Is luggage allowed on the underground?

"Curtis" <Curtis@abcd.fake> wrote in message
news:020620062019389242%Curtis@abcd.fake...
> I figure that will be the cheapest way to get to my hotel if it's OK to
> have a suitcase or two.

Yes, luggage is permitted on the underground. However:

*You will have to manage it up/down escalators yourself. Not all stations
have lifts.
*At certain times of day, for example in the morning/evening peak you'd be
insane to try. At certain stations it's difficult enough to squeeze yourself
onto the train without having to worry about luggage as well.

Marcus

"Marcus Fox" <please-reply-via-newsgroup-th@-i-posted-to.com> wrote in
message news:ez6gg.1422$uP.274@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
>
> "Curtis" <Curtis@abcd.fake> wrote in message
> news:020620062019389242%Curtis@abcd.fake...
> > I figure that will be the cheapest way to get to my hotel if it's OK to
> > have a suitcase or two.
>
> Yes, luggage is permitted on the underground. However:
>
> *You will have to manage it up/down escalators yourself. Not all stations
> have lifts.
> *At certain times of day, for example in the morning/evening peak you'd be
> insane to try. At certain stations it's difficult enough to squeeze
yourself
> onto the train without having to worry about luggage as well.

Also, not all stations have escalators, and those that do are sometimes out
of order.

Marcus

"Curtis" <Curtis@abcd.fake> wrote in message
news:020620062019389242%Curtis@abcd.fake...

>> I figure that will be the cheapest way to get to my hotel if it's OK to
>> have a suitcase or two.
>
>Yes, luggage is permitted on the underground. However:
>
>*You will have to manage it up/down escalators yourself. Not all stations
>have lifts.

The same is true of trains on the national network.

>*At certain times of day, for example in the morning/evening peak you'd be
>insane to try. At certain stations it's difficult enough to squeeze yourself
>onto the train without having to worry about luggage as well.

Tell us where and when (time of day) you are arriving, and we'll let you
know if there's a practical "no steps" way to navigate the tube.

--
Roland Perry

In message <030620060706055507%Curtis@abcd.fake>, at 12:05:59 on Sat, 3
Jun 2006, Curtis <Curtis@abcd.fake> remarked:
>I've been to London once before but that was fifteen years ago. My
>hotel was in Central London and I used the Gatwick Express and the
>Underground. I remember a little crowding and a few stares at me and my
>suitcase on the Underground and I wondered at the time whether luggage
>was a faux pas (or worse) on the Underground.

It's always OK, especially on lines like the Piccadilly which go to
Heathrow airport. Although at peak periods on some lines it will be
difficult to find a place to stand. The worst offences are backpackers,
who seem oblivious to the fact that when then turn around they thwack
the people stood near them.

>I just wanted to get some clarification since that was a long time ago
>and terrorism has been on the rise.

There's no perceived connection amongst the travelling public between
terrorism and tourist luggage. But don't leave it unattended.
--
Roland Perry

In message <Pine.LNX.4.62.0606031353010.13203@urchin.earth.li >, at
13:54:14 on Sat, 3 Jun 2006, Tom Anderson <twic@urchin.earth.li>
remarked:

>>>> I figure that will be the cheapest way to get to my hotel if it's OK to
>>>> have a suitcase or two.
>>> Yes, luggage is permitted on the underground. However: *You will
>>>have to manage it up/down escalators yourself. Not all stations have
>>>lifts.
>>
>> The same is true of trains on the national network.
>
>They mostly aren't underground, though!

Gatwick Station gives a good impression of being underground, as does
Stansted and Heathrow Central. My comments were largely aimed at places
like Kings Cross Thameslink and Blackfriars, though; both typical places
you'd catch a train to from Gatwick.

>>> *At certain times of day, for example in the morning/evening peak
>>>you'd be insane to try. At certain stations it's difficult enough to
>>>squeeze yourself onto the train without having to worry about
>>>luggage as well.
>>
>> Tell us where and when (time of day) you are arriving, and we'll let
>>you know if there's a practical "no steps" way to navigate the tube.
>
>uk.transport.london can also help with this.

Indeed they can.
--
Roland Perry

Curtis wrote:
> I just wanted to get some
> clarification since that was a long time ago and terrorism has been on
> the rise.

Not really (I'm guessing you're in the US). There has been one
significant terrorist "event" in the UK since 11/9/01. 15 years ago
there was a far greater threat from the IRA, though admittedly their
aim was more towards disruption than killing in terms of the general
public.

(This may be why the UK response to terrorism is somewhat different to
that in the US).

> I don't even know what day I'll be arriving but after reading the
> comments I'll be sure to try for off peak times.

That is best to be easier for you, but it really isn't a problem. I've
crossed London in the height of the morning peak with a couple of large
suitcases once. It wasn't fun, and a taxi may well have been a
worthwhile investment for a shorter journey (or a bus), but it wasn't
impossible.

If you're travelling from Heathrow, those trains have dedicated luggage
space that others don't, and when you get on well outside London itself
they'll be quiet, even in the peaks (done that as well).

Neil

Curtis wrote:
> I figure that will be the cheapest way to get to my hotel if it's OK to
> have a suitcase or two.

If you are of Asian or Arab appearance, you may well have a carriage to
yourself and your luggage!