jmkay

This summer I'll be flying from Zurich to London City Airport. My flight lands at 8:25. Is there any chance I can make a 9:11 train out of the airport to Penzance? If not I have to wait for two hours for the next train...which isn't the end of the world, but I would love to make the earlier one. Will I have to go through customs? Thank you!

nytraveler

You will have to go through Immigration as well as Customs - and it seems extremely unlikely you would make a 9:11 train - even if you flight comes in on time - which is not guaranteed.

But - does it matter? Are you buying a non-refundable discount fare - so you would have to throw the ticket away if you miss the train? Or are you just trying to figure out your schedule?

Separately - does a train to Penzance leave from the airport? I thought it just was on the light rail line and linked you to the major London train stations? But I'm not an expert.

alanRow

There are no trains to Penzance from London City Airport

Assuming you actually mean the 9:45 train from Paddington then you have no chance as on most days it is around an hour between airport and station

You might have had a chance if you flew into Heathrow instead

jamikins

I believe that train leaves from Paddington. There is unfortunately no way you will make that train. You need to do two transfers: DLR to Canning Town then Jubilee to Baker Street then Bakerloo to Paddington. It will take between 40 and 50 mins just in transit. That doesnt include going through passport control or getting your luggage, or collecting your tickets at the train station, finding your platform.

You will need to book the one 2 hours later.

Yes you will go through passport control because UK isnt in Schengen and you just walk through customs, then collect your luggage.

thursdaysd

Huh? Don't you mean you collect your luggage and then just walk through customs? Would be pretty silly to collect luggage AFTER customs.

jamikins

Yes, sorry of course I meant that you collect your luggage first then walk through. My point was that customs takes no time at all as you just walk through.

annhig

yes, jmkay, sadly for those of us who live in Cornwall there are no direct trains from London to PZ except ones out of Paddington.

there used to be some out of Waterloo to the West country but I'm not sure that they still run. if so, you would have to change at Exeter I think.

jmkay

Forgive me for not being more specific...the train leaves London City Airport at 9:11 and connects through Paddington, then on to Penzance. But it sounds like I'll have to settle for the 11:11 as it will be almost impossible to make the 9:11. I haven't purchased a ticket yet, but if the non-refundable is cheaper, it seems like it makes sense to purchase the later train.

Annhig...how lucky you are to live in Cornwall. We absolutely love it there!

tipsygus

Sorry now I am confused, I know London City is only connected to the Dockland Light Railway and trains to the west country leave from Paddington, which is not connect to the Dockland Railway maybe jmkay could give us the train routing to Paddington.

jamikins

The site he is using is probably showing the route on the DLR and underground to Paddington in addition to the train from Paddington to Penzance.

You shouldnt have a problem leaving City at 9:11 (if the flight is ontime and there are no big lines at passport control etc). The route will still take you on the DLR (the only train from City) to Canning Town, change to the Jubilee Line etc to get to Paddington. But the site if it is www.nationalrail.co.uk gives enough time for all the transfers on the underground so that *should* be ok.

What time does the train say that it leaves Paddington?

thursdaysd

jmkay - are you looking at nationalrail.co.uk? Because if so, you need to click on "details" and then scroll down, where you will see:

"From London City Airport Station take the DLR service to Canning Town Station. Change and take the Jubilee Line (Westbound, Platform 5) to Baker Street Underground Station. Change and take the Bakerloo Line (Northbound, Platform 9) to Paddington Underground Station. "

It is rather naughty of National Rail to encompass all that under a claim of only one change! Although you are shown as leaving the airport at 9:11, you're trekking across town to catch the 10:06 from Paddington.

jmkay

So, I'm looking at the national rail inquiries website and it's showing the train from DLR to PAD leaving at 9:11 and arriving at 10:06...but now I see that the train from PAD to PNZ leaves at 10:06! I would have to get from platform 1 to 8 in seconds.

sofarsogood

There are trains every few minutes from London City Airport into central London; they're not bookable so don't fixate on getting a particular train. Just get the first one that arrives. Think of them as an extension of the Tube.

It's the train from Paddington that you need book and to commit yourself to a particular time. It takes 40 mins (according to National Rail) from London City to Paddington, so decide on your Paddington train on this crtiera.

jmkay

Thanks sofar...that makes sense. I appreciate everyone's input! thank you!

flanneruk

There's an oddity about how the National Rail (NR) site presents journeys involving the tube.

The tube/DLR don't really run to timetables; they're of the "every five minutes between 0900 and 1600" variety. So when the NR site says "arr Pad 1045: train leaves at 1045" it means that you'll get to Pad by tube in time to get to the platform and onto the train at least 2 mins before departure.

The normal LCY-Pad elapsed time is 36-41 mins, with trains every 8 mins or so. If a DLR does leave LCY at 0911, you'll be at Paddington around 0950. Arriving on a Bakerloo around 0950, it'll take about 6 mins to walk calmly to the relevant railway platform.

This is a bit tight if you want to collect tickets (actually it's not, but it's easy to get flustered at the machines if you're in a hurry). For a 1006, ticket in hand, I'd want a Bakerloo to draw up no later than 0955.

But if you're unused to the layout, I'd wait till the next train. That might well not be a direct train to Penzance: NR will probably show a connection at Bristol Parkway getting you into Penzance earlier.

PatrickLondon

Getting though LCY isn't likely to take a lot of time - allowing half an hour to get on to the DLR is about right; but don't forget that anything can happen to delay any train, so it might not be wise to commit yourself to the cheapest no-flexibility fare for Paddington to Penzance.