Quick Elizabeth Line/Bond Street Question

[markeb]

We're a couple of months out from a (non-cruise) trip to London. We're booked into the Marriott Grosvenor Square. We've stayed at the Marriott Park Lane a number of times but it was outrageous on cash and unavailable on points.

 

I was looking at Google Maps out of curiosity, and it's showing a direct shot to Bond Street on the Elizabeth Line, and a "3 minute" walk to the hotel? Is the Bond Street stop doable with luggage? I'm still a little unclear where the Elizabeth line drops you; I know you connect to the standard Tube lines. It will be a late Sunday morning/early Sunday afternoon inbound and an early Sunday afternoon outbound. United, so I'm assuming T2/3. On the surface, that's about the same distance and level of difficulty we'll have getting our bags from the car to the terminal in Dulles. I think there's still a certain "over the river and through the woods" at Heathrow, but this option has my attention. I know the Elizabeth Line is escalator/elevator only, which is great. It's air conditioned, also great. It looks bright, airy, and modern. I don't "think" it has racks like HEX for bags, but most things I've read about it suggest it's pretty easy to travel with luggage.

 

Anyone have any real life experience? I mean £10-11 (ish) per person each way almost to the door of the hotel and not in traffic seems too good to be true!

[Globaliser]

57 minutes ago, markeb said:

Is the Bond Street stop doable with luggage? I'm still a little unclear where the Elizabeth line drops you ...

 

Bond Street Elizabeth Line station has lift access. There is an exit on Davies Street, between Weighhouse Street and St Anselm's Place, which is where I ended up following the Way Out signs from the Elizabeth Line platforms a few days ago. I don't know which other exits you might end up at, but that would seem to be about 3 minutes' walk away from the Marriott Grosvenor Square.

 

Take care that you don't accidentally exit the station at the other end (Hanover Square). You need to leave the station at the western end of the platforms, ie nearer the back of the train as it comes from Heathrow.

 

And really, really, please don't get hung up on luggage racks/storage. It really doesn't matter. I've even done the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow with a full-size suitcase on a Tube strike day (packed so full that nobody more could get on) and it was fine - because everyone understands that this is luggage.

[markeb]

6 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

Bond Street Elizabeth Line station has lift access. There is an exit on Davies Street, between Weighhouse Street and St Anselm's Place, which is where I ended up following the Way Out signs from the Elizabeth Line platforms a few days ago. I don't know which other exits you might end up at, but that would seem to be about 3 minutes' walk away from the Marriott Grosvenor Square.

 

Take care that you don't accidentally exit the station at the other end (Hanover Square). You need to leave the station at the western end of the platforms, ie nearer the back of the train as it comes from Heathrow.

 

And really, really, please don't get hung up on luggage racks/storage. It really doesn't matter. I've even done the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow with a full-size suitcase on a Tube strike day (packed so full that nobody more could get on) and it was fine - because everyone understands that this is luggage.

 

Thank you! That's what I wanted to confirm.

 

And thanks for the luggage confirmation. I'd seen a YouTube video on the Elizabeth Line, and they weren't at all concerned about luggage without racks, but they weren't filming traveling with bags. We'll probably have a full-sized bag and a roll aboard each, but we successfully manage those all the time. 

 

I'll have to flag your directions and get them on my phone. Basically exit at the back of the train. For where we're going, it really makes the Elizabeth Line a great option. 

 

 

[Meander Ingwa]

On Sunday morning the train will be more open than on work days.  Dont worry about your bag or standees.  Many people stand on trains and tube even when there are seats.  Luggage is kept in your seat.

 

Bond street is huge and feels more like an airport with wide, clean passageways. Like Globaliser  mentioned, plan to get on the train at the end cars. That will put you closer to your final exit.  The train is VERRRRRRY long. 

 

You will have no issues.  The City area around Bond street are great to explore on a Sunday, once you settle in.  Tons of old side streets filled with character.  Evensong at St Pauls is a quiet way to end a busy day.  It is free and you get to hear music in this glorious space

[Bob++]

19 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

Evensong at St Pauls is a quiet way to end a busy day.

Or at Westminster Abbey - a 40-minute stroll through Green Park, or a little longer via Buckingham Palace.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Bob++

[markeb]

Just thought I'd close the loop on this.

 

The Elizabeth Line was as advertised, and the trip to our hotel was exactly as @Globaliser described. About the only thing that didn't work was that the Marriott had some construction on its front facade, and for some reason (tradition, quaintness?) has a cobblestone drive at its entrance. The rolling bags just love cobblestones...

 

Neither of us pulled the Oyster cards we had with us out of our bags; TFL supported Express Transit on our iPhones. There were some nuances to getting that to work every time, but once you got the hang of it, it was wonderful. The Heathrow surcharge kind of bites. I've actually seen a recommendation to buy advance purchase HEX Tickets and connect to the Elizabeth Line at Heathrow as being cheaper than the Elizabeth Line. We liked not having to change trains.

 

Many of the places we went by Tube were on or near the Elizabeth line (Portrait Gallery, British Museum, Paddington for a train to Bath) and so much more convenient than transferring on the Tube to make the same trip. And it was a 3-minute walk from the hotel!

 

I'm now a fan of the Elizabeth Line. BUT, just like HEX, it's great if it goes where you're going or you can make an easy transfer to another line that makes sense. It's not a one size fits all option.

[Globaliser]

27 minutes ago, markeb said:

The Heathrow surcharge kind of bites. I've actually seen a recommendation to buy advance purchase HEX Tickets and connect to the Elizabeth Line at Heathrow as being cheaper than the Elizabeth Line.

 

Thanks for reporting back on how it went.

 

I haven't looked into this, but at first glance I struggle to see how this would work because my gut instinct is that the HEX ticket would be valid for HEX only and so it could only take you from Heathrow to London Paddington main line. If that's right, then when you get off the Elizabeth Line train (or if your ticket is inspected on board en route) it would be evident that you aren't holding a valid ticket. If you make it as far as the gate line to exit the station, I would expect an invalid ticket to be rejected. I can only immediately think of one scenario in which you could use the Elizabeth Line without a valid ticket, yet successfully get out of the TfL system without being stopped at a gate line.

[markeb]

28 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

Thanks for reporting back on how it went.

 

I haven't looked into this, but at first glance I struggle to see how this would work because my gut instinct is that the HEX ticket would be valid for HEX only and so it could only take you from Heathrow to London Paddington main line. If that's right, then when you get off the Elizabeth Line train (or if your ticket is inspected on board en route) it would be evident that you aren't holding a valid ticket. If you make it as far as the gate line to exit the station, I would expect an invalid ticket to be rejected. I can only immediately think of one scenario in which you could use the Elizabeth Line without a valid ticket, yet successfully get out of the TfL system without being stopped at a gate line.

 

The video I saw they had bought an advanced HEX ticket for £5.50 then went to the Tube to complete their trip separately. HEX ticket + Tube cost. So that's £5.50 + £2.70 or £8.20. The anytime Elizabeth line fare is £13.30. It comes out to less than the trip from Heathrow since the advanced HEX ticket was less than the Heathrow surcharge alone. LOTS of caveats on that, obviously! And they are separate "stations" within Paddington. You leave the National Rail (HEX) station and have to enter the Elizabeth Line station separately.

 

The TFL planner actually says the fastest way to make the Trip is HEX to Paddington then Elizabeth Line to Bond. And they are actually very close together. But it's probably worth £5 each for us to not have to change and drag our bags. And we didn't buy a ticket a month or more out for HEX.

[gumshoe958]

Yes, if you plan ahead and get hold of a £5.50 HEX ticket (or even £7.50 or £10) it’s good value and well worth the effort, even if you’re going beyond Paddington and need to pay an additional fare to transfer to the Elizabeth Line or the tube. However the HEX advance fares have limited availability and the cheapest ones get snapped up quickly.

 

The reality, though, is that most visitors to London will only pay for their journey from Heathrow on the day, and for them the Elizabeth Line will always be cheaper than the HEX.

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by gumshoe958

[Globaliser]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

I've actually seen a recommendation to buy advance purchase HEX Tickets and connect to the Elizabeth Line at Heathrow as being cheaper than the Elizabeth Line.

 

1 hour ago, markeb said:

The video I saw they had bought an advanced HEX ticket for £5.50 then went to the Tube to complete their trip separately. HEX ticket + Tube cost. So that's £5.50 + £2.70 or £8.20. The anytime Elizabeth line fare is £13.30. It comes out to less than the trip from Heathrow since the advanced HEX ticket was less than the Heathrow surcharge alone. LOTS of caveats on that, obviously! And they are separate "stations" within Paddington. You leave the National Rail (HEX) station and have to enter the Elizabeth Line station separately.

 

So, for clarity, that recommendation is actually to buy a HEX ticket and change to the Elizabeth Line at Paddington, not at Heathrow.

 

For the sake of saving £5, that's hardly going to be worthwhile for many (most?) trips. It's not that easy a change at Paddington. If you really need to put yourself out to save that sort of money, then for many destinations you might as well go the whole hog and take the Tube all the way in to town. If you're starting at Heathrow, you're going to be able to get a seat either on the Tube or the Elizabeth Line, but that's not guaranteed if you get on to the Elizabeth Line at Paddington.

[markeb]

6 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

So, for clarity, that recommendation is actually to buy a HEX ticket and change to the Elizabeth Line at Paddington, not at Heathrow.

 

D'oh! Too late to edit. My brain saw Paddington and my hands typed Heathrow...

 

That is correct, of course! And I agree it hardly makes sense for the savings, but it's an interesting point that it does save money. And theoretically time. It's actually what the TFL planner recommends (at £30 walk up fare), but generally not what Google Maps shows.

[Globaliser]

11 hours ago, markeb said:

And I agree it hardly makes sense for the savings, but it's an interesting point that it does save money.

 

That may just be a swings-and-roundabouts situation for HEX. AIUI, the tunnel is in effect HEX's tunnel, which would leave HEX free to average the effective tunnel cost across a mixture of advance purchase fares and walk-up fares. In contrast, TfL has to pay for using the tunnel and all of its fares are walk-up fares, hence a flat-rate surcharge. The irony is that HEX's loss-leader-type AP fares could be seen as a competitive response in a market that was increasingly aware of the poor value of walk-up HEX fares. But it's difficult to avoid the impression that HEX is still going to lose in the long term, and that its days are numbered - for example, see this post in a knowledgeable blog.

  

11 hours ago, markeb said:

And theoretically time. It's actually what the TFL planner recommends (at £30 walk up fare), but generally not what Google Maps shows.

 

The time difference is now negligble since the May 2023 timetable changes - the TfL planner quotes a difference of three minutes to Elizabeth Line stations like Bond Street or Tottenham Court Road - and that blog post points out some of the real-world difficulties involved in changing at Paddington, which could easily eat up the three-minute advantage that the connecting routing theoretically offers.

 

Hopefully other CCers who see the recommendation for saving a few pounds may now be better informed about the implications!