Trains to London: This is how much it would cost to go to London for the Queen's funeral from Sheffield
Any Sheffielders hoping for a day out to London to pay their respects to the Queen will be paying a kingly sum.
Thousands are expected to line the streets of the capital on September 19 to see Queen Elizabeth II laid to rest, with a ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
Experts have even suggested queues to see Her Majesty lying in state could last 12 hours and stretch for miles.
But well-wishers from Sheffield who want to travel down for the day can expect to pay a steep fee.
Should I travel to London on Bank Holiday Monday for the Queen’s funeral?
The Star has looked at the costs and logistics for a family of four – two adults and two children under 10 – to visit the capital on September 19 in time for the funeral at 11am and get back home on the same day.
Travel by car
Driving to London from Sheffield is a straight three hour drive down the M1 and takes in 155 miles.
Planned motorway closures on several UK motorways – including the M25, M11, M3, M4 and M23 – have been postponed to help mourners travel.
However, city experts say London will experience “unprecedented travel demand” in the coming days.
Additionally, roads around Buckingham Palace, Green Park and St James’ Park have been closed to vehicles for the safety of mourners.
Travel by coach
As we will outline below, the price of a train to London is looking staggering on the day of the funeral.
To avoid this, families have the option of taking a coach to London.
However, to get in to Victoria Coach Station by 9.45am in time for the service, families will need to get the 03.25am service leaving from Sheffield Coach Station, which is a seven hour journey with a change at Birmingham. This will cost £66.90.
Travel by train
The cost of travelling from Sheffield to London, even at the best of times, can be steep.
The absolute cheapest is the super off-peak return, which for a family of four without railcards will be £217.50 and will restrict which trains you can ride.
It will also cost £20 extra for four London travelcards, too.
It ramps up quickly from there. The regular off-peak return will cost a family £347.50. The bill for an anytime return with travelcards is £590.
But another difficulty is that spaces on trains are quickly selling out.
There are no super off-peak tickets for the 7.09, 7.37, 7.58 or 8.11, all of which arrive before 10.30am.
But anyone so inclined can still buy the Anytime Return 1st Class for a total £980. Add travelcards, and this rounds up to a neat £1,000.
The train from Sheffield to London is a two hour minimum journey with no changes.
To make it in time for the funeral at 11am, there will be on average five trains an hour leaving from Sheffield.
The latest to get in on time and still have wiggle room to make it to service is the the 8.11am, which gets in at 10.31am to London St Pancras, leaving half an hour travel time.
However, railway companies are warning that she sheer volume of passengers on the day is likely to cause problems, and that customers should prepare for cancellations, last minute changes and long delays.
Tube travel
Don’t expect things to be any simpler when you get into the city.
Tube stations are likely to be severely affected for the entirety of the weekend, but most pressingly on the Monday.
Travellers wishing to see the Queen lying in state have been asked to avoid Green Park station – the station closest to Buckingham Palace – which incidentally had to close last weekend due to overcrowding from mourners hoping to pay respects.
The Elizabeth Line will run a special service on September 18 with 12 trains per hour on the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood.
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “The rail industry is doing all it can to ensure people can travel to pay their respects during the period of mourning. Where possible we will be running some extra services. A very limited service will be operating through the night on some routes, people should check journey planners for the most up to date information.”