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Old March 25th 09, 11:28 AM posted to uk.transport.london
plcd1 plcd1 is offline
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Default Heathrow to Central London

On Mar 24, 11:12*pm, "MLD" wrote:
"Paul Corfield" wrote in message

...





On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:18:29 -0400, "MLD" wrote:


Will be arriving at Heathrow early AM and plan to take the tube to Euston.
Will be burdened with the usual luggage to cart around. Need some opinion
on the degree of difficulty traveling with luggage on the train.
Can I purchase an Oyster (Pay as you go) pass at Heathrow? *Comments
appreciated.
MLD


You haven't indicated the day on which you will be travelling but
generally the tubes are not too busy if you are on one of the early
arrivals (e.g. 0500 at Heathrow). Once you get to 0630 onwards then the
trains will be very busy as you head in to town and all the way through
the centre. You can buy an Oyster card at Heathrow - either at a travel
information centre or at a ticket office. *You may even be able to order
one from abroad before you set off - look at the Oyster part of the TfL
website.


http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1067.aspx


You should make sure you check if there are any engineering works if you
are travelling at a weekend.


http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravel...fault.html*and
use the "this date" function on the screen to check.


You have to be able to carry your luggage yourself and not be so laden
down that you have to leave it unattended at the top or bottom of stairs
or escalators. *If heading for Euston then I would suggest either of the
following two options.


From Heathrow take the Piccadilly Line to Green Park and follow the way
out signs (NOT the Victoria Line signs). *This takes you to an escalator
to the ticket hall where you can then descend down an escalator to the
Victoria Line platforms - take any train from the Northbound platform on
your right. No stairs involved. At Euston you have escalators on each
stage from the tube platform to street / main line station level.
Euston is a bit of warren but follow the "Way Out" signs and you'll be
fine.


Alternatively go to Kings Cross and again follow the way out signs (NOT
the Victoria Line signs) and once in the ticket hall you will see the
escalators down to the Victoria Line on your left. *Go down the
escalator and take any train from the southbound platform (on your
left).


*Do not go through the ticket gates at either Green Park or Kings Cross
when making your interchange.*


These are the only two step free routes I can think of for the journey
you suggest. *I've certainly done the Kings Cross interchange before
with luggage and it's much better than dragging bags up the short but
cumbersome stairs on the advertised connecting corridor.


Have a safe journey.
--
Paul C - works for LUL


Paul
Thank you for your excellent comments, they will be put to good use.
Scheduled to arrive at Heathrow at 6:30 am on a Saturday--Does this changes
things much? *Clarification needed on the following:
Euston is a bit of a "warren"--another way of saying "can be confusing"?
"Engineering works"--Do you mean--"construction or the like going on??
Got another question--after about 6 days in London will be heading to Wigan,
again on a Saturday morning with a return on the following Friday. *Plan to
take a train out of Euston station. *How much in advance do I need to
purchase tickets? *Also, as asked before, will luggage be much of a
handicap? *Thanks again.
MLD


Euston - yes it can be a bit confusing due to the network of
corridors. As I said just follow the "Way Out" signs consistently and
you'll be OK.

Engineering works - at weekends and evenings there can be
construction / renewal / upgrade works which mean either sections of
line and / or stations are closed. It is important that you check the
TfL website for the dates you may be travelling. The Victoria Line,
in particular, is subject to a lot of large scale (often the whole
line) closures at weekends. This would affect the advice I provided
to you.

As others have indicated the earlier you book then the cheaper a
ticket will be for the train to Wigan. The Virgin Trains website can
show the discounted tickets that are available per train. Note that
cheap tickets are train specific and NOT valid for other trains. Other
ticket options may be a bit more expensive but may give you some more
flexibility as to which train you can catch. You should be able to
transport luggage on the main line trains without too much issue
although the Pendolino trains Virgin use on the route don't have very
big overhead racks although there are other luggage stacks. Note that
Fridays can be extremely busy in terms of people travelling -
especially afternoons onwards. It is important that you check as to
whether engineering works may affect your planned trip on the Saturday
- www.nationalrail.co.uk is the link to the National Rail website
which will allow you to plan your times and find out if there are
planned engineering works.

--
Paul C via Google