Connections 321 - Sat 27 April
Quizzes & Puzzles6 mins ago
Kings Cross to Gatwick
Does anyone know the best way to get from Kings Cross to Gatwick Airport
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Sorry, Dustypuss.
The questioner can't consult the Thameslink website because Thameslink (as a rail company) hasn't existed for 2� years. The Bedford-London-Gatwick-Brighton service is now operated by First Capital Connect (with trains calling at St Pancras instead of the former Kings Cross Thameslink station, which has been closed).
However, the Bedford-Brighton line is still referred to as 'the Thameslink route'. Timetables are here:
http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/content/d oc/timetables/from18mayalltltables.pdf
Chris
The questioner can't consult the Thameslink website because Thameslink (as a rail company) hasn't existed for 2� years. The Bedford-London-Gatwick-Brighton service is now operated by First Capital Connect (with trains calling at St Pancras instead of the former Kings Cross Thameslink station, which has been closed).
However, the Bedford-Brighton line is still referred to as 'the Thameslink route'. Timetables are here:
http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/content/d oc/timetables/from18mayalltltables.pdf
Chris
(2-part post):
AAGH!
I was assuming that you'd got plenty of time!!!
Firstly, since your question refers to Kings Cross, I assume that you'll be arriving there by train. You can book tickets from your starting point, with 'Gatwick Airport' as the destination. If you do so, your tickets will cover both legs of your National Rail travel and the underground connection (if required) across London.
If you've already bought tickets to Kings Cross (and can't change them for tickets to Gatwick Airport), I suggest getting tickets, before you travel, from Kings Cross to Gatwick Airport. (Your local station can sell you these). Ticket queues at London mainline stations are often 10 or 15 minutes long, so you shouldn't wait until you get to London before buying tickets.
Gatwick Airport is quite a long way from central London. (About 28 miles). The fastest train service is the non-stop Gatwick Express. It runs every 15 minutes, from Victoria, with a journey time of 30 minutes.
To get from Kings Cross to Victoria, you should follow the signs for 'Victoria Line' (Southbound). Trains run every few minutes, and the journey time is around 10 minutes.
So that's (say) 10 minutes to find your way to the Tube platform and wait for a train, 10 minutes on the tube, 5 minutes to find the platform at Victoria, perhaps 10 minutes to wait for a train and a 30 minute journey. That's 65 minutes to get onto the platform at Gatwick Airport station. Then you've got to get from there to the check-in desk. (Ouch! That's tight!!!).
(Incidentally, there are other - slower - trains from Victoria to Gatwick Airport. If you decide to travel via Victoria, make sure you take the Gatwick Express and not the Southern services).
AAGH!
I was assuming that you'd got plenty of time!!!
Firstly, since your question refers to Kings Cross, I assume that you'll be arriving there by train. You can book tickets from your starting point, with 'Gatwick Airport' as the destination. If you do so, your tickets will cover both legs of your National Rail travel and the underground connection (if required) across London.
If you've already bought tickets to Kings Cross (and can't change them for tickets to Gatwick Airport), I suggest getting tickets, before you travel, from Kings Cross to Gatwick Airport. (Your local station can sell you these). Ticket queues at London mainline stations are often 10 or 15 minutes long, so you shouldn't wait until you get to London before buying tickets.
Gatwick Airport is quite a long way from central London. (About 28 miles). The fastest train service is the non-stop Gatwick Express. It runs every 15 minutes, from Victoria, with a journey time of 30 minutes.
To get from Kings Cross to Victoria, you should follow the signs for 'Victoria Line' (Southbound). Trains run every few minutes, and the journey time is around 10 minutes.
So that's (say) 10 minutes to find your way to the Tube platform and wait for a train, 10 minutes on the tube, 5 minutes to find the platform at Victoria, perhaps 10 minutes to wait for a train and a 30 minute journey. That's 65 minutes to get onto the platform at Gatwick Airport station. Then you've got to get from there to the check-in desk. (Ouch! That's tight!!!).
(Incidentally, there are other - slower - trains from Victoria to Gatwick Airport. If you decide to travel via Victoria, make sure you take the Gatwick Express and not the Southern services).
The trains from St Pancras to Gatwick take longer. (A typical journey time is 46 minutes, with trains running every 15 minutes. However, if you're travelling outside of peak times, especially on Sundays, the journey time might be around an hour. Use my timetable link, above, to check).
However, you've not got a tube journey involved. So (assuming that you're travelling when the standard 46 minute journey time applies), you're looking at something like this:
To get from the arrival platform at Kings cross to the departure platform at St Pancras = around 10 minutes. (As previously stated, it's only just across the road but they're big stations so you've got to find your way).
To wait for a train, perhaps 10 minutes.
Train journey = about 45 minutes
So you're still looking at 65 minutes to get onto the platform at Gatwick Airport (plus your time to get to the check-in desk).
What would I do?
If I was travelling at times when the regular 46 minute journey time, from St Pancras to Gatwick Airport, applies, I'd definitely stick with my original plan of simply crossing over the road and getting a train from St Pancras
but
If I was travelling at a time when there were extended journey times from St Pancras to Gatwick (e.g. at certain times on Sundays), I'd hop on the tube to Victoria, and take the Gatwick Express.
Chris
However, you've not got a tube journey involved. So (assuming that you're travelling when the standard 46 minute journey time applies), you're looking at something like this:
To get from the arrival platform at Kings cross to the departure platform at St Pancras = around 10 minutes. (As previously stated, it's only just across the road but they're big stations so you've got to find your way).
To wait for a train, perhaps 10 minutes.
Train journey = about 45 minutes
So you're still looking at 65 minutes to get onto the platform at Gatwick Airport (plus your time to get to the check-in desk).
What would I do?
If I was travelling at times when the regular 46 minute journey time, from St Pancras to Gatwick Airport, applies, I'd definitely stick with my original plan of simply crossing over the road and getting a train from St Pancras
but
If I was travelling at a time when there were extended journey times from St Pancras to Gatwick (e.g. at certain times on Sundays), I'd hop on the tube to Victoria, and take the Gatwick Express.
Chris
Thanks that is very helpful indeed.We had bought tickets to Kings cross as we were going on Eurostar,no problem we had plenty of time.Now telling us we have to get to Gatwick to fly is more a problem. We have to check in at 9.10 am which of course will be rush hour,will not help.Flight not until 11 10am ,so hopefully will not matter if we are late. We are in our seventies,a pair of wrinklies,so dont know the ropes down there
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