WorldLux

Reasons against that plan:

1. DLR is on an elevated track. The Canary Wharf Tube Station is underground, meaning lots of steps/escalators or walking to elevators
2. The DLR and the tube do not share a station in Canary Wharf and you'll need to walk 200 meters between both stations.

The DLR/Jubilee/Picadilly combi is pretty much the obvious choice for me. Transferring at Bank or Tower Gateway is certainly not the most pleasant experience.

dddc

Canary Wharf is my home station and I'm used to traveling at peak times with my suitcases. You just have to know a few tricks....

The option to take the DLR to Canary Wharf is silly for the reason that no DLR trains from City Airport go directly to Canary Wharf, you'd have have to change at Poplar. If the Elizabeth line was open, then Poplar would be the right interchange to LHR.

The best routing, imho, is DLR going to Bank/Tower Gateway (NOT STRATFORD line as they use a different platform at CT) change at Canning Town to Jubilee Line. This is via escalators/lift. Take the Jubilee line to Westminster and change up to the District line. This is via several escalators. Change at Barons Court for the Piccadilly line just by crossing the platform.

Depending on the time of day, this should be the quickest option. A taxi has taken me up to 2 hours from the Wharf in bad traffic.

Ldnn1

What's the reason you prefer Westminster over Green Park? Both involve annoying changes. Less busy on the District stretch perhaps, but could be offset by finding it harder to get a seat at Barons Court - whereas at Green Park if you don't get a seat straight away you're arguably better placed to get one as people get off before BC.

dddc

It's much much simpler at Westminster. Yes, there are 3 escalators to go up, but at Green Park the crowds are often worse to get through, plus you have a long uphill walk between the Jubilee and Piccadilly line - and that's once you've found the lifts instead of taking the stairs (which so many people do because they don't see the signs). The lift at the Piccadilly end is at the Victoria line change so loads of people fight their way down the stairs with heavy suitcases. I'm sorry, but I no longer help people with their cases as I'm not insured for it.

At Westminster it's a much more comfortable experience going up the escalators. I had a 9.30pm departure from LHR on a weeknight so I was travelling in peak hour through central London. I commuted daily at Green Park between Jubilee and Piccadilly so Westminster was, imho, a much much better way to go with luggage. The District line trains also are larger and airconditioned, so a bit nicer than the tiny Piccadilly line - especially as it was 33c the day I was going!!

I had a 7am arrival back at LHR this week and I did the change at Hammersmith coming back, from Piccadilly to District, but stayed on until Monument to change to the DLR. Yes, there were some stairs, but I've tried getting on the Jubilee line in the morning peak hour and it's ridiculous. After 24hrs in business class, I didn't fancy being sardined on the tube. The DLR wasn't too busy by the time I got there, but being the start of the line even if it was I would have been able to get a space for me and my bags. Worth the hassle with the stairs at Monument.

Re seats. It really is hit and miss. I managed seats on all of them at various times. Coming back, I stood on the District and DLR as after 24hrs in a bed, it was fine to stand for a while!

The_Diamond_Z

Ah, I completely forgot about this...though I thought it was the same track/platform. 4pm is going to be messy anywhere on the Underground but I still think the Canary Wharf/Bakerloo/HEX is the most comfortable route. YMMV

:D!

If you have luggage I would just use the lifts at Westminster rather than going round and round the escalators.

I struggle to see how dragging luggage through Canary Wharf shopping centres, up and down at Poplar and then through Paddington station filled with commuters with their heads pointed upwards at train information screens, plus spending an extra £1 per minute just for a slightly improved seat, is more comfortable than just slumming it on the Piccadilly line for half an hour.

The_Diamond_Z

I wasn't really arguing the point, but I've found the Jubilee line to be the quickest way across London that balances time/comfort. I also think the interchange to Bakerloo is a doddle. I'm Canary Wharf based and don't see the transfer as a struggle at all, but change at Canning Town or use any of the other suggested routes that make you happy.

I've done the Picadilly line a few times and really don't end up feeling I've made a wise choice when I do. The new District/Circle line trains are nice but just as busy as the Jubilee and less frequently.

I have no issue with HEX. I can see others might but the combination works for me and the transfer at Paddington is probably the worst part of the journey but again, I don't find it a struggle.

There are a number of ways to get from LCY->LHR. This is just my suggestion based on quite a few years of trial an error. Nothing more.

dddc

Absolutely HEX is the easiest option from Canary Wharf. The worst part of that journey is coming out at Padidngton and fighting your way onto the escalator and narrow pathways. During the closure of the Bakerloo line it was a bit more effort.


But my experience is tempered with the extortionate price rises since it started. I think I was paying £7 when it began, but that was possibly thanks to a worldpoints promo. If I don't book in advance, I won't personally pay the day fare now.

Also I find the timing to be an issue. With a train only every 15 mins, compared to one ever few mins on the tube, a big chunk of your journey could be done by the time the next HEX comes in.

You're not always guaranteed a seat on HEX either. I've had a Connect train in it's place. HEX did email me a 50% discount code to use, but I haven't used it yet. I took my last journey all the way on the tube and will probably continue to do so until CrossRail is open and the journey to the wharf will be 45 mins. I suppose you could change at Paddington and take the express, but is £24 worth 15 minutes of time?

Microwave

Have you tried stut's suggestion at Green Park, which is to leave the Jubilee platforms by following signs for the way out, then instead of tapping out of the station turning around and taking the other escalator down to the Piccadilly line? This avoids the stairs and lifts issue altogether.

Calchas

Please do not try to transfer through Bank/Monument at rush hour with luggage ... seeing people attempt this makes me very unhappy

WorldLux

Unfortunately for you, most strangers don't care what makes you happy. I've done the change at bank numerous times.

Fortunately for you, my walking pace with a ~12kg duffle bug on the shoulder, an equally heavy bagpack and an luggage exceeds that of the average commuter.

stut

Bank without luggage is painful enough for me - the only reason to undergo such punishment is to nab the front seat of the DLR headed east.

Mizter T

There's a big project to upgrade the capacity at Bank station, with a new platform and tunnel for the Northern line and "more direct routes within the station, with two new moving walkways" - see the project page on the TfL website (though note that it's currently a bit out of date, as the work has begun so it's rather more than a proposal now!).

Calchas

Removed

dddc

I have done that once, but you can't do it for the return journey at the moment as the down escalator to the jubilee line has been under repair for many months. If you enter the station, you have to use the Piccadilly or Victoria lines to access the Jubilee line and that involves stairs.

Personally, maybe because I do the change at Green Park as part of my daily commute, I find the Westminster change breaks the journey up.