On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 10:47:00 +0100, AndreaC
wrote:


I'm about to start a new job and this will involve travelling from
Hounslow to Warren Street.

If I use the train it's a simple case of going to Waterloo and then up
on the Northern line, but I'll also have the option of using the tube.
The most obvious route there seems to be Piccadilly line to Green Park,
change to the Victoria line there and go on to Warren Street.

However, I seem to recall that once, a long time ago, in the vague
mists of time I tried to change or possibly even exit at Green Park and
it was a flipping horrible station to navigate.

The alternative as I see it is to stay with the Piccadilly line to
Leicester Sq and then change to the Northern line there.

Any suggestions or advice from those of you who know these things
better than me? Any idea of journey times?

As others have said try to avoid Green Park for interchange purposes -
especially to and from the Piccadilly Line. It's very long and tedious
whether via the low level corridors or via the ticket hall behind the
gateline.

Leicester Square is not bad but you do need to use the low level
corridors. These are at the rear of the train if you come from Hounslow
on the Picc Line or the front of the Northern Line trains if you arrive
at Leicester Square to make the change. There are signs half way along
the Picc and Northern platforms at Leicester Square but this is a longer
link and cuts across flows at the bottom of the main escalators for the
Piccadilly Line. Just a little local knowledge there!

You haven't said which Hounslow Station you would use and that will
obviously cause a change to journey times by a few minutes. Broadly it
would be 40 minutes from Hounslow West to Leicester Square, 5 minutes to
change lines, 6 minutes on the Northern to Warren Street. Being honest
the Northern Line is performing better at the moment than it has for
months but you can get gaps in the service so I'd maybe a further 5
minute time allowance. It'll take about 4-5 minutes to exit at Warren St
- longer if there are escalator works as there can be long queues.

Both of the Vauxhall and Waterloo options may offer a faster NR journey
time but you lose out on frequency of service compared to the tube. Both
interchange routes are fairly long and very busy in the rush hour. You
will find large volumes of people trying to crush their way down to the
Victoria and Northern Lines and may not get on the first or even second
train. I'm not sure I could face a crush load on the Overground then a
battle through a sea of commuters and then an even worse crush on the
tube.

If I was making the journey I would opt for the tube option as you might
get a seat as far out as Hounslow (possibly!) and then you have a
relatively easy change at Leicester Square and then a short trip on the
Northern from there when some of the crush that boarded earlier might
actually be getting off! Similarly in the other direction boarding at
Warren St to go south will not be too bad and you might get a seat
westbound at Leicester Square - the back carriage is not a bad place to
look!

It all depends on exactly when you have to travel but if you have some
flexibility about start times then experiment with travelling earlier
and see when the optimum time for getting a seat at Hounslow is.
Remember that Heathrow flight arrival times mean that the Heathrow
branch has some odd capacity issues - it can be busy when you don't
expect it to be and lots of people travel on the line to work at
Heathrow.

I think you probably need to try the various options and see what suits.

The other comment from another poster I would endorse is make sure you
have some journey options "up your sleeve" in case things go wrong. With
a travelcard you have some choice as to routes so you could take a train
out of Paddington towards Southall or Hayes and take a bus to Hounslow.
You could tube to Richmond and get a H37 bus to Hounslow. I liked the
tube alternative of H&C line to Hammersmith and then Picc Line from
there if there are problems in the centre. The best advice is to keep
moving when things go wrong so it is good to learn a bit about the
transport options that are available and then to seamlessly adjust your
journey. It's much better than scratching your head by the gateline
wondering what to do next.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Green Park is a good place to change from Picc to Vic or the other way
round, especially if you have luggage. BUT you must ignore the signs!
Go to the way out, go up the escalator to the ticket hall and then down
to the other line. I do this for trips to Heathrow from Euston. Can get
from Euston main line to departures at Heathrow without having to
negotiate any staircases

knapp gate wrote:

Green Park is a good place to change from Picc to Vic or the other way
round, especially if you have luggage. BUT you must ignore the signs!
Go to the way out, go up the escalator to the ticket hall and then down
to the other line. I do this for trips to Heathrow from Euston. Can get
from Euston main line to departures at Heathrow without having to
negotiate any staircases

Top move. Travel in the rear part of the Picc Line train, change at
Green Park, follow the Way Out signs up the escalators to the
circulaying area, then down the escalators to the Victoria. Saves a
long walk at Green Park!

Paul Corfield wrote:

(snip)

If I was making the journey I would opt for the tube option as you might
get a seat as far out as Hounslow (possibly!) and then you have a
relatively easy change at Leicester Square and then a short trip on the
Northern from there when some of the crush that boarded earlier might
actually be getting off! Similarly in the other direction boarding at
Warren St to go south will not be too bad and you might get a seat
westbound at Leicester Square - the back carriage is not a bad place to
look!

(snip)

To expand on that last point a bit of advice so obvious I fear I'm
being incredibly patronising - however a lot of people still don't
latch on to it. IME most of the time it's worth heading for the front
or back carriage when it's rush hour whether on the Tube or overground
train - you might not get a seat but you'll probably get a bit more
breathing room. Of course whether the front or the back is best depends
on where people enter the platform from at the preceding stations
further back down the line, but you can figure that out over time.

I duly await being told that I've got it all wrong!

Mizter T wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:

(snip)

If I was making the journey I would opt for the tube option as you
might get a seat as far out as Hounslow (possibly!) and then you
have a relatively easy change at Leicester Square and then a short
trip on the Northern from there when some of the crush that
boarded earlier might actually be getting off! Similarly in the
other direction boarding at Warren St to go south will not be too
bad and you might get a seat westbound at Leicester Square - the
back carriage is not a bad place to look!

(snip)

To expand on that last point a bit of advice so obvious I fear I'm
being incredibly patronising - however a lot of people still don't
latch on to it. IME most of the time it's worth heading for the
front
or back carriage when it's rush hour whether on the Tube or
overground train - you might not get a seat but you'll probably get
a bit more breathing room. Of course whether the front or the back
is best depends on where people enter the platform from at the
preceding stations further back down the line, but you can figure
that out over time.

I duly await being told that I've got it all wrong!

The only caveat I'd make is that in hot or even just mild weather, if
you choose the front car, you lose the benefit of having an open window
at the front of your car, which I find is the single most important
factor in achieving decent ventilation. (To a lesser extent, this also
applies to the rear car -- lack of extract capacity.) I always avoid
the front car during summer for that reason.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

Richard J. wrote:

Mizter T wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:

(snip)

If I was making the journey I would opt for the tube option as you
might get a seat as far out as Hounslow (possibly!) and then you
have a relatively easy change at Leicester Square and then a short
trip on the Northern from there when some of the crush that
boarded earlier might actually be getting off! Similarly in the
other direction boarding at Warren St to go south will not be too
bad and you might get a seat westbound at Leicester Square - the
back carriage is not a bad place to look!

(snip)

To expand on that last point a bit of advice so obvious I fear I'm
being incredibly patronising - however a lot of people still don't
latch on to it. IME most of the time it's worth heading for the
front
or back carriage when it's rush hour whether on the Tube or
overground train - you might not get a seat but you'll probably get
a bit more breathing room. Of course whether the front or the back
is best depends on where people enter the platform from at the
preceding stations further back down the line, but you can figure
that out over time.

I duly await being told that I've got it all wrong!

The only caveat I'd make is that in hot or even just mild weather, if
you choose the front car, you lose the benefit of having an open window
at the front of your car, which I find is the single most important
factor in achieving decent ventilation. (To a lesser extent, this also
applies to the rear car -- lack of extract capacity.) I always avoid
the front car during summer for that reason.


Very true, my earlier comments don't reflect that that's what I do too!
If possible I choose to sit/stand next to the leading end of a carriage
so I'm near the open window of the interconnecting door.

Paul Corfield wrote

(snip)

Leicester Square is not bad but you do need to use the low level
corridors. These are at the rear of the train if you come from Hounslow
on the Picc Line or the front of the Northern Line trains if you arrive
at Leicester Square to make the change. There are signs half way along
the Picc and Northern platforms at Leicester Square but this is a longer
link and cuts across flows at the bottom of the main escalators for the
Piccadilly Line. Just a little local knowledge there!


Hi Paul

That sounds like some useful advice but can you expand a bit on the detail for me. Apologies for being a bit of a numpty but as I've never had to use the tube for work I've have never had to consider the path of least resistance before!

A.

AndreaC wrote:

Leicester Square is not bad but you do need to use the low level
corridors. These are at the rear of the train if you come from
Hounslow on the Picc Line or the front of the Northern Line trains if you
arrive at Leicester Square to make the change. There are signs half way along
the Picc and Northern platforms at Leicester Square but this is a
longer link and cuts across flows at the bottom of the main escalators for
the Piccadilly Line. Just a little local knowledge there! -

I know the interchange you mean and it is very short. Normally I would
cross to the other platform because the interchange from the front of
the Westbound Piccadilly Line platform takes you directly to the
direction of the Northern line that you wish to go.