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security lines for rail travel

I will be arriving on Eurostar at 10am (St Pancras station) and want to book a train to York at 11:21 at King's Cross station. Will this be enough time to do this transfer? What can I expect for security lines? If this timing won't work how much time should I allot for this?

Posted by
9110 posts

You can easily walk between the two in ten minutes.

There would have been a security screening prior to boarding the Eurostar, but I thought the screening business for trains within the country was still in the talking stage and, when/if implemented, it could impose no delays.

Posted by
19 posts

Thank you for the replies. Can I expect the Eurostar train to arrive on time? I'll be buying the ticket to York in advance so I want to make sure to transfer in time. Is this a reasonable amount of time or should I plan on a later train to be certain. The 11:21 train is at a discounted price so I'm motivated to book that one.

Posted by
9110 posts

I'd be happy with a half-hour gap between the two. The Tunnel could be closed, who knows. Give yourself forty-five minutes in case you have to hive your way out of the station and noodle the platform over at King's Cross.

Posted by
32173 posts

Jill,

As Ed mentioned, the walk from St. Pancras to King's Cross is only about 10-15 minutes and there will be no security lines. Allow an extra few minutes to disembark and get through the crowd. It's always a bit of a gamble to buy tickets when there's a connection involved, so I also agree with the 45 minute "cushion" to cover any short, unexpected delays.

If you arrive on time, there are lots of nearby restaurants so you could buy a sandwich or whatever to enjoy on the trip to York. I always enjoy visiting Pret e Manger and as I recall there are branches of that at both St. Pancras and King's Cross.

Posted by
4138 posts

Hmmm, we went through airplane style security at the train stations in Spain in 2011. Has that stopped?

Oops update: it was 2009, not 2011.

Posted by
32173 posts

@Lo,

As I recall, there's no security at St. Pancras when exiting the EuroStar station or when boarding the East Coast trains at King's Cross. However, there is airport-style security and Passport checks to board the EuroStar.

Posted by
1067 posts

"Hmmm, we went through airplane style security at the train stations in Spain in 2011. Has that stopped? "

Wouldn't know about Spain but it doesn't happen in England, apart from Eurostar as previously mentioned.

Posted by
32523 posts

England and Spain are quite different. England, and the rest of Europe, haven't reacted the way Spain did after its terrorist bombing.

Posted by
4138 posts

Just responding to Dick's comment that there are no security lines for any trains in Europe...and wondering about Spain. That same trip, as we crossed the border from France to Spain, our train was stopped twice. Tickets and passports were checked. The 2nd stop, someone was removed from our car. I guess that doesn't happen elsewhere either.

Posted by
4684 posts

Spain is the only country in Europe that has security scans for trains, other than Eurostar.