On 11 Feb 2005 22:53:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Michael Hoffman writes:
Paul Corfield wrote:

Luton is served by Thameslink to Kings Cross.

St. Pancras, actually, which is next to Kings Cross and shares its
Tube station.

St. Pancras, actually, which is some way from Kings X if you are carrying
any amount of luggage or are elderly or unfit, and has no Tube Station.

Last time I looked the Tube station was called Kings Cross St Pancras.

The current arrangement, as you all know, is temporary with respect to
Thameslink terminals in the area.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Huge wrote:
Paul Corfield writes:

On 11 Feb 2005 22:53:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:


Michael Hoffman writes:

Paul Corfield wrote:


Luton is served by Thameslink to Kings Cross.

St. Pancras, actually, which is next to Kings Cross and shares its
Tube station.

St. Pancras, actually, which is some way from Kings X if you are carrying
any amount of luggage or are elderly or unfit, and has no Tube Station.

Last time I looked the Tube station was called Kings Cross St Pancras.

The current arrangement, as you all know, is temporary with respect to
Thameslink terminals in the area.


I'm sure it's deeply reassuring to know what the Tube station is called
and that the arrangement is temporary as you drag your suitcases 500
yards in the ****ing rain to wait outside the gates until the Northern
Line platforms clear enough to let some more people in.

Admits to working for London Underground!


Figures.

To the OP: Go to Gatwick. St. Pancras is a shambles at present and to be
avoided at all costs.

The OP is only coming for a few days and probably doesn't have much
luggage, so St Pancras probably isn't a big deal. If he's travelling to
Westminster than changing at West Hampstead is probably very useful for him.

Gatwick is more convenient for Westminster - but the OP asked which was
better between Luton or Stansted, so Gatwick is a completely useless
suggestion.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - transport projects in London

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 19:47:52 +0000 (UTC), "informer"
wrote:


"Pete" wrote in message
...
I'm heading to the Westminster area of London next week and I have the
option of flying into either Stanstead or Luton. Which airport has the
better rail links to this part of London? By "better" I mean easier/faster
and/or cheaper.



Stansted is London's rural airport with a branch line rail service to London
which takes on average 50 minutes and runs as little as every half hour
even in the early evening and not at all during the night. Luton is on the
main line, has up to 9 trains an hour and a journey time of as little as 23
minutes. Yes there is a shuttle bus but it runs every few minutes and
takes just 5 minutes to get to the station.

Don't forget at Stansted you have to catch a train to get from the stands to
the terminal. By the time you have got out of Stansted you could be half way
to London from Luton.


Though whilst you're on the automated shuttle train at Stansted your
luggage is being unloaded so it probably doesn't increase the total
amount of time taken to exit the airport - it simply reduces the
length of time you're waiting at the carousel. (Unless you're
travelling with hand baggage only,of course).

PaulO

I had to wait for that automated shuttle train a few years back. The
crowds were enormous and the tunnel to the train was claustrophobic.
Someone decided to drop their guts which didn't help. I can still
taste it today.

On 12 Feb 2005 10:55:08 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Paul Corfield writes:
On 11 Feb 2005 22:53:29 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Michael Hoffman writes:
Paul Corfield wrote:

Luton is served by Thameslink to Kings Cross.

St. Pancras, actually, which is next to Kings Cross and shares its
Tube station.

St. Pancras, actually, which is some way from Kings X if you are carrying
any amount of luggage or are elderly or unfit, and has no Tube Station.

Last time I looked the Tube station was called Kings Cross St Pancras.

The current arrangement, as you all know, is temporary with respect to
Thameslink terminals in the area.

I'm sure it's deeply reassuring to know what the Tube station is called
and that the arrangement is temporary as you drag your suitcases 500
yards in the ****ing rain to wait outside the gates until the Northern
Line platforms clear enough to let some more people in.

Admits to working for London Underground!

Figures.

Thanks for reminding me why I really, really should not bother with
attempting to be remotely helpful to people on this group.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

In message , Paul Corfield
writes
Thanks for reminding me why I really, really should not bother with
attempting to be remotely helpful to people on this group.

On the contrary, Paul, please continue to do so and don't allow the
occasional negative comment from someone who knows about 10% of what
you're on about discourage you.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

Paul Corfield wrote:
On 12 Feb 2005 10:55:08 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Paul Corfield writes:

Admits to working for London Underground!

Figures.
Thanks for reminding me why I really, really should not bother with
attempting to be remotely helpful to people on this group.

The intelligent majority find your contributions extremely helpful and
useful.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

"Dave Arquati" wrote in message
...

The intelligent majority find your contributions extremely helpful and
useful.

Agreed. Carry on posting, Paul.

That said, St. Pancras is a mess at present and a real schlep from Kings
Cross. The advice to the OP to stick to Stansted is fair.

Ian

In message , Huge
writes
Ian Jelf writes:
In message , Paul Corfield
writes
Thanks for reminding me why I really, really should not bother with
attempting to be remotely helpful to people on this group.

On the contrary, Paul, please continue to do so and don't allow the
occasional negative comment from someone who knows about 10% of what
you're on about discourage you.

So, your bigotry somehow distorts spacetime and means that people
arriving at St.Pancras *don't* have to drag their suitcases 500 yards
in the ****ing rain to wait outside Kings X until the Tube has cleared
sufficiently?

Damn, I must be imagining those enraged/confused tourists every
morning. And the thousands of Thameslink customers getting it
up the arse from T/L, GoVia, whatever the National rail authority
is called this week and LuL. "Kings X is full, go away."

To the OP: Definitely use Stanstead. St.Pancras is a shambles and
Kings X a building site at present. Oh, and I wouldn't bother
with a Blue Badge Guide, either, if they're all as accurate (and
bigoted) as above.

Oh thanks, Huge, I haven't been flamed for *ages*! :-))

I have made no comment about the use of Kings Cross Saint Pancras or
otherwise for the original poster. I *do* however, feel the desire to
post a few words of support to Paul C whose contributions here are
balanced, valuable and well thought out.
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

On 13 Feb 2005 10:16:59 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

Paul Corfield writes:
On 12 Feb 2005 10:55:08 GMT, (Huge) wrote:

[20 lines snipped]

I'm sure it's deeply reassuring to know what the Tube station is called
and that the arrangement is temporary as you drag your suitcases 500
yards in the ****ing rain to wait outside the gates until the Northern
Line platforms clear enough to let some more people in.

Admits to working for London Underground!

Figures.

Thanks for reminding me why I really, really should not bother with
attempting to be remotely helpful to people on this group.

Frankly, given the quality of the "help" offered, I'd be inclined to agree
with you. You might work for LU, but I have to *use* the "service" you
"offer" in the real world.

You seem to somehow imagine that I don't use the tube and buses every
day to get about London. As I have said many times on here (utl) there
are days when the service is truly awful - no argument - but also there
are countless days when I (and thousands of others) get about with no
problems whatsoever. There is a lot of effort being made to knock the
system into shape so that there are no delays or breakdowns.

Now who do you work for so I can assess whether I use your services and
then can make sweeping statements about what your firm provides?
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!