Great Western Coffee Shop

Scenario ... passengers arriving at Paddington from Liverpool Street, King's Cross, St Pancras and Euston (Square) by underground ... arrivals these days will almost inevitably be on a Hammersmith train at "Platform 14".

Action ... walk onto the bridge, look at the signs, and head straight for the correct westbound departure without any need to visit the concourse.  There are ticket vending machines on the bridge section, and this can work well

Problem ... if I arrive with heavy luggage and need to excess my ticket (from, say super-offpeak to off-peak) or buy a ticket that doesn't originate at Paddington (say I have a season to Maidenhead but am travelling to Chippenham), I have to lug my luggage all the way up to the concourse, queue, and then lug my luggage all the way back again (I'm a cheapskate and rarely travel First class!)

Is there an easy solution?

When redevelopmenst and / or Crossrail come in, will this situation be improved?

Change at Edgeware Road onto a Wimbledon train (cross-platform usually) and alight at Paddington Circle Line platform. Yes, there's an up 'n over footbridge unfortunately, but on exit, you find yourself up on the concourse

Indeed ... that's a possible solution, although alternate trains from Edgware Road require an "up and over" there too (or is that just into Circle line trains?).

Chris, is this the official advise given to people who need to visit the manned ticket desks at Paddington when arriving from Euston Square and beyond?   In the days when the Circle was a (squashed) circle, it was the natural thing to do, and you could see how many minutes you had to wait when making a decision to join a Hammersmith and City service or wait for the Circle one at King's Cross

Not sure if its official - poss better to offer level but longer at Paddington (lifts and slopes available off Pl 14) rather than a drag up 'n over at Padd Circle line.

But Wimbledon trains leave off cross-platform all the time. Circle line leaves off the westbound on the other island as a general rule

Apart from the walk the route from platform 15 to the Lawn is quite reasonable.

Country (Hammersmith) end of platform 15 there is a lift to the LU concourse; it is the a flat and level walk to the lifts at the London end of the taxi rank, these take you down to Platform 12 which again is a flat and level walk across to the main ticket hall.

The alternatives are use the old taxi ramp to platform 8 there is a few steps down the ramp and then along platform 8 or go across the over bridge to platform 1 where there is a lift down to platform 1.

For the Super Off Peak to Off Peak scenario (or indeed Off Peak to Anytime) you should, if the barriers will let you through, be able to Excess on board without penalty. You should not be given a Penalty Fare or be prosecuted if you are travelling on a time restricted walk-up ticket at a time it is not valid. You should only ever be charged the difference in fares as codified in the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, Condition 12(a) (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/NRCOC.pdf#page=9).

By all means, if you have time, then head for the Paddington ticket office to arrange an Excess. But if you can get through the barrier with your existing ticket, or (as I have done in the past) convince a gateline staffer to let you through to buy the Excess on board, then do so if time is short.