Looking at the Tube map, it seems as if I have to take the Piccadilly line eastbound, switch to the District line at Acton Town, take it PAST the junction with the Richmond branch of the District line, get off at one of the next stations, (Turnham Green), and then return westbound. Alternatively, I'd have to take the Piccadilly all the way to Earl's Court and then get on a Richmond branch District train. The green line junction between Chiswick Park and Turnham Green implies I'd have to do this. Is that correct? Usually, I can game things so that I don't have to go waaaay out of my way to change trains, or take three trains, but this one has me stumped. Anybody familiar with this part of the District Line?
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2189 posts
I know I'm not answering the question you asked, but what is your starting point? We took that trip last summer on one train.
Edit: I feel very stupid about my response. . My brain was not fully engaged the first time I read it..
Mea culpa
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3107 posts
Doesn't he say from Heathrow?
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5533 posts
I'd change at Hammersmith rather than Earls Court if you want to limit to just one change. However, if you want to look for the fastest journey, I'd use the planner a https://tfl.gov.uk/
Posted by
OP
17 posts
Oh yeah, it's not immediately obvious from the way the junction is depicted on my Tube map that Hammersmith station also has the Piccadilly and District lines in addition to Hammersmith and Central. I guess my question is, would it be just as easy to get off at the first Piccadilly/District line stop east of the Richmond branch and then cross to the other side and take the first District/Richmond train coming back the other way? I assume I would be intercepting the first west/southbound Richmond train either way. But it might be easier to do the change at a smaller station rather than at Hammersmith or Earl's Court. I am also assuming that I'm correct about not being able to catch a Richmond train directly from Acton Town.
There have been times and places where I've found changing lines to be so ridiculous at a given station (because of the huge distance you had to walk) that I learned to take an ostensibly longer route just to avoid that. I seem to remember seeing some source of information that actually described where the really bitchy transfers are, which you can't tell from a Tube map, only experience. It can really louse up your plans when you plan to change from the Whosis to the Whatsit Line at Toad Squiggle Station and you find it's a 3/4-mile walk to get from one to the other. Also, there have been times where a given exit from one station has actually been closer to my destination than the exit from another station, but reading the Tube map suggested that the latter was better. I would love to see some kind of compendium of Tube-savviness in book form, or maybe on the Web. Riding it, like riding the New York subway, is an art, though riding the Tube doesn't require learning self-defense skills and weapon proficiency.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5331 posts
The double change is a quicker journey overall (by around 10-12 minutes) than a single change at Hammersmith but will require stairs.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5331 posts
I think the changing time can also alter the perception - and the difference between waiting and moving, even at the slow speed of the District or Piccadilly.. But minutes hardly matter either way.