Expert: David Stewart White - 7/12/2009

Question
I need to book 2 train tickets from Heathrow to Darlington.  I need the most
direct journey with the least changes.

Answer
Hello,

You can't make this trip directly by rail, but you can get from London to Darlington by train with no changes.  Sounds odd, but here's why:

Trains from Heathrow into central London run to Paddington Rail station.  Trains from London to Darlington leave from Kings Cross rail station.  So you have to connect in London between the arrival station and the departure station.  There is no "rail" connection for that leg, unless you count the London Underground (subway) system, which is not always the best option for travelers with luggage.

My suggested options:

Take the Heathrow Express (or Heathrow Connect) train from the airport to Paddington station.  Take a taxi from Paddington to Kings Cross for your train to Darlington.

OR

Take an airport car service from Heathrow to Paddington station to catch the train to Darlington.

Timing:

Time from London to Paddington station is 20 minutes by Express or 35 minutes by Connect.  Taxi to to Kings Cross is hard to judge--it's only 2 miles, but the time will vary depending upon traffic from 10 minutes to much longer.

Kings Cross to Darlington is about 1 hour 30 minutes.

You can check out schedules and see options at:

   http://www.transportdirect.info

select "find a train" option and put in your starting and ending locations, time of day, etc.

Hope this is helpful.

David White