Neots or Cambridge I had worked out a nice step free route that went from Morden all the way using cross platform.

Morden - Stockwell
Stockwell - Highbury and Islington
Highbury and Islington - Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park - St. Neots/Cambridge.

They had all the time in the world so it didn't bother them with slow trains. They just wanted to avoid too much walking and trying to find platforms at Kings Cross. They never used it in the end haha, but I thought it was quite a handy route. Considering passengers coming southbound on National Rail services into Finsbury Park could switch to the NCL Line and on to the Victoria line and thence the Piccadilly/Bakerloo/Northern Lines all cross platform. I thought that was pretty good going.

 

[xotGD]

If connecting from (for example) Bradford onto an S&C or Bentham Line service, changing at Keighley rather than Skipton guarantees a same-platform connection rather than a potential trip under the subway. Same the other way.

 

[roversfan2001]

Doesn't always work but the connection off the York-Blackpool service onto the Blackpool-Manchester service at Preston (xx47 or xx48 arrival to xx50 departure) is usually on the P1/P2 island. Handy for getting home after a match at Blackburn if I'm feeling like paying for LEY-BBN instead of walking to Lostock Hall and catching the stopper to Mill Hill.

 

[Trackman]

Euston to anything north of Picc
Get off at Stockport, 5 second walk to platform 4.
saves all the hassle at Piccadilly, especially at busy periods.
if you are booking in advance try and time the connection to under to 10 mins this is what saves the walking time.
If you are changing at P14 at Picc, check the times of the Stockport p4 connection as it could be quicker to stay on the train to Picc and walk, or book around the p4 connection.
Booking systems should pick this up.

 

[30907]

If connecting from (for example) Bradford onto an S&C or Bentham Line service, changing at Keighley rather than Skipton guarantees a same-platform connection rather than a potential trip under the subway. Same the other way.

In pedant mode, the subway thing is only Bradford-bound (or from Baildon, before a local user comments ). But I'd choose Keighley too.

 

[12CSVT]

Platform 2 to platform 3 at Alton

 

[Mag_seven]

Euston to anything north of Picc
Get off at Stockport, 5 second walk to platform 4.
saves all the hassle at Piccadilly, especially at busy periods.
if you are booking in advance try and time the connection to under to 10 mins this is what saves the walking time.
If you are changing at P14 at Picc, check the times of the Stockport p4 connection as it could be quicker to stay on the train to Picc and walk, or book around the p4 connection.
Booking systems should pick this up.

Getting on at Stockport often guarantees you a seat before the hoards join at Piccadilly.

 

[gazthomas]

As others have said, Oxford Circus from the Victoria Line to the Bakerloo.

Piccadilly to Victoria at Finsbury Park too

Also Eurostar to domestic/European services at Brussels Midi

 

[xotGD]

In pedant mode, the subway thing is only Bradford-bound (or from Baildon, before a local user comments ). But I'd choose Keighley too.

An arrival from Bradford (or a 333 from Leeds if you got on at, say, Saltaire) can come in to 1 or 2 at Skipton, needing a subway move to Platform 3 for the connection. Or change at Keighley

 

[Ianno87]

I've got a good sequence. Back up plan if Liverpool St is up the swanny:

1658-ish Moorgate to Finsbury Park
Cross-platform to
1718ish Finsbury Park to Stevenage
Cross-platform to
1745ish Stevenage to Royston
Wait on same platform for...
1819 Royston to Cambridge (arr. 1834)

Moorgate to Cambridge in about 1 hr 36 mins!

 

[Ianno87]

Getting on at Stockport often guarantees you a seat before the hoards join at Piccadilly.

Seconded. Won't forget first doung London-Bolton in 2 hrs 35 with a same-platform-onto-train-right-behind at Stockport.