London -- Piccadilly tube line: I'm baffled
 

So, what is it with the Piccadilly line?

In mid-May, I'm arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5, and need to get from there to the Earl's Court tube station. I went to the London Transport website, checked the map and found out that the Piccadilly Line easily connects those two points.

But when I used the 'trip planner' function on the website to research a schedule, the response showed me a number of routes using a combination of multiple buses with lots of changes, going blocks on foot, and so on, with no mention of the Piccadilly line at all. I'm hoping that this was merely some aberration of the website, and not representative of any actual issues with the Piccadilly Line. Or *are* there perhaps issues with the Piccadilly line that require using buses instead?

Any Tube experts out there who can help me out?

Fritzrl

My Underground map in the heavy but otherwise useful Eyewitness Travel Guide to London shows the Earl's Court station on the District Line connected to and just to the south of what appears to be a station (but untitled) just east of the Barons Court station on the Picadilly Line. Certainly the Picadilly line has Heathrow as a principal western terminous, and we've used the line to return to Heathrow from rented lodgings in Mayfair and Knightsbridge (oddly, we've not arrived at Heathrow for our London visits but have arrived from elsewhere in the UK and from the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel).

From Transport for London:

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/use...lateDistance=1

There will be partial closure of the Piccadilly Line on May 15-16.

"Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May, suspended between Hammersmith, Northfields and Ealing Common. Rail replacement bus services operate." Click on the "i" at the link below for more info.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravel...aspx?offset=23

What time were you looking at? The tube is not 24 hours.

"<i>My Underground map in the heavy but otherwise useful Eyewitness Travel Guide to London shows the Earl's Court station on the District Line connected to and just to the south of what appears to be a station (but untitled) just east of the Barons Court station on the Picadilly Line.</i>"

That's just confusing/incorrect. No tube station is 'untitled'. I can't imagine a guidebook as good as the Eyewitness series would publish an incorrect tube map. It should show in order west to east -- Barons Court (both Piccadilly and District), West Kensington (District line), Earl's Court (Piccadilly and District), Gloucester Rd (Piccadilly, Circle and District). Does your map show 2 or 3 circles arranged vertically? Those all represent Earls Court. Earl's Court is definitely on the Piccadilly line.

fritzri: What date and time of day? As Jean linked - there are engineering closures on some tube lines the weekend of the 15th.

Janisj- I am looking at my EyeWitness Guide and cab see what Mohun is referring to. Immediately after the Barons Court/West Kensington station link, the green District line shows the customary little square protrusian indicating a station - which I can see from a bit of obscure printing, is West Kensington.

Sorry - should read "immediately after the Barons Court station, the district line shows.....' They printed the name West Kensington directly below the Barons Court link with the picadilly line probably because the name was a bit long, so it looks more like Barons Court & West Kensington are opposite each other, not a bit further down the track.

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sorry about my inadvertent misrepresentation of what I saw. There are in fact two circles adjacent to each and arranged vertically with the Earl's Court label next to the lower (southern) circle and adjacent to the green line representing the District Line. The labels of the two adjacent Picadilly Line stations to the west and east (Baron's Court and Glouester Road) are above the purple line (in my book) representing the Picadilly Line. I did not realize that the two vertical circles of which the lower is labled Earl's Court both represent Earl's Court station. It then appears that the two circles are representative of the two separate lines served by one station rather than of the station itself.

>.It then appears that the two circles are representative of the two separate lines served by one station rather than of the station itself.<<

Yes. Circles on the tube map indicate an interchange within the station.

The answer to the OP's question would seem to be the partial replacement by buses for engineering works - when I try the same search for 15 May, the TfL Journeyplanner says "planned engineering works are taking place", and recommends taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington and District/Circle Line from there to Earl's Court. This would be quickest in the circumstances (the default search is to look for the fastest option). If you take out the Heathrow Express option and ask for tube and bus instead, you get the Piccadilly Line substitute options - scheduled express bus to Hammersmith and tube from there (about 20 minutes longer, but cheaper than Heathrow Express), or tube to Northfields and replacement bus to Hammersmith. It's all explained in the details, if you click on the "View" button for each suggested route.

Usually with that planned closure, anything that closes the Picadilly line on the way to Heathrow,k they have a deal set up so that Heathrow Express (and I think Heathrow Connect) will honor a one day zone 1-6 travelcard (at least it's been thgat way in the past) so if that is still so, it's not so terrible. You pick up the zone 1-6 one day travelcard at the tube station at Heathrow, use it on the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then hop on either a district line or circle line train to Earls Court.....but these of course are austere times and I don't know if they will continue to do this.

Thanks, everyone. I see what was going on now. We'll arrive in London on 12 May, and depart on 16 May. When I did a non-date-specific search, I received Piccadilly Line in my assortment of responses. When I did a date-specific search, including 16 May, that's when I got the bus/rail/foot combo that was driving me crazy.

The other little issue I have to resolve is that on 16 May, my departing flight from Heathrow to Vienna leaves at 7:45 AM, so I'll need to get to Terminal 3 at oh-dark-thirty AM. If buses and walking are the options at that point, I fear being late to catch the plane.

Soooo, I guess I'll go ahead and make arrangements for a round trip auto transfer between the airport and the hotel. It's a bit spendy, but cheaper than missing my flight.

Thanks again for all the clarification and advice, folks.

Why not take the tube in to London and a car service back out to LHR? At least that would be a <i>little</i> less spendy.

An additional note in addition to my mea culpa, above. Although I appear to have had a bit of a problem navigating the Underground map in my book, navigating the Underground itself has always been pretty user-friendly with the clear and profuse signage available in the stations and the line maps on the trains themselves. By the way, a benefit of the London Eyewitness book is the identification with each London attraction of the nearest underground station(s). We don't carry the book around but note the appropriate Underground routes and leave the book in our flat while we're traveling to marvelous sites throughout London.

Very few guide books will have an accurate up-to-date tube map. On the current map, the Circle Line terminates at Hammersmith. Many visitors using maps in guide books are bemused by the new route of the Circle Line. Try to use the map on the Transport for London website and pick up a map when you arrive in London.

mohun - I'm going to give you a little tip about EyeWitness Guide. I agree its too heavy to lug around so what I did was this:
I colour photocopied the maps - but slightly larger.
I bound them together leaving every other page blank - only map page 1 & 2 faced each other, then 3 & 4, and so on. This left 2 pages blank on either side.
Now, I makes notes, reataurant addresses & phone numbers, sights and the tube connections on the blank pages. Even photcopy and glue little articles onto them. Over the years my book ( which is on Paris not London) has grown and I have now compiled a new one putting in new info and leaving out the stuff I've already done.
It's light and packed with everything I want to know!!

That's a great idea, tod. I could try that with the best parts of the various London info I've collected on three trips.

Youre very welcome - Forgot to say, you also need to photocopy the INDEX with street names and ref. to the map pages!