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TODAY’S THE DAY: Take a direct Elizabeth line train from Heathrow to central London

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It may have taken a large proportion of my lifetime to build, but today is the day that you can finally take an Elizabeth line train directly from Heathrow Airport to central London.

You can also travel directly from Heathrow through the centre to Abbey Wood. What you CANNOT do without a change of train is travel from Heathrow to Shenfield, although you can now travel from Paddington to Shenfield direct.

Today is also the first day that full Sunday services are running, and also sees increased frequencies between Paddington and Whitechapel.

Elizabeth Line open direct to Heathrow

To quote the official TfL press release:

  • customers travelling from Reading and Heathrow are now able to travel east all the way to Abbey Wood without needing to change at Paddington mainline station
  • customers travelling from Shenfield will be able to travel west all the way to Paddington without needing to change at Liverpool Street mainline station
  • journeys from the east to destinations beyond Paddington, including towards Heathrow or Reading, will be possible by changing trains and waiting on the same platform at any central London Elizabeth line station for the next direct train. Given the layout of the station, changing trains at Whitechapel is likely to be easiest for customers.

TfL claims that:

People landing at Heathrow Airport will now be able to travel straight through central London on a direct train to areas such as Farringdon and Canary Wharf in as little as 36 and 45 minutes respectively at weekends and 40 and 51 minutes respectively during the week.

Customers will also able to use the Elizabeth line seven days a week following the start of Sunday services through central London. The frequency of services in the central section between Paddington and Whitechapel has increased from 12 trains per hour all day to up to 22 trains per hour in peak times and 16 trains per hour during off-peak.

The full peak timetable, which will see 24 trains per hour during the peak between Paddington and Whitechapel, is on track to be in place by May 2023. 

Elizabeth line route

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“I’m delighted that from Sunday people will be able to benefit from fast and direct Elizabeth line services into central London, seven days a week. This development is a huge moment for the capital’s connectivity, revolutionising the way we travel across London, allowing people to travel from Stratford in the east of London to Paddington in the west of London in just 19 minutes, and Ealing Broadway to Canary Wharf in just over 30 minutes.

“Services running on Sundays through central London will make thousands of journeys quicker, easier and more comfortable. Now services from outside London are connected with the stations in centre of the capital, people can be quickly transported on the Elizabeth line all the way through the city.

This new stage of the Elizabeth line will bring a huge boost to our city – including encouraging people to make the most of the capital and will help support businesses in the heart of our city. I’m so proud of this transformational addition to our public transport network. The Elizabeth line is helping to build a better London – a fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners.”

Elizabeth Line open direct to Heathrow

What are the Heathrow timings?

When it comes to Heathrow, there will be six trains per hour.

All six will serve Terminals 2 & 3, whilst four will continue on to Terminal 4. Just two trains per hour – one every 30 minutes – will operate to Terminal 5.

(EDIT: the comments below imply that it is only four per hour – two to T5 and two to T4 – until next Spring.)

This is a blow to British Airways although better than planned given that running to Terminal 5 was never part of the original plan for Crossrail. Still, with many more passengers travelling from Terminal 5 versus Terminal 4 it doesn’t make a huge amount of sense.

A trip from Heathrow to Farringdon will cost between £10.70 and £12.70. This is thanks to a £7.20 ‘Heathrow premium’ charge that TFL is charging over Piccadilly Line fares, in part to pay for access to Heathrow’s rail tunnels which are owned by the airport. It is worth adding a Railcard to your Oyster Card, if you have one, to get a 33% discount on off-peak fares.

Given that the Head for Points office is only a couple of minutes from Liverpool Street, we are obviously keen to try out the new through service to Heathrow as soon as we can. Look out for a report.

Category

General

Comments (158)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Joy says:
    6 Nov6 November 12:33

    I didn’t think we could do that, at least not for people who don’t live in London, ‘It is worth adding a Railcard to your Oyster Card, if you have one, to get a 33% discount on off-peak fares.’ If I am wrong, please let me know how I go about that. Thanks

    • Track says:
      6 Nov6 November 20:14

      Just ask any attendant at any tube station.

      They do it at a ticket machine.

      • cinereus says:
        7 Nov7 November 13:02

        What if you use your phone or a bank card as an oyster card?

        • Roosit says:
          7 Nov7 November 22:01

          As far as I’m aware if you want to make use of your railcard discount, you have to have it linked to an Oyster, not possible with contactless / phone payment. Would be pleased if someone told me I’m wrong on this!

  • Blair Waldorf Salad says:
    6 Nov6 November 13:02

    My May 2022 PDF TfL map shows Liverpool St as the branch point fot Elizabeth Line services to either Abbey Wood in south east or Shenfield in north east. This map in article above also by TfL shows Whitechapel as the branch point. Which is it?

    • Paul says:
      6 Nov6 November 13:13

      In May 2022 it was correct that trains to Shenfield only served Liverpool Street and not Whitechapel. In December 2022 trains to both Shenfield and Abbey Wood serve Whitechapel as the last station before they branch.

      • Lumma says:
        6 Nov6 November 14:45

        Although some peak trains will run into the main Liverpool Street station and therefore won’t stop at Whitechapel

        • Paul says:
          6 Nov6 November 21:40

          I can only see 2 trains before 0600, 2 in the 0800-0900 hour and 1 very late evening. I don’t think the map could realistically account for that.

          • lumma says:
            6 Nov6 November 23:31

            The map doesn’t need to account for it. I’m just pointing out that not all shenfield trains will stop at Whitechapel.

            It’s like the Overground lines out of Liverpool Street. Half don’t stop at London Fields or Cambridge Heath

  • jj says:
    6 Nov6 November 14:49

    Am I the only person who thinks this discussion sounds like a round of Mornington Crescent on R4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue?

  • Andy S says:
    6 Nov6 November 14:53

    I really don’t see the point of the Heathrow Express now. Most of the 12 minutes time saving will be lost by changing at Paddington on to the tube or the Elizabeth Line.

    • Lou says:
      6 Nov6 November 17:35

      Presumably that’s why the access fee is so high

    • Track says:
      6 Nov6 November 20:20

      Its strange but HEX trains are usually quite busy if not full. So it will remain in place.

      • lumma says:
        6 Nov6 November 23:34

        You’ve never been to London before, you arrive at Heathrow and see all these signs for “the fastest way to Central London”, what are you going to do.

        I think it’s Vienna which has an airport special which is far more expensive but isn’t even quicker.

    • marcolau says:
      7 Nov7 November 04:36

      One possible use I can think of is to beat the all-day Peak fare out of Heathrow into Central London if you get a £5.5 advanced ticket. This gives you comparable journey time than Elizabeth Line with slight savings.

  • Gavin says:
    6 Nov6 November 17:40

    1 trains an hour to terminal 5? Ugh!!!! Why does everything have to be so mediocre in this country! Always second rate! The overall journey time to central London will surely come out way over an hour all in with the transfer to terminal 3!

    • Paul says:
      6 Nov6 November 21:48

      2 an hour direct at the moment. 47 minutes T5 to Farringdon. There are other destinations that people want to go; not just Terminal 5.

    • ChrisBCN says:
      6 Nov6 November 23:00

      There’s 6 Liz/HEX, trains an hour to t5, plus 6 picadilly, how many more do you want?? What is mediocre about 12 trains an hour to somewhere? Relax!

  • Richmond_Surrey says:
    6 Nov6 November 17:53

    Useless to South part of London/M25. I will continue driving to Heathrow, only 40 minutes with no traffic.

  • Andrew. says:
    6 Nov6 November 22:52

    A good mate took the Elizabeth Line from Liverpool Street to Paddington today, then switched to the Heathrow Express.

    He switched because “All of the Heathrow Trains were going to Terminal 5 or Terminal 4, none were going to Heathrow Central”.

    Apparently the HEx was as busy as he’d ever seen it, with a lot of people complaining that the Elizabeth Line didn’t serve Terminals 2/3.

    Goodness did he feel silly when I sent him a picture of the Elizabeth Line map. But perhaps destination displays could be improved?

    • ChrisBCN says:
      6 Nov6 November 23:02

      Yes. Displays need to be improved .

    • Londonsteve says:
      7 Nov7 November 11:47

      Being an old cynic, I would suggest that’s deliberate to sow confusion and generate extra revenue for HEX. Along with the fraudulent claim that it’s the ‘fastest way to central London’. The whole set-up since inception is designed for HEX to be a money printing machine for HAL, it’s a miracle that EL trains are even allowed to serve T5, no doubt thanks to some fine print in the planning permission when the tunnel and rail line connecting the airport to the Great Western main line were granted the go-ahead, seeking to prevent HAL from operating a rail monopoly forevermore.

      • Rob says:
        7 Nov7 November 12:32

        It did not originally serve T5, it was a late change after construction had begun after a deal was cut.

  • Sean says:
    7 Nov7 November 07:56

    Do you know if the Heathrow Express departs from the same platforms at Central as the Elizabeth Line?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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