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Welcome to our UK travel forum where you can get advice on everything from holidays to exotic destinations, to tips on London travel.

Original poster

How do babies on a train work?

12 replies

Colabottle10 · 03/02/2017 14:40

Heading down to London from the NE soon and looking to go via train rather than drive as heading down one day and back the next. Driving will leave us knackered and drastically reduce the amount of time we are there for.

So, how do babies on a train work? We have a 6 month old and whilst he's happy sitting on our knees, it's hard work for 3 hours! We'll be taking him in his car seat which clips onto the pushchair frame, so can he just sit in there? Where does it go and do we have to buy a ticket?! Surely the car seat will take up a seat? I'm assuming the frame just goes into the luggage section folded up.

I'm guessing a pushchair on the tube is a no go....but the DLR is probably OK?

OP posts:
LivininaBox · 03/02/2017 14:45

Hello, baby on a train is very doable! Bring lots of little snacks and books or whatever he likes to play with. I don't think you will be able to leave him in a pram though, the only way to do that would be to take up the wheelchair space which they probably won't let you do.

For the underground, I would advise a sling. Not a pushchair, because of the escalators. Very few stations have lifts. The bus may be easier if you need the pushchair?

JohnLapsleyParlabane · 03/02/2017 14:45

I haven't done a long train journey myself but I have friends that do. They try and book the seats close to the wheelchair or bike spaces which allows for the buggy to stay up (unless required) . I may be wrong but I think if you want to baby to have their own seat you will have to pay for it.
Kids go free on the London underground and the tfl website has detailed information as to which lines/stations are step free.

Original poster
Colabottle10 · 03/02/2017 14:50

Thanks all. A quick look on the Virgin website shows that prams have to be folded up and not put in wheelchair bays.....we'll be booking 1st class so will have a bit more room, but what do we do about his car seat? He needs to have his car seat as we'll be heading out in friends car over the weekend. Hmmm.....He goes into the connecta fine, but I can't not take a pram/car seat. He's pretty good at being cheery and entertaining so I'm not too worried about that aspect, just the logistics of getting his stuff around. Luckily they have a travel cot for him to sleep in, not sure how we'd get that there on the train!

Think we will be DLR when we get there anyway, so not worried about the tube aspect...though I should probably look this up actually...

OP posts:
CherieBabySpliffUp · 03/02/2017 14:54

Get a family and friends rail card.
The adults travel for a 1/3 off and he will travel for 1/3 of the cost of a child ticket. Should work out cheaper than just paying for the adults and you would have extra space

StarBurger · 03/02/2017 15:02

Me and my little one have been to London on the train a few times now. The first time she was 2 months. I travelled at off peak times. I was able to use the underground but only got on/off at stepless stations with a pram. A sling would have been easier but it wasn't too bad. We even had a drunken stag do as bouncers they didn't let anyone near us!

As we usually travel off peak I've never had to fold down my pushchair or pram as the trains were pretty empty. Could you travel off peak?

We also found playing the twirly woos on my phone helped a great deal!! Grin

BroomstickOfLove · 03/02/2017 15:03

Yes to Family and Friends railcard. I always just held the baby on my lap. Pushchair, if needed, folded up in the luggage compartment. Can your friends borrow a car seat? I loaned mine to friends with visiting babies several times. Or just get a seat for the baby, which can you can at pretty much no extra cost with the railcard.

pileoflaundry · 03/02/2017 15:09

Pushchair folds up, unless the train will be rammed you should be able to unfold it in the vestibule once the train is moving, get your DC in and with luck they will go to sleep, although one of you would need to hang around. We used to travel over nap time at that age to maximise the chance of some quiet. A pushchair which reclines, rather than a car seat, can double up as a change mat. It may be cheaper with a family travel card, which also has the added bonus of needing to buy a ticket for the DC, so you might get 3 seats for less cost. Bring endless snacks. Walking up and down the train can give a bit of a change of scene, but does get tedious after a while, might be worth bringing a compact sling if you have one.

A light pushchair on the tube is fine, www.tfl.gov.uk do special maps for stair-free access, or if you are strong all stations should be fine. I wouldn't recommend a travel system or anything heavy though.

reallyreallyreallytired · 03/02/2017 15:09

Sounds like you need to book a seat for the baby seat

turkeyboots · 03/02/2017 15:21

You need a seat for baby. As long as baby isn't crawling you'll be fine. A moving babybis a nightmare on long train trip, I still shudder at the memories of a trip from London to West Wales with 10m old DD ten years ago!

PuraVida · 03/02/2017 15:25

Children under (I think) 5 travel free on trains. Fold pushchair. Put it, the car seat and your cases in the luggage compartment by the doors. Sit back and enjoy 😊

BrowsOnFleek · 03/02/2017 15:27

I find putting them on the roof of the train helps^^ them to stay quiet.

Sorry not helpful

HelenDenver · 03/02/2017 15:28

Yup, children under five are free but can take up a seat. Not sure if you can put three seat reservations on two booked tickets though

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