Circle Line Trains

PinkPig · 27 Apr 2007 at 21:24

Hi all,

I'm considering working in London and trying to work out roughly how long I should expect the journey to take - the Transport for London "timetables" seem to behave very strangely - in particular, they seem to be listing circle line trains going clockwise from Liverpool Street to be going off to Barking (which according to the maps is miles off and not on the same line) rather than around the circle line, which I don't understand at all.

Anyway - I would be traveling from Liverpool Street to St. James's Park (or Victoria) and back again in the evening. Both times would probably be rush hour unfortunately (though I'm not sure how much of a difference this makes for journey times rather than just overcrowding!)

So the question is, anyone got any ideas how long I should expect this to take? I'm thinking in the region of half an hour, not sure whether that's realistic or not.

Would very much appreciate information from anyone who travels in London themselves and has a better idea than me.

M

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 21:48

TFL timetable currently states 20 minutes. (taking a train towards Monument from Liverpool Street)

Edit: it looks like you have to change at Monument...

PinkPig · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:02

sr4470 said:
Edit: it looks like you have to change at Monument...

But surely the trains just keep going round and round on the circle line?

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:05

PinkPig said:
But surely the trains just keep going round and round on the circle line?

No, they have to stop and start somewhere...Monument happens to be that point on the Circle line.

neocon · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:09

the circle line is rubbish and unreliable

i find it quicker to walk

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:12

neocon said:
the circle line is rubbish and unreliable

i find it quicker to walk

Good thing I never have to use it...Metropolitan\Piccadilly\Jubilee lines for the win

PinkPig · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:30

Are you sure about changing at Monument, or have you worked that out from somewhere?

A2Z · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:32

on average, 3 mins a stop

jhmaeng · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:33

sr4470 said:
No, they have to stop and start somewhere...Monument happens to be that point on the Circle line.

What?

Circle line is exactly that - it keeps going around in that direction. Sure, they occasionally change drivers and etc, but generally it will continue in the direction (clockwise/anti-clockwise). I'm sure the trains eventually go to a train depot too, but that's not something that passengers have to be concerned with.

Therefore, there is no change involved to get from Liverpool Street to Victoria (or St James' Park). It even says as much on the TFL website Journey Planner.

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:33

PinkPig said:
Are you sure about changing at Monument, or have you worked that out from somewhere?

I checked with TFL.

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:34

jhmaeng said:
What?

Circle line is exactly that - it keeps going around in that direction. Sure, they occasionally change drivers and etc, but generally it will continue in the direction (clockwise/anti-clockwise). I'm sure the trains eventually go to a train depot too, but

Therefore, there is no change involved to get from Liverpool Street to Victoria (or St James' Park).

You'd think so but as I just said, TFL says otherwise. Perhaps the time of day makes a difference?

jhmaeng · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:37

You mean like this?

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:41

jhmaeng said:
You mean like this?

19 minutes? Seems a little optimistic to me.

jhmaeng · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:43

sr4470 said:
19 minutes? Seems a little optimistic to me.

So you saw the bit where it says "Interchanges: 0" then?

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:44

jhmaeng said:
So you saw the bit where it says "Interchanges: 0" then?

We didn't get the same information from TFL, obviously. Nevermind.

PinkPig · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:47

sr4470 said:
You'd think so but as I just said, TFL says otherwise. Perhaps the time of day makes a difference?

Where exactly does TFL say otherwise? I'm not trying to doubt you, but I can't find any suggestion anywhere else that the trains regularly stop anywhere in particular. Anyone actually travel this sort of way from time to time? 19 minutes sounds lovely but I'm worried I should realistically expect it to be twice that.

jhmaeng · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:53

PinkPig said:
19 minutes sounds lovely but I'm worried I should realistically expect it to be twice that.

Well, there's also the option of taking the Central Line, then changing at Oxford Circus for the Victoria Line.

Once you're on the Circle Line train and it starts moving, there should be little in the way of unexpected delays etc. If your train was to pass Edgware Road (which it doesn't), it frequently stops for a few minutes for no apparent reason quite often, but I haven't had such similarly irritating stops on that part of the Circle Line.

What I'd suggest is leaving, say, 45 minutes in total. Once you arrive at Liverpool Street, if you're then told there are problems on the Circle Line, just take the Central and change at Oxford Circus. In practice, I doubt there's that much difference in travel time even with the 1 change.

Indy500 · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:54

PinkPig said:
Where exactly does TFL say otherwise? I'm not trying to doubt you, but I can't find any suggestion anywhere else that the trains regularly stop anywhere in particular. Anyone actually travel this sort of way from time to time? 19 minutes sounds lovely but I'm worried I should realistically expect it to be twice that.

Am I missing something here?

jhmaeng · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:56

sr4470 said:
Am I missing something here?

All that's saying is that there are additional ways of getting from Liverpool Street to Victoria, other than getting the non-stop Circle Line train - indicated by the 3rd entry.

PinkPig · 27 Apr 2007 at 22:57

sr4470 said:
Am I missing something here?

The third option is (presumably) the direct circle line train, at 20 minutes rather than 19 because you chose Victoria rather than St. James's Park.