Train Travel in London

Train Travel

London has eight major train stations that serve as arteries to the rest of the country (and to Europe). All are served by the Underground. As a general rule of thumb, the stations' location in the city matches the part of the country they serve.

Charing Cross serves southeast England, including Canterbury and Dover/Folkestone for Europe.

Euston serves the Midlands, north Wales, northwest England, and western Scotland.

King's Cross marks the end of the Great Northern Line, serving northeast England and Scotland.

Liverpool Street serves East Anglia, including Cambridge and Norwich.

Paddington mainly serves south Wales and the West Country, as well as Reading, Oxford, and Bristol.

St. Pancras serves Leicester, Nottingham, and Sheffield in south Yorkshire.

Victoria serves southern England, including Brighton, Dover/Folkestone, and the south coast.

Waterloo serves southeastern destinations, including Portsmouth and Southampton. The Eurostar service to France and Belgium departs from Waterloo International, within Waterloo Station.

Some trains have refreshment carriages, called buffet cars. Smoking is forbidden in rail carriages.

Classes

Some trains have first-class and reserved seats (for which there's a small charge, depending on the rail company). Check with National Rail Enquiries for details.

Cutting Costs

For the best rates, buy your tickets well in advance. Tickets bought two to three weeks in advance can cost a quarter of the price of tickets bought on the day of travel. You can purchase tickets online, by phone, or at any rail station in the United Kingdom. The best way to find out which train to catch, and where to catch it, is to call National Rail Enquiries. Operators there can put you in touch with the right train company, and give you a breakdown of available ticket prices. You cannot buy tickets from National Rail, but they'll put you in touch with the individual train company ticket offices.

Regardless of which train company is involved, many discount passes are available, such as the Young Person's Railcard (for which you must be under 26 and provide a passport-size photo) and the Family Travelcard, which can be bought from most mainline stations. But if you intend to make several long-distance rail journeys, it's far better to invest in a BritRail Pass (which you must buy in the United States).

BritRail passes come in two basic varieties. The Classic pass allows travel on consecutive days, and the FlexiPass allows a number of travel days within a set period of time. The cost (in U.S. dollars) of a BritRail Consecutive Pass adult ticket for 8 days is $269 standard and $405 first-class; for 15 days, $405 standard and $609 first-class; for 22 days, $515 and $769; and for a month, $609 and $915. The cost of a BritRail FlexiPass adult ticket for 4 days' travel in two months is $235 standard and $355 first-class; for 8 days' travel in two months, $349 standard and $519 first-class; and for 15 days' travel in two months, $525 standard and $779 first-class. Prices drop by about 25% for off-peak travel passes between October and March. Passes for students, seniors, and ages 16-25 are discounted, too.

Fares & Schedules

Most of the time, first class on trains in England isn't particularly first-class. Some don't even have at-seat service, so you still have to get up and go to the buffet car for food. First class is generally booked by business travelers on expense accounts because crying babies and noisy families are quite rare in first class, and quite common in standard class.

Rail travel is expensive: for instance, a round-trip ticket to Bath can cost around £60 per person at peak times. The fee reduces to around £30 at other times, so it's best to travel before or after the frantic business commuter rush (before 4:30 PM and after 9:30 AM). Credit cards are accepted for train fares paid both in person and by phone.

Delays are the norm these days, but you almost always have to go to the station to find out if there's going to be one (because delays happen at the last minute). Luckily, most stations have coffee shops, restaurants, and pubs where you can cool your heels while you wait for the train to get rolling. National Rail Enquiries provides an up-to-date state-of-the-railways schedule.

Train Information

BritRail Travel (877/677-1066 in U.S.). Eurostar (0990/186186). National Rail Enquiries (0845/748-4950; 0161/236-3522 outside U.K.).