Return trip to Braintree from Birmingham -connection times.

[trwilson]

Hey guys,

I do use the trains occasionally but very rarely through London and i dont know the underground, and i need to do a return trip to braintree in just over a week from birmingham new st

I have booked the tickets for the london-birmingham / birmingham-london legs because i got them really cheap but havent booked the journeys from Euston to Braintree and Braintree to Euston yet, partly because i dont know how much time to allow for finding the platforms.

The route planner says i get off in euston then get the underground to liverpool st and then get a train to braintree, i havent used the underground in decades

In practical terms how hard is it to find my way? are there people available that i can ask? and do i just tap my credit card entering and leaving the underground?

I know to regular underground travellers this seems silly, but i am a bit worried about finding my away around London stations / Underground and missing connections.

Thanks

 

[StephenHunter]

From Euston, you need to follow the signs to Euston Square for any train going eastbound to Liverpool Street. The National Rail platforms are signposted from the Tube. There will be people at all three stations.

Assuming your credit card is usable for contactless payment, it will be accepted fine.

 

[30907]

Any journey planner will allow you plenty of time for crossing London, and there are no advance-booking fares just for the Braintree leg.

(They do exist for Brum-Braintree, and would work to those rules, but that's no use if you've bought Advances to Euston.)

 

[trwilson]

Thanks for the advice guys, i have to do this journey a few times and no doubt will be more relaxed when i am more familiar with it.
With regards to the tickets it was always cheaper years ago to split the fares, maybe that is no longer the case.

With regards to my london euston tickets...

The first ticket says 'advance, specified train only' on my booking as expected

However my second ticket says 'off peak single' even though i booked a london midland train leaving euston at 17:26- the booking confirmation shows 17:26.

I hadnt realised any time after 9.15 leaving on their trains was off peak!.
I do remember their trains used to be a bit grotty when i used them regularly for the liverpool runs, hopefully they have improved.

 

[duffield]

Just to make it extra clear, there is an underground station called "Euston" right at the mainline station, you do *not* want that station (it involves changing for Liverpool street, and will be more complex and take longer).

Euston Square underground station, the one you do want, is a completely separate station, straight out the front of the mainline station, across the main road and turn right. As per a previous post, it should be well signposted from Euston main line.
You want the Eastbound platform, all trains from there go to Liverpool Street.

From arriving on the main line platform at Euston to boarding the Braintree train on the main line platform at Liverpool Street would take a absolute minimum of about 30 minutes, so as you're unfamiliar, allowing about 45 minutes minimum should be enough.

However, as the Braintree trains are only once an hour, usually at xx47, you may not get an ideal connection, depending on when you get to Euston.

As it happens, I'm planning to have a day trip involving Liverpool Street to Braintree myself in the next week or so!

 

[PeterC]

Just to make it extra clear, there is an underground station called "Euston" right at the mainline station, you do *not* want that station (it involves changing for Liverpool street, and will be more complex and take longer).

Euston Square underground station, the one you do want, is a completely separate station, straight out the front of the mainline station, across the main road and turn right. As per a previous post, it should be well signposted from Euston main line.
You want the Eastbound platform, all trains from there go to Liverpool Street.

Unless there has been some serious rebuilding since I was last at Euston there are entrances to Euston Square on both sides of Euston Road. You do need to cross one side road but the station will already be visible at that point.

 

[duffield]

Unless there has been some serious rebuilding since I was last at Euston there are entrances to Euston Square on both sides of Euston Road. You do need to cross one side road but the station will already be visible at that point.

Right. I did think that might be the case but I couldn't seem to locate the entrance on the "near side". I can see it on street view now.