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| Home > City Guide - London - Getting There By Rail | ||
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Getting There By Rail The British railway network is currently in crisis with delays, cancellations and poor travelling conditions common. Despite this, fares – particularly on routes via London – are among the highest in Europe. Services are provided by a number of independent operators, while Railtrack (website: www.railtrack.co.uk) is currently responsible for the track and for 14 major stations. However, the company has gone into administration and a new rail body is in the process of being created. Timetable information is available 24 hours from National Rail Enquiries (tel: (0845) 748 4950) or the Railtrack website. London has numerous major stations. They all become very crowded during rush hour (0800-0930 and 1700-1830 weekdays), when services struggle to cope with the sheer volume of passengers. The major national stations in London are Victoria (southwest), Paddington (west), Euston and Kings Cross (north), Liverpool Street (east), Waterloo (south) and Charing Cross (central). Station facilities differ but most include ATMs, bureaux de change, shops, cafés and pubs. Tickets can be purchased at the station (ticket desks and machines) or on board. Rail services: Eurostar (tel: (0870) 518 6186 or (01233) 617 575 from outside the UK; website: www.eurostar.com) services from Calais, Brussels, Lille, Paris-Gare du Nord and Disneyland Paris travel via the English Channel to Waterloo station. Eurostar is extremely convenient and, once time travelling to and from the airport and checking in etc has been taken into account, is usually quicker than flying (approximate journey time to Paris –3 hours). Tickets are available from the station or from the Eurostar Call Centre or website. The main London termini serve different regions of the country, as follows: Euston and King’s Cross – Midlands, north of England and Scotland; Liverpool Street – East Anglia; Paddington – Heathrow airport, the West Country, South Wales and the Midlands; Victoria – Gatwick airport and the southeast; and Waterloo – the south coast and the continent. There are also numerous regional stations, including Blackfriars, Charing Cross, London Bridge, Marylebone, St Pancras, Stratford and Clapham Junction (the busiest station in the UK). Overnight sleeper trains, run by Scotrail (tel: (0845) 755 0033; website: www.scotrail.co.uk), connect Euston with the Scottish destinations of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Fort William. National Rail Enquiries (tel: (0845) 7484 950) can provide information on all services, including journey prices, times and duration. Transport to the city: All railway stations are on the London Underground network. The old Stationlink buses (SL1 and SL2), which operated a circular route linking all major railway stations, have been replaced by two express bus routes, 205 and 705. Between them, they cover the major railway stations, with limited key stops in between, often at regional train stations. Both bus routes operate from Paddington to Liverpool Street (and back). Route 205 stops at Marylebone, Euston and Kings Cross St Pancras and operates daily every 10-15 minutes approximately 0500-2430. Route 705 stops at Victoria (coach and train stations), Waterloo and London Bridge and operates daily every 30 minutes approximately 0800-2000. Tickets cost £1 per trip. Licensed London taxis are readily available from ranks outside main train stations. The London Travel Information line (tel: (020) 7222 1234; website: www.tfl.gov.uk) provides information on all the city’s transport. |
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