I have a tight connection arriving London St. Pancras Stn. off the Eurostar at 16:00. I'd like to take bus to Bath Spa via Victoria Stn. at 16:30. Is it possible? I don't know how long it takes to get off the Eurostar, find the right Tube entrance and get to the Victoria Coach Stn. If I can't, I'd have to wait til the next bus at 18:00.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, USA
7 posts
Keith, thank you. ok. i'll plan on the next one. How far is the Tube entrance from the Eurostar train platform?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33864 posts
I would say that from the frosted doors to the first booking hall of the Underground is maybe 50 metres or so. But you do have to get down from the floor with the arrival platform, the train is very long so it would depend on where you were in the train, and once you are in the booking hall you still have to get to the Victoria Line which, if memory serves and I am doing this from memory, is at the Kings Cross end of the complex which is some little distance, and then down to the platforms from there. Victoria Coach Station is not exactly adjacent to Victoria Tube station. If 'twere I, I would take the Circle Line around to Paddington and get a fast train to Bath. The trains go at up to 125 mph and no coach can approach that, especially at rush hour which is what you are speaking about. Trains take only 87 minutes; you should be able to easily make the 1700 which arrives at 1827 (the coach won't have made the M25 by then); the 1730, which you shouldn't need, arrives Bath at 18:57. How long does the coach take?
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, USA
7 posts
Nigel, the National Express bus takes 3hrs and 35 minutes. Which train line are you looking at to Bath?
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5460 posts
As Nigel has stated above, Paddington to Bath is typically around 1.5 hours, ie 2 hours quicker than the coach, each from their starting points. Runs twice an hour. You should be able to get a through ticket which would protect you against the Eurostar being late.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, USA
7 posts
Marco, unfortunately, i already booked by Eurostar tkts Paris to London St. Pancras. Now, I'm trying to get tkts from First Great Western. Their website shows a station called Eurostar (CIV) to Bath. What is CIV?
I plugged in London St. Pancras but nothing came back so then I saw the Eurostar CIV listing. There are others, but I'm not familiar with them.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5460 posts
CIV stands for Convention Internationale pour le transport des Voyageurs. It indicates the ticket is covered by international rules for rail tickets, as the Eurostar is. You can buy other tickets from Paddington that may be cheaper, but if they are a type that can only be used on a particular service you won't be covered by the CIV guarantee if you miss it. You will need to travel from St Pancreas to Paddington Station. The underground transfer is included within the cost the ticket from London International (CIV)