Sunday, May 29, 2022
Crossrail's very well connected, but what they don't tell you is how long some of those connections are.
For example, one of these 'walking' symbols represents a 3½ minute walk and the other a 5½ minute walk.
So I've been up and down the line and walked all the connections and interchanges to see how long they take. One of them's seven minutes long, for heaven's sake. Forewarned is forearmed.
n.b. Interchange times are from platform to platform.
n.b. Other times are from platform to station entrance.
n.b. These are best times from the optimal point on the platform.
n.b. Alight elsewhere and your walk could be 2 minutes longer.
n.b. All times are approximate, generally to the nearest half-minute.
n.b. I'd describe my walking pace as 'purposeful' rather than 'fast'.
n.b. I stood on escalators rather than walking up/down.
n.b. If you walk up/down escalators you'll get there a bit quicker.
Paddington
platform → station entrance 1½ mins
platform → Bakerloo 3 mins
platform → Reading/Heathrow 3½ mins
platform → District/Circle 4½ mins
platform → H&C/Circle 5½ mins
Paddington is the quickest Central London station to exit from thanks to its compact stacked layout. National Rail platforms are the closest. Switching between the two parts of Crossrail takes at least 3½ minutes. The connecting passageway to the Bakerloo may feel very long but it's actually the closest of the tube lines. Whichever way you cut across the mainline station, the Hammersmith & City takes ages.
Bond Street
tbc
Tottenham Court Road
platform → Dean Street entrance 2 mins
platform → main entrance, street level 3 mins
w/b platform → Northern 1¼ mins
e/b platform → Northern 2 mins
platform → Central 6 mins
(but Central → platform 4 mins)
The new Dean Street entrance is the quickest way out. The other end has a bit more passageway faff before the foot of the escalators. Changing to the Northern line is impressively quick. Changing to the Central line is a horror story requiring ascent of one set of escalators, touching out, touching back in at the opposite gateline and then descending again, plus evil arrows designed to send you a much longer way at both ends of the journey. It's quicker coming back the other way but still a fair trek. If you disregard all the signs and weave via the Northern line platforms it's a bit quicker but it's not easy. I need to write an entire post on The Evil Arrows of Tottenham Court Road because my word TfL have been utter bastards here. Basically, try not to change between Crossrail and the Central line at Tottenham Court Road.
Farringdon
platform → station entrance 2½ mins
platform → Thameslink 2 mins
platform → Met/H&C/Circle 3½ mins
Barbican
platform → station entrance 2½ mins
platform → Met/H&C/Circle (via lift) 3 mins
Allow yourself at least two minutes to escape the platforms at Farringdon wherever you're heading, and 2½ minutes to reach the surface. TfL want everyone changing to the tube at Farringdon to exit the station, cross the street and re-enter, but it's perfectly possible stay inside the gateline by following the Thameslink platforms. For a massively-upgraded station at what's now a key London interchange, Farringdon's connections are depressingly indirect. Don't bother with the lift route to Barbican station, the quickest way to make an onward tube journey is via Farringdon instead.
Moorgate
platform → station entrance 2½ mins
platform → Met/H&C/Circle 3 mins
platform → Northern 4 mins
platform → National Rail 5 mins
Liverpool Street
platform → station entrance 4 mins
platform → Met/H&C/Circle 3 mins
platform → Central 3 mins
platform → Overground 5 mins
platform → Shenfield 5½ mins
This Crossrail station is really halfway between Moorgate and Liverpool Street so is a lot harder to reach than you might think. Any interchange you attempt will take at least three minutes, and the long yomp to the Northern line at Moorgate four. Changing at Moorgate involves staircases as well as escalators. The very longest interchange is purple to purple, heading to the far side of the mainline station to catch a train to Shenfield - a total of 5½ minutes. That's the hike that was represented by the first symbol in my initial photo (and if you get off at the wrong end of the train it could even be an eight minute walk).
Whitechapel
platform → station entrance 3½ mins
platform → Overground 2½ mins
platform → District/H&C 4 mins
The Crossrail station was bolted on to the very far end of the existing station so the top of the escalators is the only way in or out. Even getting that far from the Crossrail platform takes two minutes (unless you walk up the escalator and speed things up). The District line is reached by walking above the Overground platforms, up to ticket hall level and back down, so isn't close.
Canary Wharf
platform → station entrance 2 mins
platform → DLR (West India Quay) 4 mins
platform → DLR (Canary Wharf) 5 mins
platform → Jubilee 7 mins
But the biggest time sink on the line is interchanging at Canary Wharf. It takes two minutes to ascend two levels out of the station, mainly because the escalators don't align, and then it's a long walk to wherever you're actually going. For the DLR better to go to West India Quay than Canary Wharf, assuming your train stops there. And for the Jubilee line steel yourself for the longest Crossrail interchange of all. It doesn't matter whether you follow the 'official' route out the backway or stride towards the main Jubilee portal, it's always a seven minute safari, and that's if you know where you're going. Percolating through the shopping mall isn't easy, especially because Canary Wharf's generic signage isn't prominent, so it could easily turn into a ten minute gap between alighting one train and boarding the next.
Custom House
platform → station entrance 1 min
platform → DLR 1½ mins
Woolwich
platform → station entrance 1 min
platform → DLR 5 mins
Abbey Wood
platform → station entrance 1 min
platform → Southeastern 1 min
You don't need me to help you on the last three. But watch where you're heading at the other stations because Crossrail means calories, so expect a long walk.
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