Realised I'd been doing Waterloo to St. Pancras wrong for years...

duffield · 1 Jul 2026

I'd assumed (I think correctly) that because of the change required on the underground, instead walking to Waterloo East, getting a South Eastern services to to London Bridge, and then Thameslink to St. Pancras was probably fastest at about 30 minutes minimum. The underground with the change is probably similar or longer. If I'd have done either of these yesterday I'd have missed my connection (Nottingham train) since I only had 27 minutes to get from Waterloo to St. Pancras.

Yesterday I realised I'd been daft, and the key was not to go to Waterloo, but bail out at Vauxhall** and get the Victoria line direct to St. Pancras. It took just 22 minutes from mainline Vauxhall to EMR St. Pancras, plus I saved 4 minutes not going into Waterloo, giving plenty of time for the Nottingham train at 1735.

As it happened, the 1735 was cancelled - but I still had time to trot to King's Cross and get the Newcastle service at 1733, then change at Grantham and get back to Nottingham only 10 minutes later than the cancelled service would have done.

** Of course this only works easily if your train stops there! About 70-75% do AFAIK. Otherwise, it should still be quicker to change at Clapham Junction for Vauxhall if there was a 5 minute connection there.

RailUK Forums

317666 · 1 Jul 2026

It’s a cross-platform interchange between the Bakerloo and Victoria lines at Oxford Circus in both directions, so the LU journey can be a bit quicker than you might think. Although, as you suggest, I would certainly change at Vauxhall instead providing my intended SWR service stopped there.

Starmill · 1 Jul 2026

You can also walk to Blackfriars, which doesn't take very long. Although you probably wouldn't want to go doing that if you didn't already know the way.

DelW · 2 Jul 2026

duffield said:
I'd assumed (I think correctly) that because of the change required on the underground, instead walking to Waterloo East, getting a South Eastern services to to London Bridge, and then Thameslink to St. Pancras was probably fastest at about 30 minutes minimum. The underground with the change is probably similar or longer. If I'd have done either of these yesterday I'd have missed my connection (Nottingham train) since I only had 27 minutes to get from Waterloo to St. Pancras.

I've regularly done Waterloo concourse to Euston concourse in under 20 minutes, and to KX or SP concourse in just over 20 minutes. Always using Bakerloo and Victoria lines, the walk between platforms at Oxford Circus takes about 15 seconds via any of several cross-passages.

sh24 · 3 Jul 2026

DelW said:
I've regularly done Waterloo concourse to Euston concourse in under 20 minutes, and to KX or SP concourse in just over 20 minutes. Always using Bakerloo and Victoria lines, the walk between platforms at Oxford Circus takes about 15 seconds via any of several cross-passages.

Agreed. Incredibly easy change and the Victoria line frequency makes this a very slick route. Unless there is a major issue with one tube line there are no circumstances where national rail routes are quicker.

Of course changing at Vauxhall is even slicker but that depends on where you are coming from.

zwk500 · 3 Jul 2026

duffield said:
** Of course this only works easily if your train stops there! About 70-75% do AFAIK. Otherwise, it should still be quicker to change at Clapham Junction for Vauxhall if there was a 5 minute connection there.

Looking at RTT it appears that all trains on the Main Fast Lines (Portsmouth/Alton/Basingstoke/Southampton or beyond destinations) do not call at Vauxhall. Trains on all other lines do.

A 1-hour sample of Up trains 0630-0729 today gives 28 calls to 13 passes, so 68%, your guess was close!

However it means that if you're coming from anywhere further out than Surrey, you likely will need an extra change to get off at Vauxhall.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:VXH/to/gb-nr:WAT/2026-07-03/0630-0729?stp=WVS&show=call&order=wtt

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:VXH/to/gb-nr:WAT?stp=WVS&show=pass&order=wtt

rmHawk765 · 3 Jul 2026

Finsbury Park or Highbury & Islington (ECML) to SWR is incredibly quick via Vauxhall as well.

Dr Hoo · 5 Jul 2026

Vauxhall is fine… until it isn’t. Waterloo<->King’s Cross/ St Pancras has loads of alternatives if any individual line is ‘down’ or ‘severe delays’.
I do use Vauxhall quite a bit but for anything critical I’ll focus on Waterloo. Loads of catering and retail options there too.

davews · 5 Jul 2026

Vauxhall certainly has advantages provided the Victoria line is working. But it has disadvantages - the steps between station and underground I find a bit tricky at my age, is there a step free alternative? I have not yet found the loos and understand they are minimal. And of course nothing in the way of catering etc. Waterloo has many options and in general with the cross platform interchange at Oxford Circus seems to be quicker., I have done that route for so many years I would never even consider changing.

JonathanH · 5 Jul 2026

davews said:
And of course nothing in the way of catering etc.

There is a Sainsbury's Local at the front of Vauxhall station which you pass between the National Rail gateline and the subway to the Underground.

Bald Rick · 5 Jul 2026

For an able bodied individual, Vauxhall is best for SWML to Kings Cross or St Pancras, but only if your SWR service calls there.

Otherwise it is from Waterloo: Bakerloo-Oxford Circus thence Victoria Line. I do Waterloo platform to KX platform in sub 20 minutes routinely, but tend to allow 25. An extra couple of minutes for St Pancras, as that is further from the Vic Line.

If you are heading between Thameslink and Waterloo, then Blackfriars and a walk down Southwark St is quickest. It’s a bit longer, but much nicer walk, along the southbank to Gabriel’s Wharf or the South Bank Centre and thence to Waterloo.

Russel · 6 Jul 2026

If you're not in a hurry, I'd recommend walking from Waterloo to Embankment and getting the Northern Line up to Kings Cross from there.

davews · 6 Jul 2026

Russel said:
If you're not in a hurry, I'd recommend walking from Waterloo to Embankment and getting the Northern Line up to Kings Cross from there.

But the Northern line at Embankment doesn't go to Kings Cross, it is still the Charing Cross branch as it is from Waterloo... You could though catch the very slow Circle line from there to KX.

Russel · 6 Jul 2026

davews said:
But the Northern line at Embankment doesn't go to Kings Cross, it is still the Charing Cross branch as it is from Waterloo... You could though catch the very slow Circle line from there to KX.

Ah yeah, I was thinking of Euston rather than Kings Cross, okay, change at Warren Street onto the Victoria.

Either way, my point was more that if you're not in a rush, the walk across Waterloo Bridge and along to Embankment is a nice way to see a few sights, or walk along the Thames to Blackfriars and get Thameslink up to St Pancras from there.

Peter Mugridge · 6 Jul 2026

Russel said:
Ah yeah, I was thinking of Euston rather than Kings Cross, okay, change at Warren Street onto the Victoria.

Oxford Circus... straight across the platform. At Warren Street you have to go all the way up then all the way back down again...

gravitystorm · 6 Jul 2026

davews said:
But it has disadvantages - the steps between station and underground I find a bit tricky at my age, is there a step free alternative?

I regularly use a step-free route from the SWR platforms to the Victoria line. There is a lift from platforms 7/8 to the ground level, then I exit the station through the SWR barriers and walk straight ahead. Ignore the steps down to the underpass, and cross the road. Ignore the steps down to the LU ticket hall, and straight ahead, built into the bus station, there is a (somewhat smelly) lift down to the LU ticket hall. After the LU barriers, on the left there is a lift down to the platform level.

St Pancras is also step-free from the Victoria line platforms to St Pancras, but if you can manage an escalator then taking that up to the original Kings Cross ticket hall saves a long perambulation around the newer tunnels. After the LU barriers in the original ticket hall, the semi-circle of 6-8 steps can be avoided by a ramp on the right, and then head left, through the Circle/Met ticket hall, and a lift on the right takes you up to the StP Eurostar departure level.

duffield · 1 Aug 2026

Yesterday with my train coming in to Waterloo 9 minutes late I had 36 minutes to get to St. Pancras. As my incoming train did not stop at Vauxhall and Waterloo East was closed, I went for the recommended tube option - Bakerloo, then change to Victoria at Oxford Circus.

From P15 Waterloo to the EMR platforms at St. pancras took me 34 minutes and I had to run the last bit to make it with 1 minute before the doors closed. And the tube was horribly overheated and overcrowded (people left behind at many stops, fighting to get on and off). This transfer usually takes me a couple of minutes less - without running - using the National Rail option via Waterloo East and London Bridge, and is much less stressful. The killer bit timewise is the distance from the tube to the EMR platforms via the crowded tunnels.

So I don't think I'll be using the Bakerloo/Oxford Circus/Victoria option again!

Harpo · 1 Aug 2026

duffield said:
The killer bit timewise is the distance from the tube to the EMR platforms via the crowded tunnels.

The shopping mall that used to be a station.

Alfonso · 1 Aug 2026

If yiu do use it again - and it's my preferred method - crucial bits involve being near the middle of the train for the cross platform interchange at odlxford circus and being at the back of the victoria line train to take the escalators up from the platforms rather than the ones at the other end, which feel like they take you miles out of your way

Sealink · 1 Aug 2026

I was going to suggest Waterloo - Green Park (Jubilee) then Victoria Line to Kings Cross St Pancras.
If I recall the walk from the Jubilee to Victoria line at Green Park is very very long? I think I used to use escalators to the concourse and then down to Victoria line, but this was years ago and my memory is short!

Bald Rick · 1 Aug 2026

duffield said:
From P15 Waterloo to the EMR platforms at St. pancras took me 34 minutes

That seems to be a long time. Were there big gaps in the tube service?

My normal platfrom to platform time (to St P low level rather than EMR platforms) is around 25 mins. The crucial bit is being st the back of the Victoris line train and first off and up the adjacent escalator before anyone else.

BrianW · 1 Aug 2026

Taking a different 'tack', not the fastest ... I found this by 'Tubewalker'- https://www.tubewalker.com/maps/map...&location=Waterloo+to+King's+Cross+St+Pancras

It is quite a 'roundabout' walk, but does offer air, greenery and views.

It's while since I frequented 'the smoke', so I may be somewhat out of date regarding traffic, diesel fumes, excessive 'people getting in the way', road crossings etc (reminder 'Boris bikes'- whatever they are called now?).

Myself, I would consider Waterloo Bridge, Aldwych, Lincolns Inn Fields, Bloomsbury ...

Maybe worth checking out on GoogleEarth (or on foot!) for 'best' tree-lined traffic-free route.

Bald Rick · 1 Aug 2026

BrianW said:
Taking a different 'tack', not the fastest ... I found this by 'Tubewalker'- https://www.tubewalker.com/maps/map.php?route=246-73-43-135-54-111-196-128&location=Waterloo+to+King's+Cross+St+Pancras

It is quite a 'roundabout' walk, but does offer air, greenery and views.

It's while since I frequented 'the smoke', so I may be somewhat out of date regarding traffic, diesel fumes, excessive 'people getting in the way', road crossings etc (reminder 'Boris bikes'- whatever they are called now?).

Myself, I would consider Waterloo Bridge, Aldwych, Lincolns Inn Fields, Bloomsbury ...

Maybe worth checking out on GoogleEarth (or on foot!) for 'best' tree-lined traffic-free route.

Yep my normal walking time Waterloo - St Pancras is 40 mins, so I allow 45 train to train.

traffic - generally fewer motorised vehicles around than 10-15 years ago, but (for example) Waterloo Bridge, Kingsway and Euston Rd are all still busy, albeit with fewer vehicles on them. The ‘base’ of the Aldwych protractor is now pedestrianised and lovely, which has done wonders for St Mary Le Strand church (I know the vicar) and Bush House etc.

Fumes - much improved. Almost all vehicles are ULEZ compliant (isn’t that great? makes you wonder what all the fuss was about…) and getting on for half of all cars / taxis in the centre are now EVs.

Boris bikes - officially sponsored by Santander now. But Lime bikes appear more prevalent.

People in the way - it’s London.

sh24 · 1 Aug 2026

Sealink said:
I was going to suggest Waterloo - Green Park (Jubilee) then Victoria Line to Kings Cross St Pancras.
If I recall the walk from the Jubilee to Victoria line at Green Park is very very long? I think I used to use escalators to the concourse and then down to Victoria line, but this was years ago and my memory is short!

Jubilee to Victoria is fairly short - up one escalator, along a short passage and down stairs. Victoria to Piccadilly is the big hike.

duffield · 1 Aug 2026

Bald Rick said:
That seems to be a long time. Were there big gaps in the tube service?

My normal platfrom to platform time (to St P low level rather than EMR platforms) is around 25 mins. The crucial bit is being st the back of the Victoris line train and first off and up the adjacent escalator before anyone else.

I think I waited about 6 and 4 minutes for the Bakerloo and Victora services respectively, I don't know if that's much longer than usual. It's also a few minutes longer to the high level EMR platforms partly due to the two escalators nearest the EMR platforms being down only.
But I was also really put off by the extreme overcrowding and heat on the underground, it reminded me why I try to avoid it. It was a real struggle to get on at all and to get off at my stops.

sh24 · 1 Aug 2026

duffield said:
I think I waited about 6 and 4 minutes for the Bakerloo and Victora services respectively, I don't know if that's much longer than usual. It's also a few minutes longer to the high level EMR platforms partly due to the two escalators nearest the EMR platforms being down only.
But I was also really put off by the extreme overcrowding and heat on the underground, it reminded me why I try to avoid it. It was a real struggle to get on at all and to get off at my stops.

That's unusual for both lines. 4 and 2 min unite headways are the norm, so an average wait of 2 and 1 mins.

Fair point on the heat however, along with the Central they form the Hades sub-division of the Tube.

Hadders · 1 Aug 2026

Bizarrely, Finsbury Park to Vauxhall and Finsbury Park to Waterloo are not shown as fixed links in journey planners.

Given the hike to the underground at St Pancras this seems like an oversight.

johntea · 1 Aug 2026

During my recent week in London I also found staying above ground and just jumping on buses quite useful which I had never really considered before!

Google Maps comes in super handy on the move for calculating the best options from wherever you’re stood at the time too

xotGD · 1 Aug 2026

johntea said:
During my recent week in London I also found staying above ground and just jumping on buses quite useful which I had never really considered before!

Google Maps comes in super handy on the move for calculating the best options from wherever you’re stood at the time too

However, bus drivers won't be accepting a rail ticket with a Maltese Cross.

Bald Rick · 1 Aug 2026

duffield said:
I think I waited about 6 and 4 minutes for the Bakerloo and Victora services respectively, I don't know if that's much longer than usual. It's also a few minutes longer to the high level EMR platforms partly due to the two escalators nearest the EMR platforms being down only.

sh24 said:
That's unusual for both lines. 4 and 2 min unite headways are the norm, so an average wait of 2 and 1 mins.

3mins for the bakerloo, 2 for the Vic. Average waiting time half of that.

Re the walk at Kings X St P. If you are heading for the EMR platforms, the quickest way is out the Vic line as suggested (from back of train, up into old ticket hall), then straight on after the barriers, through the sub surface ticket hall, up the stairs, turn right into St P, and then up the escalators 2/3 of the way to the Thamelink platforms.

If going to Thameslink, the quickest way is to turn right after the barriers, up to the Northern ticket hall, and then into St P that way. But it is 5 minutes platform to platform at best without running.

Realised I'd been doing Waterloo to St. Pancras wrong for years...

Established Member

RailUK Forums

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Member

Established Member

Member

Veteran Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Member

Established Member

Established Member

Member

Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Established Member

Established Member

Veteran Member

Established Member

Established Member

Veteran Member