U.K. and Ireland - Advice on carrying luggage

I'll be carrying a medium size suitcase on the train in London (nothing that I cannot handle) but unfortuantely I have to travel during rush hour. Will commuters be really annoyed at me? Obviously I will try and be courteous and not get in their way and slow them down.

London commuters get annoyed at everything. I wouldn't worry about it. I used to regularly carry suitcases on trains and tubes in the rush hour, as I'd often go straight from the office to the airport in the afternoon. Provided you are courteous (use luggage racks, don't block doors, don't insist on being first off and taking ages to do so, etc, etc) it'll be fine, and more commonplace than some of the more miserable commuters would have you believe.

It could be worse. I've travelled back on the Northern Line from Borough Market with a mate who bought some cheese so strong, it made a woman cry and run out at Elephant & Castle.

London commuters get annoyed at everything. I wouldn't worry about it.

Lol that sound so true! Wheres the best place for putting your luggage on the tube if there are no racks?

Lol that sound so true! Wheres the best place for putting your luggage on the tube if there are no racks?

Depends on the line, how busy, size of luggage, etc. Between the (double) doors and the glass panel can work. On lines with tip-up seats, if you can get one of those, you can often sit comfortably with the luggage underneath. The Piccadilly Line has space set aside for luggage. The Circle & (Edgware Road) District have some useful 'dead' space at the carriage ends, and the (Tower Hill) District has enough room between the facing seats to keep it in front of you.

I generally try and grab one of the standing spots in the door vestibule, as I can then tuck the bag against the wall and 'protect' it by standing next to it(that would be a Victoria line solution, and I think it would apply to Jubilee too ;)). It's unobstrusive, out the way, and easy to get on and off.

The worst bit is actually trying to get it along a busy platform and up the escalator without holding anyone up.

I used to do Kings Cross out to LHR by tube and actually I found that with 2 fairly substantial cases, people normally got out of my way!

I still take the Piccadilly line from LHR to central London - usually Gloucester Road or King's Cross - with one 25in check through bag and a rollaboard.

Since the way out at Gloucester Road is nearer the front of the train I make sure I sit in one of the front cars for that journey from LHR; the way out at KX is nearest the rear of the train so I head there for the longer journey.

For trips from KX to LHR I try to wait until the crowds have diminished until walking along the platform with bags. The bigger bag I tend to roll in front of me as it's easier to get on and off the escalator quick as (or so I've found).

London and NYC seem to be the worst places for travellers with luggage in my opinion. Amazing how many flights of stairs there are when you're simply tring to get from A to B and you're guaranteed that everyone else will be going the opposite way to you!

Last time I was in London, arrived off the HEX at Paddington, few 100m walk with my 22" case, laptop bag and another bag - luckily not too heavy. Then had to use the footbridge to swap platforms and squeeze into an overpacked carriage which was fun. Then about 10 or so escalators and flights of stairs at Kings Cross before the usual 1/2 a mile walk down the platform to the train.

NY has quite a few flights of stairs that are barely 2 people wide which makes luggage carrying fun. Also, lots of 2 way traffic whereas London seems to have a little more segreation of exiting to entering passengers.
They do have some gates though that allow easy access with luggage rather than trying to push 1 item at a time through turnstiles in a lot of London stations.

The worst bit is actually trying to get it along a busy platform and up the escalator without holding anyone up.

Or being in a full tube car and the platform at the station where you want to get off is on the opposite side from where you expected it to be.........:eek:

Or being in a full tube car and the platform at the station where you want to get off is on the opposite side from where you expected it to be.........:eek:

Can you rely on the 'notches' on the map to tell you which side, as you can on tram systems in some other countries?

Nope, although the new Victoria Line trains do announce it.

There is, however, a 'Tube Exits' smartphone app, which will tell you, in painstaking detail, the optimum place to board and alight for pretty much anything.

<snip> The Piccadilly Line has space set aside for luggage.

I'm flying into LHR in May and plan on taking the tube to KX and then transfer to the Victoria Line to get to Euston Station for my train to Birmingham.

Is there luggage space on all cars on the Piccadilly Line? Where should I look for it, and which section of the train is best for the connection at KX?

I'm mobility challenged, which is why I figured the connection at KX would be easier for me (less stairs?) than Green Park or Leicester Square. Do you agree?

I don't know the extent of your mobility, but it is possible to do a step-free interchange at Green Park, if you are happy with escalators. Instead of following the connection signs, follow the Way Out, go up the escalators, and then back down the Victoria Line escalators.

There is limited luggage space in all cars on the Piccadilly Line, in the form of labelled space next to the doors (not racks or anything like that). Use the double sliding doors in any carriage, rather than the single ones, and you'll find it.

For interchange at Green Park, the back of the train is best, although usually the busiest. For King's Cross St Pancras, the easiest is mid-front. There are two interchanges between the lines, but the one towards the front of the train has lifts.

A few other things to consider:

Firstly, there are three train companies operating between London and Birmingham. Virgin and London Midland operate from Euston, and Chiltern from Marylebone. Virgin is the fastest, and most expensive, but does have cheap advance-purchase tickets. Chiltern is a little slower, but a very solid little company that runs a fast commuter service, and has a much cheaper walk-up fare (and some cheaper still advance-purchase tickets). London Midland operates the stopping service between the two cities, and is also fairly cheap.

A final option is to use the service from Reading, which avoids all the London crowds altogether. There is a bus service (40-60 minutes) direct from the central bus station (T1/3) and T5 to Reading station, and half-hourly train service from there (like Virgin, expensive walk-up, cheap advance purchase).

I'm mobility challenged, which is why I figured the connection at KX would be easier for me (less stairs?) than Green Park or Leicester Square. Do you agree?

If price is not too important, you could use Heathrow Express or Connect to Paddington, then the 205 bus to Euston (walk out of Paddington up the ramp, turn left, cross the road and the stop is on your right). That way there are no steps at all to bother about (well, there are about 4 on arrival at Euston, but they can be avoided by walking round), and most likely you won't have to stand either, and there's plenty of space to put luggage in the wheelchair area of the bus (assuming no wheelchair is there, of course).

In the peak with luggage that would almost certainly be my choice of route.

Neil