Elizabeth Line trains will run direct to Heathrow from November

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• Roger says:

  26 Aug26 August 04:15

  What is best way to connect from LHR T4 to T5 terminals.
  Tube, Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line?
  Should I consider TFL buses at all? I have a large bag to carry and do not mind to pay bus fare if I do not have to walk too much to change at terminal 2/3 or at Hutton cross station.
  I will be parking at T4 (as departing from T5 but retrning at T4) and will of course allow plenty of time!

  • MT says:

    26 Aug26 August 04:32

    Personally i’d get a train as they’re free for transit and easier than the tube. Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line use the same platform so i’d get whichever one turns up first.

  • John says:

    26 Aug26 August 05:44

    HEx and EL are the same for your purposes, free ticket dispensed from a machine near the gates, or use a contactless device (10p authorisation) or oyster. However, trains from T4 are only every half an hour. Go to T2/3 and generally you have 7 minutes to walk across the platform until the next T5 train.

    Tube is similar but you must use oyster or a contactless device, no need to go to Hatton Cross, tube from T4 to T2/3 then walk across the platform and wait for a T5 train. Will be more frequent but (slightly) less comfortable.

    Buses 482 and 490 are £1.65 by oyster or contactless only. T4 bus stop is slightly less walking from the car park (or the car park bus).

    Overall journey time is mostly the same for all modes. I’d choose the train if I am there at the right time, second choice is the tube, but when the buses were free my second choice would have been the bus.

  • ChrisC says:

    26 Aug26 August 06:32

    No need to change at Hatton Cross.

    The tube from T4 is one way so at T2/3 you simply get off then cross the platform for the T5 train.

    The tube is also free but you do need to use a contactless card to tap in and out but you won’t be charged.

    The Hex / Elizabeth line is free but you need a paper ticket from one of the machines near the entrance but the staff at the gate often seem to carry a stash of them anyway.

  • SamG says:

    26 Aug26 August 06:58

    The bus (482 or 490) is easiest , anything else requires a change

• Moley says:

  26 Aug26 August 04:26

  T5 is lucky to get any Crossrail service. Originally it was just due to replace Heathrow Connect to T5, 4 times an hour. BA lobbied for a service to T5 but are limited due to the need for Heathrow Express services to also call.

  • Michael Jennings says:

    26 Aug26 August 11:13

    Crossrail and TfL would love to run more trains to T5, and they have been known to show this on maps denoting their “long term plans”. The trouble is that six trains an hour is about the present capacity of the station at T5, so this would require a reduction or elimination of the Heathrow Express. This would also mean fewer services terminating at Paddington from the east, which they would also prefer.

    Heathrow Airport doesn’t want that, so the present compromise is what we have at the moment.

    • Londonsteve says:

      26 Aug26 August 11:52

      So we get what HAL wants, not what Crossrail, TFL, National Rail and the general public want, which appears to be the same thing. Tail wagging the dog. The Heathrow access tunnel should have built with public funds, then ‘we’ get to decide how we use it. It’s not even as if having a HEX service is faster for most people due to being non-stop, as only those whose destination is in the Paddington area will do better on HEX, for everyone else a through train to central London is vastly preferable.

• JPR says:

  26 Aug26 August 06:06

  Is the new bag drop policy active from today? Only yesterday, BA were tweeting the “old” policy and telling people is was flights before 1.00 pm.

• Scallder says:

  26 Aug26 August 06:33

  That’s a real backwards move by BA bringing the time of the flight the next day forward to 10am at Heathrow. We’ve used it on both our last two trips given we have a yound child and stayed at the airport and has been such a pleasant experience.

  • JPR says:

    26 Aug26 August 08:38

    We booked a hotel only yesterday based on BA reassuring us that it was 13.00 only a day or two ago. A lot of people will be turning up having not read this here only to be turned away.

• MT says:

  26 Aug26 August 06:36

  In regards why 4 trains for to T4 and only 2 to T5 I think its fair to mention you can get on any of the 4 Heathrow Express departures per hour from T5 and then change to the Elizabeth Line at T2&3 very easily.

  The reason for the 4 trains to T4 is that with HEX already servicing T5 they need a regular service from T4 also to join up with T2&3.

  It could also be argued that had the EL run as often as the HEX to T5 then the HEX would have absolutely no business model left. To be fair it looks dodgy already and can imagine the writing is on the wall.

  Overall however a little frustrating for T5 but still a very simple change. The big question is will they align the timetable so a arriving EL train at T2&3 times for a good connection to a HEX and vice versa.

• Frank says:

  26 Aug26 August 06:54

  Still a horrible experience coming from the Shenfield side as you need to change platforms at Liverpool St which takes approx 15 mins with 40kg of luggage

  • SamG says:

    26 Aug26 August 07:00

    No, these trains will continue to Paddington. So you’ll need to change there or elsewhere in the central core but it’s a same platform interchange

    • Bob says:

      26 Aug26 August 07:58

      Yes I think they recommend Whitechapel for the interchange

      • Lumma says:

        26 Aug26 August 08:16

        Some peak trains will still go to the current main station platforms however

  • Rhys says:

    26 Aug26 August 07:59

    That’s what’s changing!

• Robert says:

  26 Aug26 August 07:00

  Crossrail running more frequently to T4 rather than T5 makes sense in the context of Heathrow Express already running to T5. You can easily change at Central from Elizabeth Line Purple Train Crossrail for the HX service behind.

  There is a strong argument for HX to just not be a thing from 2028. Travellers from the City and Canary Wharf aren’t going to go upstairs vs. same-train (or worst case, same platform interchange). The space in the main station and paths can be far better used for long-distance services.

  If the Western Access is ever built, then a through mainline service will obviously make sense.

  • Andy says:

    26 Aug26 August 07:21

    Yes, roll on Western Access to save us from the RailAir bus from Reading!

    Having read the outline planning documents, can’t understand why a 5km rail route that is mostly underground needs to spend so much time in consultation processes

    • Bob says:

      26 Aug26 August 08:03

      Won’t EL run from Reading to LHR?

      • Rhys says:

        26 Aug26 August 08:04

        Not direct, no. It’s on a different branch.

    • Londonsteve says:

      26 Aug26 August 12:00

      Why can’t existing mainline services pull into a sidings with a driver waiting to take over at the other end, change direction and continue to Heathrow? It’s a workaround but it’s not impossible. Like you I don’t understand what’s the big deal with Western Access, it seems pretty straightforward. A limiting factor at present is that T4 and T5 are dead-end stations which limits their capacity. If the southern tunnel was built to connect with the Waterloo line, we could have through trains like at so many large continental airports and LHR’s public transport would be up to the standard expected of C21.

• ChrisC says:

  26 Aug26 August 07:21

  One thing that Rob didn’t mention is that Lizzie will start working an hour earlier so 5.30am instead of 6.30 which will help with early morning LHR arrivals and departures and this will start before November but there isn’t a specific date for that to start that I can find at the moment.

  • Rhys says:

    26 Aug26 August 08:01

    That’s because Rob didn’t write the article 😉

    We are taking another look at this in November when (hopefully) everything is in place. Bond Street opening is also wishy washy

    • Bob says:

      26 Aug26 August 08:03

      Sounds like Bond St will open next month potentially

      • Michael Jennings says:

        26 Aug26 August 11:24

        For me (coming from Bermondsey) that will be good, as it will give me a single change to the Jubilee line, and getting home from Heathrow will become just about tolerable.

  • Bagoly says:

    26 Aug26 August 11:33

    However eminent our monarch, Crossrail (2 syllables) to Elizabeth Line (5) was not a smart naming change.
    I applaud the idea of Lizzie !

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