Crossing London

[Travellin’man]

Trying to work out a rail route between Kings X and Liv St without using the tube and without walking. Realise it will take longer obviously but it must be possible, but I can't work out the quickest way. I would appreciate ideas

 

[JonathanH]

Trying to work out a rail route between Kings X and Liv St without using the tube and without walking. Realise it will take longer obviously but it must be possible, but I can't work out the quickest way. I would appreciate ideas

There isn't one (other than going via Cambridge).

If you are on a train calling at Finsbury Park and want another calling at Stratford, the North London Line could be used (although Highbury & Islington isn't a great interchange.)

In the next few months it will become possible to go to St Pancras and change to the Elizabeth Line at Farringdon for onward travel to Liverpool Street.

What is the intended journey?

 

[ashkeba]

Bike via Smith Field Market?

If you can walk a little, Moorgate is fairly readily reached and 500m through Finsbury Park.

 

[Bertie the bus]

There isn't one (other than going via Cambridge).

If you are on a train calling at Finsbury Park and want another calling at Stratford, the North London Line could be used (although Highbury & Islington isn't a great interchange.)

In the next few months it will become possible to go to St Pancras and change to the Elizabeth Line at Farringdon for onward travel to Liverpool Street.

What is the intended journey?

Of course there are routes, you have mentioned one yourself.

Kings Cross - Finsbury Park - Highbury & Islington - Stratford - Liverpool St

A more adventurous route would be something like Kings Cross - Finsbury Park - East Croydon - Clapham Junction - Stratford - Liverpool St

 

[Hadders]

Is this a trivia thread or a serious question due to lack of mobility etc?

To be honest the Circle/H&C/Met Line is the most straightforward way simply because although branded Underground it's actually sub-surface and has air conditioned mainline sized trains. There aren't even escalators to reach the platforms. On the other hand the National Rail line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate, which others have suggested, is deep underground requiring the use of lifts, escalators or spiral staircases to reach the platforms from surface level.

If the Underground is genuinely ruled out then the 205 bus is probably the best option.

 

[ashkeba]

To be honest the Circle/H&C/Met Line is the most straightforward way simply because although branded Underground it's actually sub-surface and has air conditioned mainline sized trains. There aren't even escalators to reach the platforms.

I agree except it has been a while due to covid but I think there are escaltors to reach the Met and co at King's Cross.

 

[westv]

I agree except it has been a while due to covid but I think there are escaltors to reach the Met and co at King's Cross.

There are stairs or a lift.

 

[Hadders]

I agree except it has been a while due to covid but I think there are escaltors to reach the Met and co at King's Cross.

No escalators to the sub-surface lines at Kings Cross

 

[ashkeba]

No escalators to the sub-surface lines at Kings Cross

from under the departure boards into the new ticket hall? Were they removed recently?

 

[Hadders]

from under the departure boards into the new ticket hall? Were they removed recently?

There is an escalator from the National Rail concourse to the new underground ticket Hall but there are no escalators to the sun-surface platforms.

 

[Techniquest]

I can think of no sensible route not using LU, but I would simply recommend the 205 bus as someone else already has. I have only ever done it in the early hours of the morning, so I can't comment on what the scenery may be like. I have however rode my cycle between the two and it's not a bad bit of London to enjoy at street level, so the bus journey may actually be quite enjoyable.

I've just remembered something, and I recall a Geoff Marshall video about doing London Bridge to Liverpool Street on foot and it is not that far. I haven't tried it myself yet, and I also recall the timing between walking it and using the Northern line out of London Bridge was in favour of walking it.

So that could be the alternative by rail, St Pancras Low Level to London Bridge on Thameslink then walk. Which is a bit of an odd choice, when you have the S7 stock available. If the sub-surface lines aren't open, then the 205 bus automatically would win for me.

Oh, wait, another one. St Pancras International to Stratford International, DLR to Stratford and mainline train to Liverpool Street.

I've just revisited the opening post and it mentions no walking. Oh, well, never mind! I must try the London Bridge to Liverpool Street walk one day, it sounds like a nice little challenge and if the mood takes I can pop into a Pret on the way So yes, back to topic, forget about the railway route avoiding LU and jump on the regular 205.

 

[JonathanH]

London Bridge to Liverpool Street on foot and it is not that far

About 1.1 miles from London Bridge to Liverpool Street. Cannon Street to Liverpool Street is about 0.6 miles.

 

[plugwash]

Trying to work out a rail route between Kings X and Liv St without using the tube and without walking. Realise it will take longer obviously but it must be possible, but I can't work out the quickest way. I would appreciate ideas

I tried feeding it into new.trainsplit.com with everything except rail disabled but their journey planner didn't seem to be happy. Without any via points it told me (incorrectly) that the fastest route was via Cambridge. With a via point of higbury and islington it found one sensible journey at 05:21 via harringay , Highbury and Islington and Stratford taking about an hour and a half, but then it failed to find any further sensible journeys.

After some poking around there seems to be a bug in new.trainsplit.com where it won't change from a northbound service from Kings Cross to a southbound service to Moorgate at Finnsbury park, even if one trys to force it to.

I retried planning the legs to and from Finnsbury park seperately, and it seems it can be done in just over an hour. For example:

KGX-FPK: 10:20 - 10:37
FPK-HHY: 10:42 - 10:47
HHY-SRA: 10:52 - 11:07
SRA-LIV: 11:16 - 11:24

 

[Techniquest]

About 1.1 miles from London Bridge to Liverpool Street. Cannon Street to Liverpool Street is about 0.6 miles.

Thanks, not too bad for those connections. I will give them a try when I'm next in London

 

[Dave W]

I tried feeding it into new.trainsplit.com with everything except rail disabled but their journey planner didn't seem to be happy. Without any via points it told me (incorrectly) that the fastest route was via Cambridge. With a via point of higbury and islington it found one sensible journey at 05:21 via harringay , Highbury and Islington and Stratford taking about an hour and a half, but then it failed to find any further sensible journeys.

After some poking around there seems to be a bug in new.trainsplit.com where it won't change from a northbound service from Kings Cross to a southbound service to Moorgate at Finnsbury park, even if one trys to force it to.

I retried planning the legs to and from Finnsbury park seperately, and it seems it can be done in just over an hour. For example:

KGX-FPK: 10:20 - 10:37
FPK-HHY: 10:42 - 10:47
HHY-SRA: 10:52 - 11:07
SRA-LIV: 11:16 - 11:24

That first leg looks off to me - it’s not 17 minutes from the Cross to FP.

An alternative - which includes a chunk of walking - is to change at Harringay and walk to Green Lanes for the Goblin, then change again at South Tottenham for a walk to Seven Sisters.

 

[Kite159]

You could also change at Hackney Central and walk along the connecting footway to Hackney Downs for a Liverpool Street train to avoid going out to Stratford.

 

[plugwash]

Ahh hackney is two seperate stations, that explains why new.trainsplit won't find it when I disable the "walk" option.

Still the Finnsbury Park issue is weird.

 

[E10Boyf]

Now living in Southgate, becoming used to finding ways to get around. Would have suggested;

Thameslink - Sp.Pancras International to Finsbury Park [there are I believe rush hour options for KX to Finsbury Park as I found to my adantage one day!] - Trains evry half hour journey time 5 minutes.
Gt Northern - Finsbury Park to Highbury - Allow 5 minutes to get to southbound platform, trains every ten miutes journey time 5 minutes.
Overground - Highbury to Stratford - Allow 10 minutes to get from the bowels of the earth into daylight, trains then every 5-15 minutes, journey time around 16 miutes
Great Anglia - Stratford to Liverpool St - Allow 5 minutes to get across station (platform 1/2 to 5/9 depending on train, journey time 8 minutes.

So, allowing for fair wind and trains caught overall journey time would be around an hour [possibly 50 minutes on a good day!]

Thought I'd see how long it'd take, edited to include timings

As mentioned, the 205 bus would probably take similar time and avoids the "route march" needed to walk from Kings Cross to Thameslink platforms, which are at the far country end of St.Pancras Station!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

King's Cross to Farringdon on Thameslink, then walk...?

 

[Hadders]

As mentioned, the 205 bus would probably take similar time and avoids the "route march" needed to walk from Kings Cross to Thameslink platforms, which are at the far country end of St.Pancras Station!

Kings Cross to the St Pancras Thameslink platforms isn’t a route March, as long as you know where you’re going.

If your train comes in on platform 9 or 10 then turn right and exit the station after you pass through the suburban gateline. Cross the road and enter St Pancras adjacent to the Southeastern platforms.

If your train comes into the main shed at KGX then aim to be in the middle of the train and take the lift to the bridge. Walk through to the mezzanine level and take the escalator down which comes out adjacent to the suburban gateline.

 

[E10Boyf]

Kings Cross to the St Pancras Thameslink platforms isn’t a route March, as long as you know where you’re going.

If your train comes in on platform 9 or 10 then turn right and exit the station after you pass through the suburban gateline. Cross the road and enter St Pancras adjacent to the Southeastern platforms.

If your train comes into the main shed at KGX then aim to be in the middle of the train and take the lift to the bridge. Walk through to the mezzanine level and take the escalator down which comes out adjacent to the suburban gateline.

Hadders, thanks for that lesson. I usually avoid Kings X because ignorance was blisters!

Paul