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 entrance1½ mins platform → Bakerloo3 mins platform → Reading/Heathrow3½ mins platform → District/Circle4½ mins platform → H&C/Circle5½ 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 entrance2 mins platform → main entrance, street level3 mins w/b platform → Northern1¼ mins e/b platform → Northern2 mins platform → Central6 mins
(but Central → platform4 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 entrance2½ mins platform → Thameslink2 mins platform → Met/H&C/Circle3½ mins Barbican platform → station entrance2½ 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 entrance2½ mins platform → Met/H&C/Circle3 mins platform → Northern4 mins platform → National Rail5 mins Liverpool Street platform → station entrance4 mins platform → Met/H&C/Circle3 mins platform → Central3 mins platform → Overground5 mins platform → Shenfield5½ 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 entrance3½ mins platform → Overground2½ mins platform → District/H&C4 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 entrance2 mins platform → DLR (West India Quay)4 mins platform → DLR (Canary Wharf)5 mins platform → Jubilee7 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 entrance1 min platform → DLR1½ mins
Woolwich platform → station entrance1 min platform → DLR5 mins
Abbey Wood platform → station entrance1 min platform → Southeastern1 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.
