Interchange time Between London King's Cross and St Pancras?

[highspeed990]

I know what the interchange time is within the station, but If I was changing from King's Cross to St Pancras what is the minimum time.

 

[najaB]

15 minutes in Kings Cross, 1 minute to cross the road, 15 minutes in St Pancras = 31 minutes.

 

[highspeed990]

I thought it might be something like that, seems very excessive to me!

 

[yorkie]

http://www.brtimes.com/ has the time for each station (15 minutes for both, in this case) and, if you click 'show fixed links' it will show you the additional time to allow between them. So, as NajaB says, that's 31 minutes. Yes it is excessive for most passengers, but there is no way to reduce it, given the methodology used.

You can often get an earlier train in practice (depending of course on your ticket and your journey details)

 

[highspeed990]

http://www.brtimes.com/ has the time for each station (15 minutes for both, in this case) and, if you click 'show fixed links' it will show you the additional time to allow between them. So, as NajaB says, that's 31 minutes. Yes it is excessive for most passengers, but there is no way to reduce it, given the methodology used.

You can often get an earlier train in practice (depending of course on your ticket and your journey details)

So if it's a 25 minute connection, and a connecting train causes me to miss it, will I be allowed to use the next train with my advance ticket or is it a strict 31 minute rule?

 

[najaB]

So if it's a 25 minute connection, and a connecting train causes me to miss it, will I be allowed to use the next train with my advance ticket or is it a strict 31 minute rule?

If you can get a accredited journey planner to produce an itinerary with that 25 minute connection, then you're good to go. Otherwise, the TOC would be within their rights to say that your ticket isn't valid.

 

[jopsuk]

If you have a through Advance ticket, and the itinerary you were given you booked it has that connection, then yes, you will be OK with the 25 minute connection. If you're using separate tickets, or took a later connecting services than the itinerary showed, I don't think you'd be covered.

in reality, if your booked service is with EMT, VTEC, HT or GC and the connecting service inward is with GN, TL or SE you're normally safe with the 25 minutes.

 

[highspeed990]

Ah I see so if you book split tickets and plan the connection yourself you must plan for 31 minutes but if the train company automatically gives you a connection time shorter than the minimum, no matter how short it is, they must honour that.

 

[yorkie]

See: https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...n-times-for-interchanging-at-stations.155877/

if the train company automatically gives you a connection time shorter than the minimum, no matter how short it is, they must honour that.

Trains can be retimed but there is no way an itinerary should be offered that is non-compliant. If a website did make such a mistake, the ticket(s) would have to be honoured; staff can complete a ticket irregularity report for the matter to be investigated.

 

[ainsworth74]

I thought it might be something like that, seems very excessive to me!

Agreed but the minimum interchange times have to try and take account of a family with three children, all their worldly possessions, the pet dog and granny all travelling for the first time by train!

That being said there are some which can be quite heroic depending on the interchange being made. York is a good example of this. York has an interchange of 8 minutes which is fine for many journeys but if you're interchanging from Platform 4 (trains from Scarborough) to say platforms 10 or 11 (used by a host of services including CrossCountry and TPE to places like Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Edinburgh and others) and have luggage that's either a long walk on the flat, up/down a flight of stairs or a long walk and two lifts. I think 8 minutes for that is brave!

 

[adamedwards]

Kings Cross platform 11 to St Pancras 13 is 5 mins, but KX0 to SP1 you'd be wise to allow a lot longer, not least if crowds on the concourse. I'd only risk a short connection if on trains with no reservations. Short connection s sound wonderful until your train is late.

 

[Hadders]

Kings Cross platform 11 to St Pancras 13 is 5 mins, but KX0 to SP1 you'd be wise to allow a lot longer, not least if crowds on the concourse. I'd only risk a short connection if on trains with no reservations. Short connection s sound wonderful until your train is late.

I agree. All it needs is a 10 minute delay an an arrival into platform 0, exiting from the rearmost carriage and someone not familiar with the layout of the stations who needs to get to the front of the EMT platforms.

 

[edwin_m]

Although the official time is the same, the actual time to connect from SP to KX is likely to be quicker than in the opposite direction. Going towards KX will be quickest by exiting SP to the north of the trainshed and accessing KX platform 0-8 by the mid-platform bridge. Going the other way this bridge is not practically useable, and if the departing train is EMT the escalators are half way back through the station, so if arriving at KX 0-8 and departing from SP 1-4 it's probably quickest to exit the front of KX and make your way through the cabdemonium to the side entrance of SP near the Eurostar check-in.

 

[jon0844]

30 minutes from KGX to STP sounds about right when I'm with the wife in a morning as there is usually a compulsory stop at Benugo for breakfast...

There should be a tick box on the National Rail planner.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

There should be a tick box on the National Rail planner.

You can ask for longer connection times and more time to cross London.

You can unofficially get to Marylebone or Paddington within thirty minutes from St Pancras or Kings Cross. You need to know the routes in and out of the stations and walk fairly quickly of course.

 

[Hadders]

I was on the 2139 Eurostar arrival at St Pancras on Sunday evening (coach 12 so not the best position for a speedy exit) and managed to make the 2152 departure from platform 8 at Kings Cross with ease

I assumed I wouldn’t make it but it was a nice bonus to get back home half an hour earlier than anticipated after a long journey across France.