Guide to London's Main Train Stations

The departure boards are flashing, the station is heaving, and there is still no platform number. If that scene makes your heart race, you are exactly who we made this episode for. With more than 25 years working on the UK railways, Doug joins Tracy to walk through London's mainline stations in plain English, so your first UK rail trip starts with calm, not panic.

• Why London has multiple terminal stations, and how that affects boarding and timing
• Which London stations serve which parts of the UK and Europe, including the Eurostar
• A quick station by station guide to King's Cross, St Pancras, Euston, Paddington, Waterloo, Victoria, Liverpool Street and Marylebone
• How airport links shape your choice of station and where to stay in London
• How to check your train before you leave using National Rail tools and live running info
• How to read departure boards, including final destination and stopping patterns
• Why platform numbers often appear late, and why that is completely normal
• Ticket barriers, using the wider gates with bags, and when to ask staff
• Seat reservations being free, when to reserve, and how unreserved coaches work
• Luggage rules, keeping your bags secure, and what accessibility assistance can cover
• Peak versus off peak basics, and when cheaper tickets are more likely
• Doug's Calm Down Checklist for a smooth, stress-free departure

If this takes some of the mystery out of London's stations, please subscribe, share it with a nervous traveller, and leave a quick review on your favourite podcast app. Want personal help with your trip? You can book Doug for a 30 minute train travel Q&A or a full consultation. And do subscribe to our YouTube channel for Doug's new confidence series.

📝 Show Notes - Episode 212

Still planning your UK or Ireland trip?

Rabbie's small-group tours are a brilliant way to see more without the hassle of driving or planning everything yourself. With departures from cities such as Edinburgh, London and Dublin, it's easy to add a multi-day adventure to your itinerary. 

Have a look at their tours and any current offers on their website - Rabbies.com

Transcript

The London Station Panic Feeling

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Standing in a huge London station, bags in hand, the departure boards flashing and still no platform number. It is enough to make anyone's heart race. So which of London's train stations do you actually need? And how do you use one without the panic? This week Doug and I walk you through it station by station so your very first British train journey starts calmly and in control.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

SPEAKER_04 0:55

Hi

Meet Your UK Rail Guru

SPEAKER_04 0:56

everybody, and welcome to this week's edition of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. It's great to be back, and this week I have Doug with me. Hello. Because we're going to chat all about um train stations. Oh yes. Particularly London train stations. Because London has more than a dozen mainland stations, and one of the most common things that you ask us is basically a version of the same worry. Which one do I go to? What on earth do I do when I actually get there? And we know it's one of those things that can feel a bit stressful, can't it?

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Yeah, it can overwhelm quite a few people.

SPEAKER_04 1:30

It does. So it can look complicated from the outside, especially if it's something you've never done before.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 1:35

But actually, it's once you understand how it works, pretty straightforward.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

There is method behind the uh behind the scenes there, and once you know how they work and you get a bit of an understanding, it all makes a little bit more sense.

SPEAKER_04 1:48

Absolutely. Now, of course, you know if you've been listening to the podcast before, if you're a member of uh one of our Facebook groups, including Doug's uh UK Train Travel Tips Facebook group, um, you'll know that Doug spent more than 25 years working on the UK railways, a plus, yes, you working on the UK railways. So really he is the he's a person, he's a guru when it comes to UK train travel.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Yeah, and not just those 25 plus years, it's actually 40 odd years of travelling around by train.

SPEAKER_04 2:14

Exactly. So it's true that you've done every line?

SPEAKER_02 2:17

I've done every line, every main line uh in the country I have done.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

Now, when we were recently in the UK, you spent a bit of time in London um visiting lots of the train stations, didn't you? The main train stations.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

That's right. I picked nine of the most popular, the most uh commonly um used by our guests, if you like.

SPEAKER_04 2:37

Yeah, by people visiting London, because there are some train stations in London that are more for commuters, really.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

Yeah, that's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:43

Um so what we thought we'd do is in this episode, we're gonna talk you through the main big London train stations, the ones that you are most likely to be potentially come across. That's right. Um, what each one is for, as in which part of the country they serve. Yeah, um, and then Doug's gonna talk about how to use a use a train station confidently.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Yeah, I'll give you an overview as to where the station's uh cover for trains heading out out of London. I'll also give you uh just an outline as to how to prepare yourself for using a mainline train station.

SPEAKER_04 3:17

So, and a little bit of spoiler alert, because you're actually working on a YouTube video on this as well, aren't you?

SPEAKER_02 3:21

I am. I've started a new YouTube um series for uh train uh videos, it's basically a confidence. So the video I'm working on at the moment is literally a detailed video as to how to use a railway station.

SPEAKER_04 3:34

Exactly. So if you like to watch, um we will put the link in so you can actually watch that video where Doug explains everything. And obviously, in this podcast, obviously we're going to talk through a lot of this information.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Yeah, I'll give you an overview uh in the in the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 3:48

But yeah, pop over to the YouTube to to watch.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

You'll send everybody to sleep if you just detailed every single part of it in a podcast.

SPEAKER_04 3:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a bit long, it's just kind of a bit more of a kind of summary of it. But the video I say it's coming to the YouTube channel very soon. So do pop over and um subscribe to us at UK Travel Planning because there's a lot, there's a lot of train stuff over there and a lot of planning stuff as well coming soon as well from me. Now,

Why London Stations Feel Stressful

SPEAKER_04 4:12

let's talk about why train travel can be a little bit stressful. So we know that a lot of you may be coming from countries where you don't travel by train.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

That's right, you may not be familiar with it, and you've seen films, videos, pro TV programmes, and all you see is very busy places, people rushing here, rushing there, and it seems very loud, very noisy, and just a bit overwhelming, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

And the thing is as well, I guess some places in the world, some cities in the world have one central station. Yeah, you know, we can think of many places in the world where we've gone from like one central station in a city, but actually London has many. It has quite a few, yes, and they all kind of point to different parts of the country.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Yeah, that's true, that's true. And so if you're you need to coordinate out to where you may be staying in London, is to where your end destination is going to be from leaving London, so you've got to include that within. So you need to allow towns to get to the station and you know transport links, etc.

SPEAKER_04 5:11

So there's there are quite a few things to think about, but one thing that will come, I think this helps, is to think about this, is that London the London train stations are termini stations, so it means that you're gonna start or finish your journey there. So if you're starting your journey, the train starts from that platform.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

That's right, that's what it means. So you you know straight away which way your seat is facing. So we you know you're gonna be going backwards or forwards, which is important to some people, not to others.

SPEAKER_04 5:42

But also, you know, that that you've got some time to get on the train. It's not like you're standing at a station where the train's coming through, people are getting on, and you've got to get off, and it's a bit bit more kind of you know, time kind of is of the essence.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

That's right, but it's still important that you really arrive around 20 to 30 minutes before your train's expected departure time, and that works for many different factors. One in the fact that it really reduces that stress of actually the journey length to get to that station, where you've got to head to, because a lot of stations have more than one entrance in and out. The platforms aren't always in a line, they could be in different parts of the station, and also the big factor is the departure platform. Now, we want to mention that sometimes these platforms do not get released until not many minutes before the train departs. But don't worry about that. Honestly, do not worry about that. The train's not going to go within a minute of it being shown on the board. There's many reasons behind that, it can be from a station operational point of view, it can actually be from a safety point of view. So if you've got several trains leaving at the same time, you don't want rushes of different multiple people going to the side-by-side platforms. So there's multiple reasons why they can be a bit slow to show platform numbers.

SPEAKER_04 7:01

Okay, so before we get into all of that kind of bit more technical details about actually what happens when you get to the train station, the first thing I thought we'd look at, uh, and we did cover this in episode 31, so you can take back this one of our very early episodes, actually.

Pick The Right Station For Your Route

SPEAKER_04 7:16

Um, but we thought we'd look at it again as kind of 2026 update. Uh, which station do you need in London? Now, I guess the best way for this for you guys to think about this is where are you going? Because that's going to dictate which big terminal station you're going to depart from. Um, so I think the best way for us to do this is to go through each of the main train stations. Let's do it in clockwork order. Yeah. I think that works best.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

So if we start with King's Cross, we can start with King's Cross because a lot of people leaving London at some point, not all, will be heading either to the north of England, to York and Dorm Newcastle, or say the Lake District, or to Scotland. So King's Cross is a main station, what they call the East Coast Main Line. The East Coast Main Line is what you'd expect. It runs from London up the east side of England into Scotland. So if you're going to York or to Newcastle, you'd leave from King's Cross.

SPEAKER_04 8:42

And also, if I think we've got to can't mention King's Cross station without also mentioning it's where you'll find the Harry Potter platform 903 quarters photo spot and shop, which you can head to. Um, so it's the train station that I always used to use the most because obviously coming from the northeast of England. Um, so that will let's go to the next station. Actually, we're going anti-clockwise. I was going to go clockwise, but we're going anti-clockwise. So we'll go next is to St. Pancras International, which sits right next door to King's Cross.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Side by side. So Pancras serves a slightly different part of the country. It actually even faces in a slightly different position. So if you think King's Cross is from a position of 12 o'clock, um St. Pancras departs from sort of 11 o'clock. So it's literally side by side at a slight angle. That goes for trains to the East Midlands, um, trains to um Luton Airport, and you've got Thames Link trains as well. So you have your options if you're going through the centre of the UK, centre of England, if you're heading towards sort of Derby, um, Chesterfield, Sheffield, and then that line eventually joins up onto the uh East Coast main line up towards York anyway.

SPEAKER_04 9:55

And also there's another thing that you can take from St. Pancras, which makes it a St. Pancras International.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

Yes, and that's the Eurostar trains under the Channel Tunnel into mainland Europe.

SPEAKER_04 10:06

So they go to Paris, Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam. Um, and so obviously, if you're heading over the continent, that's where you're going to go to catch the Eurostar from. Um, and it's actually a beautiful, beautiful train station as well.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

It is, there's an old and new part to that as well. That's a perfect example of where you need to allow uh a good 30 minutes because depending on where you're heading to, there's different parts of the station itself.

SPEAKER_04 10:30

And I will also mention there's some really good shops at St. Pancreas International. I would mention that, yes, as well. Um so, but it's a lovely station. So then we're gonna head again. So we've gone anti-clockwise, we're going to Euston, not Houston, as I often say, Houston station. I will actually say for St. Pancreas. I used to say for St. Pancreas as well, didn't I?

SPEAKER_02 10:50

You wouldn't be the first.

SPEAKER_04 10:51

But anyway, so we're heading next to Houston, not Houston. Um, and I talk a little bit about Houston Station.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Yeah, Houston Station, which is just sort of seven to ten minutes walk up Houston Road, um, direct walking road, straight up the uh straight up to London, Houston, and that's the principal station on the West Coast main line. So that's the line that runs up the west side of the country towards the Lake District. If you're heading to um Manchester, eventually if you're going to Liverpool as well, which I'm not on the West Coast main line, I know, but that's the direction you're heading in. And if you're on to the Lake District to Oxen home to Penrith for the Lake District, and then that takes you up towards Glasgow, and then you can link across to uh Edinburgh without actually going into Glasgow if you didn't want to, and that's the West Coast main line.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

Um there's another famous train that leaves from Houston as well, which we've taken many times.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

They have that's the Caledonian Sleepers, that's either Lowland or Highlander service if you're heading up to the Highlands or to Edinburgh or Glasgow.

SPEAKER_04 11:52

And uh yeah, and if we were going to catch Caledonia Sleep, you can we've got a couple of episodes all about that as well. So, one thing I will mention as well is that Houston's quite busy at the minute because there's a bit of rebuilding going on.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

Yeah, there's quite a bit of work going on and planned future work as well into Houston. Uh, actually, since our last episode on this matter, there is a new customer service uh centre for Caledonian sleeper passengers on platform one.

SPEAKER_04 12:18

And Houston, I will say, because Houston's probably my least favourite, Houston just gets really, really crowded, really busy in that concourse. So you really have to keep an eye on the board. You'll see everybody looking up at the boards, and then when a platform is announced, kind of everybody just kind of big exodus, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 12:33

That's right, and that's one of the reasons which I first mentioned is sometimes that is for operational reasons and safety reasons that they don't allow too many platform numbers to be released because it'll be too much of an influx of people, but even without that, yes, there's not a huge waiting area that you have and some say King's Cross. So what they try and reduce it to is so too many people going at one time. Yeah, so there's not too many two people going at the same time. I'll release one of my little tips here. If you are um uh connected to the the internet on your phone, have a look at real-time trains because sometimes on there and sometimes on the National Rail Inquiry's live trains app, sometimes they have the release to pass the platform numbers before it's released onto the board. So sometimes you're standing there and you see some people start to wander off. You think hmm, and that's probably the reason because they've had a they're connected and know exactly where they're going from.

SPEAKER_04 13:33

Now, if you go in Harry Potter Studios, you'll also go from Houston.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

You go from London Houston, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:37

And you've done a video about that as well coming soon to you.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

I've got the footage, I've not actually done it yet. That's very easy, so you can catch the train up to Watford Junction, which is the limit for using an oyster card.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Perfect. Okay, so now we're going again anti-clockwise. The next station is actually one of my personal favourites is Paddington Station.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Yes, it's a nice station. So, yeah, Paddington serves the West Country, um, South Wales, and obviously the night uh Riviera sleeper from there as well down to Pennsylvania Cornwall.

SPEAKER_04 14:10

Which you've also you do have a YouTube video on that.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Yeah, that's a very good video, very good staff and very good service.

SPEAKER_04 14:15

And obviously, you can also get your picture taken with Paddington Bay.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

Yes, you can, and there's a little bench with him you can sit next to him as well.

SPEAKER_04 14:22

Now, this would be somewhere if I was going to Heathrow. Probably Paddington is a train station that you're going to come across, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Yeah, that's right, because also from um London Paddington, you can catch the Elizabeth Line train to Heathrow and also the Heathrow Express, which is just 15 minutes to London Heathrow.

SPEAKER_04 14:41

Perfect. Okay, continuing our kind of work round the clock. We are at what what what point on the clock would you say Waterloo is the next one? I would say Paddington would be we're going back as nine o'clock. Where would you say for Waterloo? Six?

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Possibly, possibly. I was tossing between Victoria and Waterloo.

SPEAKER_04 15:01

Okay, yeah, probably not too far different. Yeah. Okay, so Waterloo, talk a little bit about Waterloo train station.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Waterloo, very old station. It basically serves uh sort of south coast and southwest. Uh so where would you be going if you're going to South West and from Waterloo be going to Salisbury, Winchester, South Coast.

SPEAKER_04 15:19

So Salisbury for Stonehenge. Yes. Portsmouth.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

For the naval dockyard.

SPEAKER_04 15:24

Yes. So apparently it is Britain's busiest train station.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

That's right. It's the busiest train station because you've got Clapham Junction and Waterloo. One is for the busiest from a train point of view, and the other one's the busiest for the most footfall.

SPEAKER_04 15:40

Right. Now the next train station we're going to talk about is Victoria train station.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Yeah, so Victoria Station, there's a lot of similarities between Waterloo and Victoria. So Victoria is also for the south. So just different train operators. They're working the same sort of principle, but yeah, cover the south east and obviously Victoria for Gatwick Airport as well.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

Yeah, the Gatwick Express leaves from there towards Gatwick, and obviously for Brighton, Canterbury, leave from Victoria Station. Okay, next one I know is one that you really like is Liverpool Street Station.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

I like Liverpool Street Station for several factors. One, I also think it's bright and airy and light, and but it's more uniform. I also think it's like a box shape, and I just think it's more uniform for the entrances in and out. It's just so. I can't actually put my finger on it, but I've long since um enjoyed going to London Liverpool Street Station.

SPEAKER_04 16:35

Yeah, and also there you get the Stansted Express to Stansted Express. Stansted Airport. So I did that when I went to Morocco in March. I went to Stansted. Yeah. Uh I went from Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport on the Stansed Express. Um and if you're going to Cambridge, obviously you're going to be you'll be going to Liverpool Street. You can go from Liverpool Street as well. Now I I think we've sort of gone a bit, we went anti-clockwise, and then all of a sudden Marlabones kind of jumped in there as the last one. So I think it was a bit of outlier that outlier that's just kind of gone in there.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Yeah, it does it does actually get missed. Marlabone or Marlybone Marlebone, yeah. But that's uh in essence for the Chiltern Railways, so that's going to take you um up towards Oxford, uh sort of Stratford-upon-Avon, and then towards Birmingham. It's a slower, slower route, and actually some very good price tickets on there as well. Um it's only served by the Bakerloo tube line as well, where most of the other stations have different lines and good tube access.

SPEAKER_04 17:29

Yeah, multiple lines where I usually take Motorbone and actually go to my go and visit my parents, as that's that's a common train station I go for. Is it is actually much quieter and smaller than the others for sure.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

It certainly is, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:40

Now I'm just going to mention because you might have heard of these train stations, obviously, they that because there are quite a few main train stations in London. So Charing

Lesser Known Commuter Stations Explained

SPEAKER_04 17:47

Cross, London Bridge, Cannon Street, and Fenchurch Street, which you may see or hear about when you're in London, they're mainly commuter stations for Kent and Essex. That's right. Uh so you probably won't need them, you probably won't be starting a big trip from any of those. No. Um, though London Bridge is quite a busy interchange. That's right. Um, and that's located between Borough Market and the Shard.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

So yeah, there's a small commuter station also uh side of London Waterloo, that's Waterloo East, which sort of connects to Charing Cross.

SPEAKER_04 18:14

Yeah, but um those ones probably that's why we've kind of picked up the main ones that you'd probably come across.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Yes, yes, yeah, there's far more. I mean, I've got uh uh been doing a YouTube video of nine of those stations I've picked out, and I'll be putting those together and showing you really what we've just been talking about is to where they catch the trains to from there and uh some of the stations that it covers and just some sort of unique little features of each one.

SPEAKER_04 18:38

Right now, don't worry, I'm not actually gonna give you a test on each of these train stations. I really am not because I know if you've yeah, there could be something brand new that you've just heard, so we're not gonna test you, and you don't have to know them all because your ticket will tell you which train station you're leaving from. But we know it does impact when you're thinking about where to stay in London, you know, when you're looking for accommodation, because you might think, okay, well, I'm gonna be heading, I'm maybe going over to Paris afterwards, or I might be heading up to Edinburgh. So you might be thinking, all right, I want to stay up in that kind of King's Cross uh St. Pancras area, or you might be thinking, I'm gonna do a lot of day trips, say out to Bath or you know, Stonehenge or day tours, not ignorance, yeah, or day tours. You might want to think about all that sort of thing. So we know it is important to kind of have a lay of the land where these train stations are. We're just gonna do, I'm gonna, I think I might just do a quick recap of the train stations for the different airports. Now, Doug's actually got a YouTube video for Heathrow.

Airports Links And Where To Stay

SPEAKER_01 19:29

That's right.

SPEAKER_04 19:30

Um, the different options to get in to London uh from Heathrow, but Paddington will be the main train station that you'll come into on the Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth Line. Um you can come in via the Piccadilly tube line, um, which is which is a cheaper option, um, and that'll take you up to actually King's Cross.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

That's right. The Piccadilly line just now does not stop at London, Paddington.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

No, it doesn't. And then for Gatwick, it'll be the Victoria, the Gatwick Express Express takes around about half an hour. Stansted is Liverpool Street. Again, Stansad Express takes around 50 minutes. Uh, from Luton, you can head down to St. Pancras via Thames Link. Yep. That's about 30 to 45 minutes. Um, so the main thing is like just think about again which airport you're gonna be arriving or leaving from, um, so that you're not you're not actually heading to stay in a hotel, which is the complete opposite side of London. That's right. Because you don't want to be dragging your bags, and it takes time, it takes time. Absolutely. Okay, so the next section is Doug's gonna talk you through a little bit about um how to

Arrive Ready And Read The Boards

SPEAKER_04 20:34

use a train station, um, the main things that you kind of need to know. So I'm just gonna give Doug a kind of sentence or a few words, and then he's gonna kind of explain it, and we're gonna go on kind of the order that you would need to know thinking about when you use a train station. So, how about arriving and orientating yourself?

SPEAKER_02 20:53

Well, the the main thing with that, I would say this starts before you've even left your accommodation. Strange thing to say, but actually to use some of the apps and websites out there, like the live trains from National Rail Inquiries, just to see it, make sure your train's definitely running, it's not cancelled, it's not been re-timed, especially uh relevant to things on weekends and public holidays. So you know your train's gonna be running before you've even left, or a pretty good idea. So that way it gives you an idea how long you need to arrive to get to the station, you know, the what means of transport you're gonna get to the uh to the station itself. So when you get there, if you whatever means of transport you're using to get there, including your your feet if you're actually walking, it's causing me to sort of work your way into the main concourse, the main central departure area, and look for the main departure boards there.

SPEAKER_04 21:47

Okay, that takes me to the next thing. So, how do you read the departure board?

SPEAKER_02 21:51

Okay, I'm I'm this is one of the big focus on the video I'm putting together right now, the confidence video. The multiple information on the on a train departure board needs to be looked at in detail because these departure boards can vary up and down the country, but London ones are pretty much the same. So you've got your your your final destination for that train. Okay, so if you're planning on catching more than one train, you need to know where the first one's heading to, not necessarily where you're getting off, but where that train is heading. For example. If you're going from King's Cross and you're going to York, but that train's going to Edinburgh, you need to know where Edinburgh is in relation to the station you're getting off at York. So that's why it's really important. You look at the destination, the time of departure, because you can particularly at some of the big stations, you can have trains leaving at the same time on different platforms. And not unusually is they can be going to the same end destination. One might be stopping at six stations, one may be stopping at 12 stations. So it's important to know A what type of ticket you've got and which train you're actually catching. Because in theory, you can be getting off both trains could be stopping at the station you're getting off at. So this is where it can be a little bit confusing. So you've got the time, the destination, the stopping points, and the train operators usually mentioned on there as well. Because some stations are more than one train operator, or that may be changed in the future with Great Great Britain's railways. So, but the important thing is you need information on there in whether it's on time or not.

SPEAKER_04 23:36

Yeah, so watch the board, not the clock has gotten it.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Watch the board, watch the board. Um, if you're travelling with other people, it's a good idea one of you to watch the board and one of you watches your luggage from a safety point of view. But look at that information, don't be unnecessarily alarmed if you think, well, I've got 10 minutes to my train departs and it doesn't say a platform yet. For the reasons I've already given that can be operational reasons, uh station reasons. So keep your eye on that board. If you're in that main central area and the platform has not yet come up, don't worry about it. They're not gonna be going without any passengers on board.

SPEAKER_04 24:13

But they would leave you behind though if you didn't get on the train.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Yeah, that's right, that's right. So other factors, it's important you have luggage that you're able to carry. You're at the station in plenty of time, you've got your drinks and your snacks in good time that you're gonna buy from the shop to take with you. So once you're standing there in front of that board, you are ready to then head off to the platform when it arrives when it comes up.

SPEAKER_04 24:35

So then talk a little bit about tickets and what you do when you actually get to the gate.

SPEAKER_02 24:40

Okay. So the ticket gate um 99% of the time

Tickets Barriers And Getting Through Gates

SPEAKER_02 24:47

is staffed, there's somebody there. And if the the ticket barrier is closed, um there should be somebody there. If the tick nobody is there, the quite often the barriers are open. So it's important you have your ticket or pass, whether electronic or paper, ready. So when you're walking up, you it's a logistic thing because if you've got too many bags, you've got to mess around trying to find pieces of paper and passes and things, you've got a queue behind you. It just adds to you the overwhelm and the stress. So be ready.

SPEAKER_04 25:22

Yeah, and if you've got luggage, there are gate wider gates that are the best one to go through. Yeah, and staff will often, if you show them tickets, they'll open the gates. If you just show it and they will help you. I mean, staff are usually very, very good.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

Oh, they are good. I say, and any doubts, nearly all the London stations have a very central area of the help desk. Talk to station staff. I would say a good 90, 99, 95% of them are helpful. They want to help you, they don't want to see people stressed and stranded. Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 25:53

So, next thing we want to talk about is reservations and a kind of the big myth that we hear about the question that we get is that train gonna sell out? So, talk a little bit about reservations because that's something we talk about a lot.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

Yeah, seat reservations, I'm gonna say this up front. Seat reservations in the UK

Seat Reservations And Finding Your Coach

SPEAKER_02 26:09

are free. So, depending where you've bought your tickets, if anybody's to try to charge for seat reservations, they are free. So you don't have to do that beforehand. Some trains, particularly the long distance and the busy ones, seat reservations are recommended. And quite honestly, if you've got multiple people travelling together, luggage, all ages, you ought to be sitting together. So it makes perfect sense to reserve your seats in advance, but you can wait till you're in the UK to do most of them.

SPEAKER_04 26:41

Yeah, just we say just go to a staff station and and tell them which train you're gonna get, and they'll do that.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Yeah, I mean it's a good way to sort of familiarize yourself with the station as well. You know, if you stay nearby, just bob down and say, you know, want to reserve a seat in a few days' time to wherever.

SPEAKER_04 26:57

But obviously, some trains you will have to have a reservation. I'm thinking about um the Eurostar or the Caledonian Seabur.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

Yes, they're not national rail services for the Eurostar, so yeah, you have to have it for that one. There's a lot of services that are strongly recommended, but you have to remember, even on the Great Western LNER, there is an unreserved coach. Yes, that's not all the train will be reserved.

SPEAKER_04 27:21

That is true. There's usually a coach where then usually the staff will say, Coach C, for example, quite often it's not C or it is that's unreserved. So if you haven't made a reservation, you can go down there and usually find a seat.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

Jump on there.

SPEAKER_04 27:33

Um now talk that actually brings me actually to find a new coach and seat. How do you do that? I mean, is it on the is it on the where you stand waiting for the train? Or it can be, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

It can be. So said the departure boards can vary up and down the country, but that base information about the train destination time platform is consistent. And say the East Coast and West Cove, like the Aventi West Coast and the L N E R and the Great Western side of Paddington, they have on their notice boards the train configuration where you need to stand where's first class, that type of thing. And the videos I'm putting together now, the confidence video, I'm standing next to the Great West and one of the new trains, and it tells you coach A, seat range 1 to 39, 39 to 50, whatever it is. So you know which end of the train to get on. So, but it's all about again getting to the station in time, doing your homework, having a look on that real-time trains with the train configuration, has the coach numbers on there. Actually, on the platform itself, when you're standing in that concourse, you're looking at the departure screen, quite often on there, it'll have the train set up coach A, B, C, then H and G. It's not always A, B, C, D, E, so it's important you you check those out so you've got an idea where you're heading to. It'll have a little light or a little symbol that'll tell you which is the front or the back of the train. But because London, the stations we're talking about here are terminal stations, as a rule of thumb first class tend to be uh have less distance to walk.

SPEAKER_04 29:10

Now, what about luggage when we're talking about kind of walking stuff? Because often people think, oh, I'm gonna get some help with my luggage, or

Luggage Rules Accessibility And Station Facilities

SPEAKER_04 29:17

you know, it doesn't matter how much luggage I take on, and it's do it is there a luggage car that it goes on, or does it come on the same same coach as I go on? What those are the sort of questions?

SPEAKER_02 29:26

There is there is some myths there, and the accessibility policy, which it covers the whole country, is to make rail travel uh accessible for all, but that does not mean it runs as a portal service. So the luggage that you take, you have to carry and be able to lift and stow safely.

SPEAKER_04 29:49

Yeah, and also keep an eye on your luggage when you're stopping at stations as well. Uh definite station stops. I always keep an eye on where my bike my luggage is, that I know where it is.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Uh that's not to say if you're travelling alone as a couple and partio accessibility assistance required means that you are unable to walk with that luggage, they will help you, and obviously your luggage is going to go with you.

SPEAKER_04 30:13

I was gonna ask because I because I know there will be people that will be wanting to know exactly about a kind of accessibility at some of these main London train stations. So, what sort of things can they do if they're gonna need assistance?

SPEAKER_02 30:24

Well, disabilities fall into many categories. It could be hearing, it could be visual, it can be mobility. So they are all catered for, they will assist uh when and where of a possibility can so it's better to try and book that before the day of travel. But if it's last-minute travel, they will try and help as much as they possibly can, all stations. But whatever the disability, there is means to be able to help you with your train travel. But you just need to notify them and try and book it in an in sufficient time.

SPEAKER_04 30:53

Okay, perfect. Now, about timing and facilities? How long do people need to arrive at these train stations and what sort of facilities can they expect?

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Well, again, that depends on the individual, but as a rule of thumb, even now, all the travel I've done, I try not to be there any less than 20 to 30 minutes. 30 minutes is a is a is a good limit. Take on the big stations because if you're not familiar with a station, you could be arriving by transport. Um, you're not sure which entrance they're going to drop you off at, you've got to find your way into that concourse area. Most of the major stations in London have shops and cafes and etc.

SPEAKER_04 31:30

And left luggage if you want to leave a luggage.

SPEAKER_02 31:32

Not all of the stations, but I feel have left luggage at the main stations over there.

SPEAKER_04 31:36

And we've done that quite often, actually, when we've been catching the Caledonian sleeper, we've left the luggage at Houston Station and then gone and had some tea and then picked up the luggage and then catch caught the train later on. So that works.

SPEAKER_02 31:48

But be be aware that the trains are getting busier and busier, and so all the main operators they have do actually have a luggage policy. So it pays to familiarise yourself with that. But as a rule of thumb, a couple of pieces of luggage, able to lift it and stow it yourself, you'll be fine.

SPEAKER_03 32:06

Is there anything else you can think of that people need to know about the main train stations?

SPEAKER_02 32:11

I would say from a safety point of view, make sure you visit all your possessions are packed away safely. And if there's more than one of your travel, like I've said, one of your watches the departure screens, one of your watches your luggage. Uh have your tickets, passes, and seat reservations to hand so you haven't got to start opening bags up and playing around with phones, the um excess gates onto the platform.

SPEAKER_04 32:39

Perfect. Okay, so the next section is rapid myth busting round, Doug. So I'm gonna ask you some. I'm actually gonna say a statement and I want your response.

Myth Busting And The Calm Checklist

SPEAKER_04 32:47

Quite quick response. Okay. Do I need to book weeks ahead?

SPEAKER_02 32:52

You don't have to. There's uh advanced tickets is gonna give you the best deal, that's sort of usually between six and nine weeks. Uh sometimes more, sometimes less, but it's an average of six to nine weeks. On-the-day tickets for shorter journeys, your price is not gonna vary too much.

SPEAKER_04 33:07

But I can buy a ticket.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

But you can, yes.

SPEAKER_04 33:09

Will the train sell out?

SPEAKER_02 33:11

Rarely, if ever. I've never heard of a train actually selling out, they'll continue to sell tickets even because of um even if there was most of the the train had reserved carriages on, not everybody turns up, so they'll continue to sell tickets.

SPEAKER_04 33:28

Is a seat reservation extra?

SPEAKER_02 33:30

No, seat reservations are free, and actually the cost of any train ticket sold in the UK in theory includes a seat, but they they don't because not everybody wants a seat reservation because they're not sure which uh which um which train they're actually cash in. That's more for any time tickets when they can travel on any service that day on that route.

SPEAKER_04 33:50

Do I need to arrive hours early?

SPEAKER_02 33:53

No, but it's the way that you it people individually travel, it's the same with airport travel. Some people have the peace of mind, they'll have to be there well in advance. No different for train travel. If you're unfamiliar with it and it's going to cause you stress or distress being too early or too late, you do what you need to do, but within 30 minutes, about 30 minutes is is an ideal time to get to a platform to get to a station.

SPEAKER_04 34:19

Peak versus off peak.

SPEAKER_02 34:21

Peak times usually refers to a Monday to Friday, a couple of hours in the morning, a couple of hours sort of tea time that can vary slightly around the country, but that's when it's busy, it's mostly for commuters. So that doesn't include weekends or public holidays. So some of the tickets uh you buy, there is what they call peak uh off-peak services. So travelling outside of those peak times is usually where you're going to get the best deal.

SPEAKER_04 34:48

And when are the peak times?

SPEAKER_02 34:50

It varies. It can be generally speaking, it's before half past nine, Monday to Friday, and as a rule, after four o'clock till about six uh in the PM. But depending where you are, that can be sort of from three to three thirty around London.

SPEAKER_04 35:04

Perfect. Now I've put this together as um kind of summarized what we've said in this podcast into what I call Doug's calm down checklist.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_04 35:13

So we've got five things. One, make sure you've got the right station for where you're going.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 35:19

So make sure you sort that out. Two, make sure you have your ticket ready on your phone or in your hand.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

Correct.

SPEAKER_04 35:24

Three, make sure you watch the board for your platform.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

Number four, head through the gate with your truck ticket in the hand.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

Yep, and it's seat reservation because it's usually on the same piece of paper.

SPEAKER_04 35:35

Perfect. And then five, find the coach that you're in, settle in, just keep an eye on your bags that stops, and just enjoy the trip.

SPEAKER_02 35:43

Yep. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_04 35:44

Does that sound good?

SPEAKER_02 35:45

That sounds very good.

SPEAKER_04 35:46

So, Doug, I always end the podcast with the one the same question. So, what would be the one tip that you would share with anyone planning to take a journey from one of London's main train stations?

SPEAKER_02 35:57

If in doubt, ask a member of staff.

SPEAKER_04 36:00

Perfect.

SPEAKER_02 36:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:01

Right. So I also just want to say at the end of this that there are, you know, Doug is filming a full visual walkthrough

Final Tip Plus Videos And Support

SPEAKER_04 36:08

of the main UK train stations for the YouTube channel. So do take a look at that. Do subscribe to our YouTube channel as well. Um, obviously, Doug has also got his guide to UK train travel, which is his um step-by-step guide, which has also got 12 complete UK train itineraries in it as well, which is really, really good. It's our bestseller. And you also help out when people aren't sure.

SPEAKER_02 36:31

That's right. I do a QA session as well with the trains, and we do a video consult as well. So we've helped many people with that.

SPEAKER_04 36:38

Yeah, so I will actually link to all those services and products that we do have, which can help you with your train travel. We've had a lot of people recently who booked the QA, that 30-minute QA. So if you've already got your itinerary, you've booked your tickets, but you're kind of like at that last minute, I'd want some reassurance. I'm not 100% sure. I'll just want to talk to an expert. Yep. Then book Doug for a 30-minute QA.

SPEAKER_02 36:59

Most definitely. Um one thing I will add just reduce the stress at stations is to take your time. Yeah, absolutely. Don't rush, don't rush.

SPEAKER_04 37:10

Yeah, make sure that you give yourself plenty of time when you get to the train station. So that brings us to the end of another episode, Doug. Yeah. Um, hopefully you've taken some of the mystery out of London's train stations uh for our listeners. Um now

Wrap Up And Listener Reviews

SPEAKER_04 37:23

you'll find everything that we mentioned today, including a rundown of which station serves where, over in the show notes at uktravelplan.com forward slash episode 212.

unknown 37:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:34

And so look out for our YouTube video. It's about how to use a UK railway station. So everything we've covered will be in greater depth in there.

SPEAKER_04 37:44

And you've got, as you said, you've got a whole brand new series coming out about this is a confidence series.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

So the first the very first video, the video one, is how to use a major railway station. I'm not going to give the secrets away for the following videos, but it's going to be good.

SPEAKER_04 37:57

Excellent. So all about building your confidence for using UK trains. Now, I think that's it for this week. Do you? I think so. Yeah, I'll wrap up. So we will end with our usual catchphrase. Until next week. Happy UK travel planning. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. As always, show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com. If you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app? We love to hear from you, and you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode. But as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, happy UK travel planning.