The Blackfriars Dash
If you want to travel from St Pancras International to Bat & Ball, one option that National Rail Enquiries suggests is that you change trains at London Blackfriars. However, the following are typically suggested itineraries: –
| St Pancras International dep | 1935 | 2005 |
| Blackfriars arr | 1943 | 2013 |
| Blackfriars dep | 1946 | 2016 |
| Bat & Ball arr | 2051 | 2121 |
In both examples, only three minutes allowed to change between trains at Blackfriars. To achieve this, you need to exit platform one, walk via a subway to platform three. Based on my experiences, even if you are sitting in the first, or last, coach of the train arriving at Blackfriars, this is not enough time to successfully transfer between trains.
My recollection is that each station has a standard time to change. No doubt at Blackfriars and all through the core the assumption the change is a same platform change – hence 3 minutes.
It should be raised with GTR and see if they are willing to change it.