connection time at York is 7mins enough?

[yamahawrz]

on the 28th of May we are travelling to exeter st davids on cc departing york at 10:45, thats me (fit 43yr old) the wife (fit 40 yr old) & two boys, one who is 6yrs the other is 3yrs plus luggage, I booked the journey on line, the first leg with tpe (scarborough to york advance ticket) the second leg with cc (york to exeter advance ticket) the tpe gets to york at 10:38, the connection departs york at 10:45 Iam now a little worried that I have not left enough time for the connection. should I a, not worry, b, book earlier train to york (and wait 1hr 7mins for connection) c, book assistance to help with carry luggage, or d, none of the above. I know you guys will give me good advice, so thanks in advance

 

[transportphoto]

Assistance is more likely to take longer

Bearing in mind York's connection time is longer than 7mins you won't get anything should it go pear shaped.

Book the earlier TPE and wait the longer time!

 

[142094]

7 minutes may not be enough, but there are a couple of things in your favour:

1) TPE from Scarborough normally arrive at the station a good few minutes earlier.

2) TPE arrives into platform 4 and XC use platform 3, which is effectively a same platform transfer, but is still quite a walk.

However of course if the TPE is delayed and the XC uses one of the higher number through platforms you'd be snookered. I'd be tempted to play it on the safe side and book the train an hour earlier and get a coffee at York, especially if you are booking advance tickets.

 

[rail-britain]

York's connection time is longer than 7mins you won't get anything should it go pear shaped

The minimum connection time is 8 minutes
Personally, I always double the published minimum connection time (or add 10 minutes)

As above, in the event you miss the next train then you will not receive any compensation and equally you may not receive any assistance

 

[yamahawrz]

thanks for reply, I was told from tpe conductor that tpe train arrives 2 minutes early at York, the xc trains I have seen at york always seem to be stopping on platforms 9 or 10 which is quite a walk from platform 4, I was at york station on saturday and did a timed walk between 4 & 10 with my 6yr old son we walked it in 3 1/2 minutes, it is still a tight connection though!

 

[ainsworth74]

As others have said I would book the earlier connection, if it was just me travelling by myself I would risk it but then I can go from platform 1 to 13 in less than a minute (not that I enjoy doing that sort of thing regularly mind!) however with little ones and luggage in tow better to play it safe. York isn't a bad station to hang around on, plenty of places to grab a coffee or if you fancy it there is the model railway next door to the station to have a look at (there is an entry fee but it isn't steep).

 

[John @ home]

the connection departs york at 10:45

TPE arrives into platform 4 and XC use platform 3, which is effectively a same platform transfer

the xc trains I have seen at york always seem to be stopping on platforms 9 or 10

Southbound XC trains via Doncaster around xx:30 normally use platform 3. But southbound XC trains via Leeds around xx:45 normally use platform 9.

 

[yorkie]

Not enough time has been allowed.

The Scarborough-York train may be delayed, but assuming it's on time 7 minutes is fairly tight to get from platform 4 to platforms 9-11 with luggage etc.

The XC service is timed as follows:
York 1045 [probably platform 9]
Leeds 1108-1111 [probably platform 12]
Wakefield Westgate 1122-1123
Doncaster 1141-1145
Sheffield 1211-1218
Chesterfield 1230-1231
Derby 1249-1251
Birmimngham New St 1403-1412
(and so on...)

The Scarborough-Liverpool train is timed as follows:
Scarborough 0948
Seamer 0953-0953
Malton 1011-1011
York 1038-1040 [almost certainly platform 4]
Leeds 1104-1108 [almost certainly platform 16]
Huddersfield 1125-1126
Stalybridge 1143-1146
Manchester Picc 1205
(and so on...)

There is a train from Man Pic at 1227 to Birmingham arriving 1358 which is a valid connection on to your train to Exeter, so to get the train you are getting from Scarborough and to end up in Exeter at the same time, if you had not already booked I would say book Scarborough-Manchester (TPE) plus Manchester-Exeter (XC) AP singles and using the XC website for 25% off their leg, but booking it all in one transaction.

It's normally quicker via Derby but there are several diversions that make the XC train between York and Birmingham rather slower than normal.

If you miss the 1045, then what I would do is stay on to Leeds* and give it a try there. If you can see that you have missed it, then stay on to Manchester*.

* Have a word with your TPE guard - most are very friendly I find - preferably before departure, and explain you have a tight connection at York and that you may require to purchase an additional York-Leeds ticket, and possibly an additional Leeds-Manchester ticket on top, and if this occurs, can you use your Railcards to buy discounted off peak tickets on board. If you ask before departure, you have the best chance, or if this is not possible, ask before York and you still have a good chance. The worst the guard can do is say "no" in which case you can get off at York and buy new discounted tickets to Exeter from there.

Changing at Leeds will be busy but the walking distance is probably a bit less. If you do miss it at York, then exit the train at Leeds from the front carriage but not the front doors, use the 2nd doors from the front, or alternatively use the front doors in the 2nd carriage. Then go up the stairs/lift to the footbridge and then down onto platform 12. Platform 16 to 12 is not far. The steps take you down to 12b, and the train is likely to be a bit further toward the (west) end of the platform, at 12a, so you will need to turn back on yourself when you get down the stairs (unless it's a double Voyager or HST).

If you ask again the day before the trip, we can check booked platform numbers and it may be possible to check the train formations too.