Paddington Guide : Practical Information about the station

Paddington Train Station, known as Paddington Railway Station or Paddington Underground Station is a major underground and railway station located in London. It is situated in the city and it is close to Marylebone and Bayswater, just 1km away from Oxford Street and north of Hyde Park.

For most passengers travelling into London Heathrow, Paddington Train Station would be the best railway station to use because it is more central than any other and to the terminus for Paddington Heathrow Express.

Even though the train station is not the largest of mainline stations in London, it performs quite well because it is ranked 7th in terms of number of passengers. It handles an impressive 30 million passengers every year. If you want to leave your suitcases at this station, book a luggage storage at Paddington.

Table of content

1. Some facts about Paddington Railway Station
2. Paddington Station's Practical Information
3. How many platforms in Paddington?
4. Paddington Station Ticket
5. Which connection from Paddington?
6. The parking at Paddington Station London
7. Where to store your luggage at this Station?

Paddington Train Station has a rich history that goes back to the 19th century. The train station has been a London terminus that has enjoyed the services provided by the Great Western Railway (GWR) all through from 1838, that is including its predecessors. It was initially designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1854.

The train station started experiencing major upgrades in the 1870s, 1910s, and the 1960s. The station saw new platforms being added throughout these periods, but it maintained at the same time the authentic feel of the station. The maiden London underground trains first served the station in 1863 thus became the first underground railway in the entire world.

The dawn of the 20th century saw Paddington Railway Station welcome commuter and suburban services as London's urban sprawl started stretching westwards. Despite the fact that the station was still in existence through World War II and has undergone numerous rebuilding and upgrades since then, you cannot fail to notice Brunel's origin train station design.

The station was rigorously refurbished in the 1990s with most of the original glass roof design by Brunel being replaced with polycarbonate glazing panels. However, between 2009 and 2010, Crossrail and Network rail facilities were restored from the Edwardian roof and it is now underneath Eastbourne Terrace, ferrying over 30 million passengers a year.

• Address: Paddington Railway Station, Praed Street, Paddington, London W2 1RH.
• Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 08:00 – 20:00 and Weekends 09:00 and 17:00.
• Phone number: +44 345 711 4141.
• Map:
  

Paddington Railway Station has a total of 13 platforms with the usual train lines being:

• Crossrail heading to Bond Street Circle and Hammersmith and City lines to Baker Street.
• The District and Circle lines to Bayswater.
• The Bakerloo line to Marylebone.
• The London Paddington.
• The Bakerloo line to Warwick Avenue.
• Great Western mainline.

There are different types of tickets that passengers can purchase, depending on the trip. The station always offers full train fares and timetables 3 months in advance. If you intend on making a long journey, it is always advisable to purchase your tickets in advance to get great savings. The tickets available include:

• Anytime ticket Paddington Station: These tickets are relatively flexible. They are not restricted to time. All you have to do is buy anytime and travel at any time. These tickets also give you the ability to break your journey at train stations along the line. If you are travelling within London, the fares are quite similar to advance ticket fares. It is not advisable to buy anytime tickets for inter-city journeys.
• Off-peak tickets: These train tickets can be bought at any time of the day but you will be required to travel at a particular time of the day or specific route. Off-peak times are varied depending on the Paddington Train Station platform you are travelling on.
• Advance tickets: The standard fares for longer distances tend to be very expensive, sometimes even more costly than flying. That is why it is advisable to purchase advance tickets for longer distances to save on money. Purchasing advance tickets is subject to availability and they are often purchased online then collect it from Paddington or book a ticket office.

You can purchase your train ticket online at Trainline or opt to buy from the ticket desk. The ticket desk is open Monday to Sunday 24/7. However, if you wish to purchase advance tickets, you can only buy them between 07:00 and 21:00. If you pre-purchased your ticket, you can collect it from the ticket machine available at Paddington Railway Station.

If you want to visit London without your luggage before taking the train, book a luggage storage in London.

There are many different transport options available for connections from Paddington Station. Here are some of the options you can take advantage of.

• Bus: For bus services plying Paddington and its surroundings, you can take 27, 332, 36 and 7 transport lines.
• Train: There are a number of train lines that can take you from Paddington station. The most common ones are Heathrow Express and TFL Rail.
• Car: There are two pick-up points. One is the APCOA car park entrance located on Bishops Bridge road between Eastbourne Terrace and Westbourne Bridge with satellite navigation code being W2 6AA. The second is the Bishops Bridge road taxi rank off. Don't leave your car unattended. For disabled individuals, there is a designated area above platform 12.
• Taxi: You can get access to the taxi rank just above platform 12 using lifts and escalators. You can also call an Uber ride.
• Pedestrians: All the entrances all step-free and you can access them from Praed Street, Grand Union Canal and Hammersmith and City line.
• London Underground: There are many lines serving Paddington including Bakerloo, Hammersmith and City, Circle and District.

To access the full parking price guide, please visit APCOA parking Paddington Station for more details. Paddington Station offers accessible parkings. All the normal parking tariffs apply to the 7 Blue Badge spaces. The parking space has a 400m step-free walk that leads you to the station. If you wish, you could use the mobility vehicles that are available for transfers. There are different help points in the parking area to guide you.

You can also have access to bicycle parking on the bicycle racks available on platforms 8, 9, 10 and 11. For more information on long-stay parking and tariffs, please visit APCOA. Or call 0345 222 4224.

If you have excess luggage and don't want to move around with it, Paddington Station has a left luggage station at the Excess Baggage, which you can access on platform 12 and it is open from Monday to Sunday from 07:00 to 02:30.

Book a luggage storage at Paddington Station to relieve yourself from your luggage and enjoy your trip.