I’d like some practical advice/information from English train travelers. We will be in London the second half of July and have BritRailPassesEngland; we chose flexibility over monetary savings. We will be making 4 day trips from London, leaving either from Victoria or from St. Pancras/Kings Cross.

My question is this: once we arrive via Tube at either of these stations, about how much time should we allow to walk to the train platforms? We want to allow plenty of time and would rather hang around at the station than arrive so that we cut catching the train too close.

This train travel is going to be just about a first for both of us, so we feel a bit out of our element. A couple of the day trips we will not want to miss the train we choose because the next one won’t be for an hour (the other 2 days there are more frequent ones so it won’t be so critical). We’re not making reservations, but I will have a list of all the scheduled departures so we can pick one to try to make.

We just got home from our trip to England and had the BritRail Passes too. St. Pancras/Kings Cross are literally right next to each other and it only took about 5-10 minutes to get from one to the other. Victoria is a fairly big station (and quite busy unless you are there in the middle of the night) so if you're not used to looking for the platform or the specific train you're trying to catch, you may want to give yourself a little more time there.

Have fun!

For your first ride I'd suggest giving yourselves a MINIMUM of 30 minutes to get out of the Tube station and into the train station, find the electronic sign boards announcing train departures, figure out which platform you need to go to, walk there, and find the right car. (Not all cars on the train may be going where you are.) After you've done it once and have gotten familiar with the system, you can cut it closer.

There is no point in arriving more than 20 minutes before a train leaves, because the platform number will not be displyed until the train is ready for boarding. However, you do need to allow for possible delays on the tube. If the trains run every half hour, it doesn't matter. If you have time to spare, the stations all have a choice of cafés and kiosks serving coffee, etc.

I would try to arrive about 10 minutes before the tyrainn leaves. However I am very familiar with these stations so know where I'm going.

Victoria can be quite confusing as some of the platforms are in a different part of the station. So I'd give it 20 mins if I were you.

You can always potter about in the shops if you have time to kill.

For St Pancras, the national/regional departures are a good way down the station from the tube exit (to make room for the Eurostar platforms) - so allow a good 20+ minutes to find your way. Kings Cross is much easier to "read" as a station.

Thanks, all. I was hoping CW and Patrick, whose practical advice always seems----practical, would respond.

I forgot that one of our day trips does leave out of Waterloo. Any different advice about that station? (And--[remember--there are no dumb questions, I tell my students]--how do we find the "right car" if every car on the train isn't going to our destination? Is it posted on the car, or do we ask?)

Again--thanks--A

re Waterloo: It depends on where you're going and what line you're coming in from.

Waterloo is easy to follow - all the platforms are in a straight line.

The Jubilee Line brings you out at the low numbered platforms - the others at the high numbers.

There are plenty of display boards (but remember trains are described in terms of their ultimate destination - not the stations in between., so you need to know that)

The good news is that most trains do not separate, none do from Kings Cross or St Pancras, a few from Victoria and Waterloo. If you tell us where you are going we can give definitive answers, but in all cases the notice boards tell you which part of the train, front 4 carriages for example, is going where and once on board the train there are always announcements prior to a train splitting so that you can move if necessary

Thanks alanbowen--good feedback. If you read this and want to comment further, the trips are as follows:
Waterloo to Salisbury
St. Pancras to Chesterfield
Victoria to Canterbury
and Euston to Northampton (I thought this one left from St. Pancras but I was wrong)

And trains are also endemically late in England - i have often got to the station say expecting to take the 10:15 train and the delayed 8:15 rolls in - schedules are in theory only IME though trains starting at Termini like your stations should be more on time

like said the tracks usually are not posted until 20 mins or so before, sometimes much less IME and then everyone makes a mad dash to their train

Two things. Do remember that you need to have your pass validated before your first use. All you have to do is go to the main ticket counter at the train station, you will need your passport! Regarding getting the proper train...they do show the ending station, but then they will also show the other stops (stations) that they serve.

Just a clarification about Waterloo - it's spread out horizontally, as it were, and exits from the tube could bring you out at either side of the concourse - or there's a connection from one side to the other in the tube station.

The departure display boards are in the middle of the concourse (and the ticket office near the highest numbered platforms). It is easy to see at a glance what's where once you're up there, but allow 10 minutes to get from one side of the station to the other and into your train.

And you can get all the details about individual stations at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/

I totally forgot about this service..Wasn't it called Thameslink at one time.

nationalrail.co.uk is a booking and scheduling site for all of Britain's 28 or so privatized rail lines (which once made up British Rail)

Thameslink trains are now called First Capital One (i think i have it right) which took over the Thameslink franchise last year i think - these trains run the Brighton-Gatwick - thru London to Bedford, etc. trains

It's First Capital Connect, not First Capital One. Don't confuse the train company with the credit card company .

Hi texasbookworm -

I just returned from my trip to the UK, and all the trains I took (7 trips total) left on time. In fact, they close the train doors up to 40 seconds before it's due to leave.

Like others have said, they tend to display the platform # no more than 10-15 minutes before the train departs, so getting there way too early will leave you staring at the electronic display board.

However, do leave some time for potential delays on the tube, esp if you're traveling on a weekend as they tend to do repair works on weekends. When I was there this past weekend (Bank Holiday), the entire Circle line was closed.