Waterloo station question

We are planning to take the Mega train from Waterloo station to Southampton on a Saturday in August. We are staying at the Premier Inn County Hall. It appears that the station is larger than we originally thought with lots of shops in the station. How much time should we allow to get to the station (we are walking), and is the signage good enough that we should not get lost?!😄 Thanks for all of your help!

Ten minutes should be enough. But your ticket is only good for that particular train, so give yourselves 20 ;)

On the same side of York Street as County Hall, use the steps & pedestrian bridge over York Road for direct access to the station. Beyond the entrance to the Tube & before the train platforms is a matrix sign, similar to airports, showing the trains & tracks. There are about 20 tracks, but this is a terminus, you just walk past the track ends to your platform.

If Google hadn't screwed around with Googlemaps I'd be able to link a streetview showing County Hall and that pedestrian bridge, and another inside the station showing the entrance from that pedestrian bridge & the platforms. The route is that simple. (does anyone know if & how a streetview can be linked?????)

But here's the route on birdseye view.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Premier+Inn+London+County+Hall+Hotel,+County+Hall,+Belvedere+Road,+Westminster,+London+SE1+7PB,+United+Kingdom/Waterloo+Station,+Waterloo+Road,+London/@51.5034058,-0.1175133,17z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x47d8af7a1533332d:0x43d3fab3daeb5b25!2m2!1d-0.118108!2d51.501803!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1152934!2d51.5038413!3s0x487604b831f17897:0x33eb2b344062928a!1m5!1m1!1s0x487604b9c09f521d:0x1d0598197b5003ba!2m2!1d-0.1123051!2d51.5031653!3e2

JB :)

Cracked it. :)

This is Premier Inn, County Hall.

Swing the camera 180degrees & you can see the footbridge which crosses the street to enter the station at platform level.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.503263,-0.115717,3a,75y,230.55h,86.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7rFxdo4JytWz1jOGpiddUA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is inside the station, looking at the entrance from the footbridge.

Swing the camera 180degrees & you can see the matrix sign & the start of the platforms.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.50362,-0.113796,3a,75y,268.63h,84.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGJ1x2Suk9_nkZMUCIwoawg!2e0!3e5!7i13312!8i6656

JB :)

Excellent visuals, JB :)

To be specific, the Premier Inn is in the building to the right (with the large chimneys in the roof, next to the London Eye), not the building on the main road.

We just did this exact schedule on our July 8 BI cruise. We stayed at Premier County Hall too. The Waterloo station is very well signed and 10 minutes should be enough when walking but as JB recommended, give your self 15-20 minutes if hauling heavy luggage. We booked our train tickets with Megatrain online and got to the station so early that the platform was not yet posted. I originally was looking for a train with s terminus of Southampton before I realized that Southampton was not the final destination for our train. You won't have an actual ticket that will go through the scanners if you book online so will need to go to one of the staff on the platforms to get access. Unfortunately, The staff person told us the wrong platform and we almost missed our train. Lesson learned--wait until you see your train and platform posted on the big departure board before entering the platform area to be sure you're on the right train. If you haven't traveled from Waterloo Station, it's a bug bustling station especially at rush hour so give yourself plenty of time and make sure you check the departure board for your platform. The train was on time, comfortable and affordable. The taxi fare from the train station to the Ocean Terminal was 6 GBP and from luggage drop to embarking the ship was only 15 minutes. We took the 9:30 am train and arrived around 11 am. Thanks to JB and otters who recommended Megatrain.

We booked our train tickets with Megatrain online and got to the station so early that the platform was not yet posted. I originally was looking for a train with s terminus of Southampton before I realized that Southampton was not the final destination for our train.

Good point.

Your train's end-destination will be Bournemouth or Poole or Weymouth.

Sometimes departures to these destinations are within a few minutes of each-other - since you have Megatrain tickets it's important that you catch the one with the same departure time as your tickets.

Megatrain tickets are only issued for the stopping trains, the journey time is about 15 minutes longer than the express trains.

All carriages are the same, but you are supposed to sit in one with "Megatrain" labels.

If they bother to put up labels :rolleyes:

JB :)

We arrived at Waterloo over 45 min. pre train departure time. Scoped the station out ( yes it's huge) and I asked a ticket seller what track we'd be boarding before it was posted. Very easy and well marked. Have fun.

Good point.

Your train's end-destination will be Bournemouth or Poole or Weymouth.

 

Sometimes departures to these destinations are within a few minutes of each-other - since you have Megatrain tickets it's important that you catch the one with the same departure time as your tickets.

 

Megatrain tickets are only issued for the stopping trains, the journey time is about 15 minutes longer than the express trains.

 

All carriages are the same, but you are supposed to sit in one with "Megatrain" labels.

If they bother to put up labels :rolleyes:

 

JB :)

We have travelled on this Megatrain deal a few times now - we have never seen Megatrain labels for specific carriages (we did look!).

Reminder - keep your Megatrain printout handy - you will need it to exit the station as well.

Thanks to JB and otters who recommended Megatrain.

Thats me...swimming like hell to keep up with JB!!:D

Simon

Thats me...swimming like hell to keep up with JB!!:D

 

Simon

Perhaps it's the CC equivalent of QI Elves :)

Aahh! The wonders of technology! Thanks so much for all of the info! We feel much better now about planning our morning!

Unfortunately, The staff person told us the wrong platform and we almost missed our train.

It's usually not worth your while asking staff for real-time information. Things like platform allocation move and change so quickly that staff cannot do better than what's displayed on the departures board. Those who use the station regularly know not to ask; at peak hours, you will see thousands of people standing on the concourse simply watching the screen for the most accurate information.

We also didn't see Megatrain labels on the rail cars--just be certain you're not in a first class car and it shouldn't be a problem. Good point about holding on to your Megatrain printout as I didn't know to do this, so tossed it as we were leaving the train and then had a problem trying to exit at the Southampton station. The staff person was very nice and patient with an uninformed American and let us out without it. Our terminus was Poole, but as JB said just go by the exact departure time of your train on your Megatrain "ticket". There were several leaving for Southampton about the same time on the morning we left. One of our CC colleagues missed the train because she got to the station late and then was confused about which platform to get on. Fortunately, she didn't have to buy another ticket, which technically she should have had to do.

We also didn't see Megatrain labels on the rail cars--just be certain you're not in a first class car and it shouldn't be a problem. Good point about holding on to your Megatrain printout as I didn't know to do this, so tossed it as we were leaving the train and then had a problem trying to exit at the Southampton station. The staff person was very nice and patient with an uninformed American and let us out without it. Our terminus was Poole, but as JB said just go by the exact departure time of your train on your Megatrain "ticket". There were several leaving for Southampton about the same time on the morning we left. One of our CC colleagues missed the train because she got to the station late and then was confused about which platform to get on. Fortunately, she didn't have to buy another ticket, which technically she should have had to do.

It was probably you I saw having an issue at the barrier which reminded me of it. Great cruise wasn't it?:D

It's usually not worth your while asking staff for real-time information. Things like platform allocation move and change so quickly that staff cannot do better than what's displayed on the departures board. Those who use the station regularly know not to ask; at peak hours, you will see thousands of people standing on the concourse simply watching the screen for the most accurate information.

There are a number of websites and apps that will give you the theoretical booked platform and live updates before they hit the boards.

Very useful tools to use as a commuter to get ahead of the tourists.

It was probably you I saw having an issue at the barrier which reminded me of it. Great cruise wasn't it?:D

Yes, great cruise and perfect weather. We enjoyed every minute!