Peterborough: trains for Ipswich and Norwich. |
Greater Freedom by abolishing Fear of Changing Trains!
Unless we live in London or near a major junction station, we need to change trains from time to time to have a wide choice of destinations. The need to change trains does put some people off making journeys by train, but once we are freed from the fear of changing trains (maybe I could invent the acronym FOCT!) then some amazing journeys can be undertaken, anywhere in the world that is connected to the railway system - I describe some of these in this blog. Yes, there are some short trips involving one train (from my local station these are to Ely, Cambridge, Birmingham and Leicester, for example) but most of them involve getting off our little local train and boarding another one to take us farther afield. But people I speak to often seem to fear either not being able to find the train they need or, worse, getting on the wrong train in a strange place and going hundreds of miles in the wrong direction. Now, I'm not saying this cannot happen, but simple systems are there to prevent it and it is up to us to make sure we use them. This article sets out to abolish FOCT and liberate readers to travel all over Europe with ease! I have made complex, multiple-change trips in the UK and abroad with no trouble at all.
Birmingham New Street: trains for London and Bournemouth. |
The main thing about changing trains, as in most aspects of life, to be honest, is to keep your head and not panic! When it is time to leave your first train, gather your things carefully together (see advice on my Luggage page) and leave the train calmly, glancing at your seat and table to ensure that you have not left anything, and make your way to the platform. If you need to stop and adjust your baggage or check anything, do stand clear of the doors so that other passengers can get past you!
Train indicator at Birmingham New Street, showing my train home to Stamford! The next train is a (delayed) train to Nottingham. |
Somewhere on the station, and often in several places, there will be a comprehensive list of departures (and arrivals, too, for those meeting people off trains) for the next hour or two. At Peterborough, for example, there is a big display over the main entrance hall which lists the stopping places of all departures, and smaller displays showing the time and destinations are on the platforms and elsewhere, including, wisely, the waiting rooms. There are also staff around to be consulted, including several sitting at counters and employed for this very purpose (they are especially useful on those occasions when things go wrong and special advice is needed - as happened to us at York on our way to Whitby). What you need is three pieces of information:
- what the destination is of the next train that calls at your own destination,
- what time it departs,
- which platform it departs from
Mantra: "Time, Destination, Platform"
At main stations in London, Birmingham etc, there are similar but larger displays making it pretty simple to discover where you need to be. So, armed with the departure time, destination and platform number (as well as whether the train is on time, or how many minutes late), the next step is to find the platform. Simply look for the signs which will be plentiful at interchange stations. Sometimes a long platform is divided into A end and B end but a long train will occupy the whole platform and just the number may be all you are given - announcements will sometimes tell you which end to be for First and Standard classes, or where to stand if you've a bicycle to load.
If you allow five minutes to change trains, this will be adequate at most stations, but a few more minutes, especially if you've never been there before, would be wise at big complex stations like Birmingham New Street or Edinburgh Waverley. You need time to find the departures list, read the information about your next train (time, destination, platform), find the platform, walk to it and board the train, and at places like New Street, the walking alone can take a couple of minutes. If you're not in a hurry (and often one is not), then allowing a bit longer and just taking time to have a drink or even allowing a lot longer and visiting a museum can turn a journey into a tour! We do it a lot: I bought a shirt once while changing trains in Birmingham, and in London we sometimes spend a whole day!
A Cross Country Voyager at Birmingham New Street. This station is key to visiting a huge part of Britain and is designed to make changes of train as easy as possible. |
Birmingham New Street
Nearly all inter-city and most local and regional services in the West Midlands call at New Street, and those that don't can be reached at Moor Street just across and along the road, so unless you are in Kent or Sussex you will often find that New Street is the gateway to some of England, Wales or Scotland's most interesting destinations. Indeed, even if you don't have to change trains you may find yourself passing through New Street: the UK's longest train trip, from Aberdeen to Penzance, comes this way.
At the A end of New Street's platforms the waiting areas are separated by the main entrance from the Bull Ring, so changing trains is best done at the B end. |
New Street's helpful guide to which "lounge" you need for which platform changes: cut out and keep, or save to your smartphone! |
If you've time to spare, this station is in the heart of England's second city and there is plenty to see and do within a few minutes walk of the trains, so there is no need to rush through, so long as you get your last train to your destination. To leave the station, ask at a manned ticket barrier if your ticket is valid for break of journey (no need to do this if you have full-priced "any time" tickets or separate tickets for each leg of the journey) and then the options are to leave via one of the street-level exits - the main one takes you out to the well-known Bull Ring shopping area - or to go up one more level to the new Grand Central shopping centre which is built above the station. There also exits to Stephenson Street and Station Street, but these are not so useful for a quick visit (unless you want the Ian Allan transport book and model shop on Stephenson Street).
You are unlikely to have to go to Snow Hill station but if you do there are now trams from the Stephenson Street exit to Snow Hill, also signposted.
Trains which operate from Snow Hill also normally call at Moor Street, which is nearer.
London, Kings Cross and St Pancras International
London has never had a "central" station and changing trains here has normally meant a cross-town trek by Underground, taxi, bus or, if you know where you're going, on foot. The opening of the Thameslink service (strictly a reopening) between Farringdon and Blackfriars gave those of us in the north some limited access to the south and vice-versa, but the more recent opening of the high speed lines into Kent (principally for Eurostar services to Europe) and expansion of the Thameslink services has made the Kings Cross and St Pancras termini, with their shared Underground station - already the best connected on the Underground network - a real hub for London. The two main line stations' main entrances have been moved to face each other across the street, too, and make a journey from, say, York to Margate, a simple matter of crossing the road (and there's a subway route if you don't even want to do that!).
If you know Kings Cross and/or St Pancras from the past, it is best to forget all about them and start again as if they are newly-opened stations that you've never seen before, because they are used now in such a different way that if you try following habitual ways you will end up in the wrong place - not a disaster by any means, but it will take out of your way and lead to unnecessary confusion.
Before writing about changing trains at the Kings Cross St Pancras hub, I just want to mention that London Euston station is just a short walk from here, or one stop on the sub-surface Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City or Circle line, so it is also a hub for those travelling to/from London by the West Coast Main Line, too, including the Caledonian Sleepers.
I shall describe a change of train from one arriving at Kings Cross into a connection at St Pancras, and then the other way round: the second half of each will also work for passengers arriving here from other stations on foot or by Underground, bus or taxi.
Arriving at Kings Cross, leaving by St Pancras International
The main concourse at Kings Cross: go diagonally across for domestic rail services from St Pancras |
Exit to main concourse from Kings Cross main platforms |
Approaching the exit for St Pancras domestic rail services |
Arriving at St Pancras International, leaving by Kings Cross
Whether arriving by Eurostar from France or Belgium or by domestic trains from Kent, the Midlands or the London suburbs, any exit on the east side of St Pancras's main concourse level, below the main platforms, will take you to Kings Cross main concourse across the road. It is best not to head towards the old exits at Euston Road which are mainly for those wanting the Underground and buses. I generally go out of St Pancras by what is now its main entrance/exit near the Southeastern High Speed platforms and domestic ticket offices (there is a subway here, too, handy if it's raining outside), and straight across the road into Kings Cross main concourse - don't take the Underground entrance by mistake! Opposite the entrance is one of two huge departure displays listing all the calling points of all the trains due out in the next hour or two: often the platform number is only shown when the train is ready to board, so you can wait here on the concourse. There is waiting space on a balcony with seating, and from there a bridge curves across to the centre of the platforms, just right for the Standard Class areas of most trains. First Class ticket-holders might be best going onto the platforms via their ends - to the right of the information displays. There is also a lounge for those with First Class tickets, and if you leave this via the upper level onto the bridge over the platforms, the lift will take you nearer to the First Class coaches.
There are, of course, many other large junctions in Britain, but I hope that this description of these few key places will illustrate how simple change-of-train can be. I have quite confidently made changes in other European countries at stations which I've never seen before and never experienced any real difficulty - although the signposting of some of Paris's great termini does leave something to be desired. Just take it one step at a time: find out what time train, to what ultimate destination and at which platform, and only then start looking for it. Easy!
There are, of course, many other large junctions in Britain, but I hope that this description of these few key places will illustrate how simple change-of-train can be. I have quite confidently made changes in other European countries at stations which I've never seen before and never experienced any real difficulty - although the signposting of some of Paris's great termini does leave something to be desired. Just take it one step at a time: find out what time train, to what ultimate destination and at which platform, and only then start looking for it. Easy!
Very helpful, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI find it tricky to change at Birmingham New Street now as I can see the platform number I need but cannot get there in a straight line as escalators always seem to be in the way. I end up having to pass through the barriers, walk along and then back through the barriers - it all adds time! Is this because I have not got off at the 'B' end of the platform you refer to? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes. To my mind it should not matter, but it does. If you leave the platforms via the B end, you can get to any other platform without facing the barriers. Makeshift signs have now been erected giving advice to change trains via the B end of the platforms.
DeleteThe problem is that the station entrance/exit is between platform accesses at the A end, making that end better for those leaving the railway at New Street, but less good for those changing trains there.
This should be very useful. I've changed trains a couple of times and found it very confusing. Hopefully this time I'll sail through!
ReplyDeleteI hope you find this advice helpful! As I say, I have travelled around the UK and Europe in places I don't know and have not gone wrong yet .... But I suppose there's still time for that to happen!
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