Tulips

If I arrive at St Pancras at 8.57 am on the Eurostar - can I catch a 9.30 train from King's Cross? I need to pick up tickets from the machine at King's Cross.
If I miss this train, do I then have to buy a new ticket for the 10.00 train or will my 9.30 ticket be valid?

KayF

I would say it's cutting it a little fine. In our experience the Eurostar is usually on time but you still have to exit the train and walk a fair way to get outside the Eurostar section. Then you have to walk to Kings Cross, they are next door but it would be easy to get lost. You usually have to queue for the ticket machines as well.

If you know the stations well, know how the ticket machines work and aren't weighed down by luggage then you could be OK.

Where are going on the 9.30am train? I think it will depend on what type of ticket you buy, whether you can use it on any train. It should say on the website.

Kay

RM67

That's quite tight.

Your train into London could easily be a few minutes late. There could be queues at the ticket machines. The machine could throw a wobbly and you then have to go to the window instead. And, no you can't generally get on the next Eurostar if you miss the one before.

So, if that were me, I would be looking at a slightly earlier train to get you in to London.

jamikins

If you are buying a walk up fair then you should be able to get on the next train (depending on the type you buy - buy fully-flexible and you should have no prob). If you are booking in advance and are assigned a seat and got a special price and are just picking the tickets up at the machine then it is unlikely you can get on the next train.

flanneruk

Eurostars are VERY long, generally full and a lot less punctual than Eurostar pretends (they define 'punctual' as arriving within 10 mins of schedule, which isn't quite what you want.) Most people in front of you are carrying/wheeling luggage and almost everyone gets off at St P.

So even if your carriage is next door to the steps down to the exit level, it can easily take 15 mins, even if you know the station's topography, to get to the exit door for Kings Cross. Allowing for the imbeciles in front of you at the street crossing waiting for the light to turn green (jaywalking's not just legal in Britain: it's a social obligation, but the damn foreigners getting off the Eurostar insist on behaving as if they were back home), you'll struggle to get to the ticket machines in time.

If you've booked an advance discount on the ex-KX train, that applies ONLY on the train you've booked. A fully flexible UK fare would be worth buying for safety if you were going to Cambridge: it'd cost you an absurd fortune going to York or Edinburgh.

BUT if you've booked a THROUGH ticket from Paris/Brussels to your UK destination (possible for most major cities on the Eurostar and the often unfairly maligned Raileurope websites), you don't need to print a ticket at KX, you're protected against missed London connections and the UK element of the price should roughly equal a normal advanced booking discount.

flanneruk

Sorry: one minor error's crept into this thread.

There are three kinds of tickets in Britain:

- Anytime: fully flexible
- Advance: a ticket valid only on a specific train. if you miss this, you have to buy a new one, losing the money you've paid
- Off-peak. valid on any train outside peak hours. Precise definitions vary by route - but generally, trains leaving London before ~0930 on weekdays aren't eligible for offpeak fares. Nor are some departures between ~1600 and ~1900.

If you're travelling on a weekday to a destination more than ~100 miles away, the LIKELIHOOD is that you'll be financially better off with an Advance ticket. After nine-ish (check the "ish"), though an offpeak ticket offers you a substantial saving over fully flexible fares. For some destinations (like Cambridge), you can't buy advance tickets anyway, and if you've got an offpeak ticket you can use it on any morning ex-London train.

In your case, there's probably no point buying a fully flexible ("Anytime") fare to anywhere, since the likelihood is off-peaks will be valid by the time you've arrived from a Eurostar.

RM67

Ok - I've read that wrong - you're arriving on Eurostar, not departing on it - it was the ticket machine bit that threw me.

It's still quite tight - the only thing I would say is that if your departure from Kings X is a short commuter train journey, (i.e without reserved seating), then yes, you can generally just get the next one if you miss it.

Tulips

I'm coming from Brussels, and going on to York. Advance ticket to York is much cheaper than buying on the day I think, but I will look into the off-peak.

I can book Eurostar to/from any Belgian station, but as far as I can see, I cannot book a ticket that includes the train to York. This is on a Saturday; I don't suppose there's a chance that the train is full?

In order to get to York from Belgium, it would be easier to fly to Leeds from Brussels, but tickets prices are ridiculous (684 euros return). I've looked at flying to Manchester from Antwerp, but same thing (more than 500 euro).

RM67

York is far enough from London to be reserved seating - most likely any ticket you book will be fixed for that specific journey and you can't usually just hop onto the next train. (Unless you have some mega expensive fully flexible ticket, or there are severe delays and the rail operator lift ticket restrictions, which can happen). What is your intended date of travel - we can check the York leg for availability.

alanbowen

I travel from Kings Cross most Saturday's, the trains are rarely full, except around public holidays but even though I know the short cuts from St.P to KX, I wouldn't book the 0930 if you need to pick up the tickets. If the machines are working well and it immediately recognises your credit card, PIN numbers are not required, you can get the ticket in about one minute but even I try to pick up the tickets in advance in case of delays.

Adavnce tickets are great value but if you miss the train they are of no value at all, you would have to pay the full single fare to York, which is £75. I would book the next train and spend the time you may have between connections at St P which has plenty of shops and restaurants to amuse you for 30 minutes or so.

TimS

If you want a discounted advance fare ticket, give yourself some peace of mind and book the 10:00 train from King's Cross to York.

Tulips

Thank you all for your advice - I'll book the 10:00 train.

alanRow

You can book Brussels to York as one ticket - but you need to use the UK version of the Eurostar website. If you miss your connection at Kings Cross then you'll be able to use any other service to York.

Tulips

That is interesting, too late now, but I will use the UK site next time.

Booking through the UK Eurostar site would have saved me 50 pounds on this journey, compared to booking the two trains separately.

You learn something new every day on this site!

alanRow

<i>Booking through the UK Eurostar site would have saved me 50 pounds on this journey, compared to booking the two trains separately. </i>

That's unusual - normally booking separate tickets is cheaper - but riskier (same logic as booking separate airline tickets). For Brussels to York you could pay as little as £39 + £10.25 whereas combined tickets start around the £60 mark

bilboburgler

The train up to York will have reservations but the last three or so carriages will normally be unreserved, so just keep walking...... down the platform at KX and you should be in luck.

OPs main point, too tight on time for me and know the route pretty well. KX also suffers from the occasional police who crack down on small areas and want to know what you are doing. Basically if this happens you should be polite but explain you are deperate to catch a train and they will stop chatting to you. Alternatively explain (nicely, always nicely) that unless they have evidence that they can interview you on the street they should go and round up the child pimps and drug dealers who hang around KX instead of bothering honest travelers.

Tulips

If you put the route into the UK Eurostar site, they also come up with the 10 am train.

Booking separately, was €205 (about 170 pounds) for Eurostar, and 97 pounds for the train to York, for myself + youth.
Through the Eurostar UK site this came up as a total 220 pounds.

At least I can print the UK tickets at home now - last time I tried this was not possible if you didn't have a UK address.

alanRow

What date is that? £97 is what I'd expect to pay for last minute travel on off-peak trains (ie you would pay that if you bought the tickets 10 minutes before you travelled)

Tulips

I booked through East Coast train website - and 97 for two was what they indicated as the lowest rate, on a Saturday in February. There were lower rates but not for that train.

I must say, I find the train system in the UK quite confusing. Many different companies, websites and different rates.

PalenQ

why build so little time between trains with non-refundable tickets?

When that Eurostar train pops in be standing at the door ready to bolt!