Elizabeth Line journey times to Heathrow cut from today – but T5 loses Canary Wharf services

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• Aliks says:

  21 May21 May 08:49

  Its all academic for us lot in S London.

  According to Google, Northern line – Victoria – Piccadilly to T5 takes about 70 mins no matter when you set off.

  HEX or Crossrail are 61-69 mins depending . . . .

  • Krishnan R. Iyengar says:

    21 May21 May 09:26

    If you are in South London – especially Croydon – Gatwick is the better option. It’s just a 20-minute train ride away.

    • lumma says:

      21 May21 May 10:14

      Not if your plane is leaving from Heathrow it’s not

      • Skywalker says:

        21 May21 May 10:38

        lumma 😄 +1

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    21 May21 May 11:00

    Surely that depends where in a south London you’re located!

    And the genesis of Lizzie line was to improve cross London East / West transport and didn’t include Heathrow at all.

    If your on the Northern Line then pick Lizzie up at Tottenham Court Road.

    • Michael. Jennings says:

      21 May21 May 12:14

      The change to Thameslink at Farringdon is very easy if Thameslink will help you. I had hoped that changing to Jubilee at Bond Street would be good, but it’s too long a walk.

      • Alistair Reid says:

        21 May21 May 15:56

        I agree.
        I am a train buff but not as fit now at 74.
        Have done all the new sections of the Elizabeth Line.
        The trains are excellent.

        My first trip was from the Jubilee to Elizabeth and thought I was never going to get there.

        Have found similar problems at other stations especially if you exit the train a long way from the exit/transfer point.

        There are plenty of lift/escalators but if you have to walk virtually the whole length of the platform, it is not easy.

        • PH says:

          22 May22 May 00:04

          The walk from the Northern line platform at Moorgate to the Elizabeth line must be the longest!

        • Rhys says:

          22 May22 May 09:16

          Great connection to have, though.

  • redlilly says:

    21 May21 May 11:12

    Sounds long… how about Northern line to Tottenham Court Road, and using the shortcut around the station to get to the Lizzy line…

    Only one change.

  • Dave says:

    21 May21 May 11:59

    For simplicity and comfort take Thameslink to Farringdon and change there. Lots of South London stations served

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      21 May21 May 12:19

      City as in LCY?

      Lizzie Line (which is run by separate entity so not part of any tube disputes) to Custom House then bus to LCY or to Woolwich then DLR to LCY.

      Canary Wharf involves an extra change of DLR but isn’t a significant issue.

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        21 May21 May 12:20

        Ignore that! That was answer to another post. No idea how that happened.

        BUT overground to Whitechapel also an option.

• SammyJ says:

  21 May21 May 09:14

  Slightly o/t but lots of knowledgable folks about the Tube geography here: any suggestions for a low-ish cost hotel with family rooms anywhere very close to a tube station on the western end of the Piccadilly line for easy access to T3? We need 4/5 rooms for a group of 13 (3 families), inc rooms for 2a/2ch. Hilton GI T3 is crazy money in Aug. Currently got CP & HIEx rooms reserved with points at T4 but the room configuration doesn’t work well so we needed 6 rooms there.

  • Jeff says:

    21 May21 May 09:42

    We often stay at the Travelodge at Hounslow Central just 2 or 3 minutes walk from the tube station which is 3 stops from Heathrow T3, the only downside is that there are no lifts at the station which is awkward if you have heavy luggage. There are other hotels within walking distance too.

  • Peter Mc says:

    21 May21 May 09:44

    Google Maps, zoom in on the Piccadilly Line then search for hotels. For my last early morning flight I used the Travelodge by Hounslow Central which is a very short walk but some of those stations are not step free.

    • SammyJ says:

      21 May21 May 09:59

      Thanks – I’ve just been trying that this morning and the Travelodge and Hatton Cross hotels were the only things that seemed to come up. Travelodge is £99 a room though 😳 which is dearer than the CP! Might need to look at Bath Rd and consider bussing or Ubering everyone in!

  • Rob says:

    21 May21 May 09:59

    Lots of readers have praised Staycity (literally next to the Hayes & Harlington Elizabeth Line station – in fact most rooms overlook it).

    Hilton GI at Hatton Cross is the obvious answer though.

    • SammyJ says:

      21 May21 May 10:33

      Thanks – just checked Staycity and it says rooms are unavailable for 2023 or that would have been ideal.
      The HGI Hatton Cross is about £100 more in total for 5 rooms than the CP and HIEx combo is for 6 rooms – just seems counterintuitive to book more rooms than we need.
      Would you see any additional benefit to booking the Hilton for the extra £100 over the T4s? We’ll get Diamond benefits on 2 rooms each side at CP/HIEx as opposed to Gold on 2 at Hilton.

      • SammyJ says:

        21 May21 May 13:14

        I have a Hilton £50 off £200 but it expires this month – had discounted as it says ‘valid on checkout spend’, but would an advance rate paid now for August be ok?

        • Rob says:

          21 May21 May 16:19

          Yes

    • Richie says:

      21 May21 May 11:01

      BTW there’s a fast limited stop TfL bus X140 from Hayes and Harlington to Heathrow Central for T2 & 3.

    • Elle says:

      21 May21 May 15:18

      Isn’t the silver lining of this when coming from Abbey Wood side of things that you don’t lose any time if you want to do the Hayes & Harlington shuffle to save a few quid?

      May as well change there and tap out and back in, no time lost vs. doing it at Whitechapel!

  • redlilly says:

    21 May21 May 11:13

    HIEX at Hammersmith is a good bet. About a 7 min walk to Hammersmith tube.

    • SammyJ says:

      21 May21 May 13:17

      Thanks – just looked and it seems to be the same problem – all rooms available only sleep 2 people. I’ll bear that in mind for normal trips!

  • dougzz99 says:

    21 May21 May 11:21

    Premier Inn T4 from £58 for a random August date. Family rooms from £65.50.

    • NorthernLass says:

      21 May21 May 12:04

      HIEX at T4 also a good option.

      • SammyJ says:

        21 May21 May 13:21

        Currently got a combination of rooms in the HIEx and CP at T4, it’s our usual go-to as a couple or with our own kids, but no rooms there sleep more than 3, so we’ve ended up with more rooms than we should need.

      • David says:

        22 May22 May 05:09

        Did you read the post?

    • SammyJ says:

      21 May21 May 13:22

      Wasn’t even aware there was a walkable Premier Inn at T4 – thanks! £50 for our date for a room for 4. Looks like that could be a winner – cheers for that!

• baec_newbie says:

  21 May21 May 11:00

  The T4 frequency is increasing to 4tph. This is a significant improvement on the previous 2tph.

  Whilst there will no longer be direct services from Canary Wharf to T5, a simple same-platform change anywhere between Whitechapel and Heathrow Central will get you there.

  Also worth noting that if you’ve just missed a T5 service, it’s slightly quicker to take the next T4 service to Heathrow Central and change onto the following Hex service to T5. That won’t cost you anything extra, as charging is based on whether you use the Hex barriers at Paddington.

  • ADS says:

    21 May21 May 11:49

    I would always take the first train and change at Heathrow Central – just in case there is a problem on the tracks later on!

    Good point about HEX and Crossrail being the same price between Heathrow stations

  • Paul says:

    21 May21 May 12:01

    Yes despite the lack of a direct CW to T5 train it’s actually now faster (50 minutes) provided you time it right.

• Mikeact says:

  21 May21 May 11:13

  Any particular Travel Zone options/costs/advantages/disadvantages to be aware of travelling to LHR ?

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    21 May21 May 11:22

    Cheaper but longer if you avoid zone 1.

    Depends on your starting point and your willingness to make what could be multiple changes to save a couple of quid,

  • Rob says:

    21 May21 May 11:53

    Because of the £2 off peak premium on the tube to LHR you should get out at Hatton Cross and immediately touch in again and return to platform. This journey is free.

    • Andrew C says:

      21 May21 May 16:31

      It’s only for Zone 1 fares that all journeys are peak. Off-peak fares remain for all fares that don’t include Zone 1.

      • baec_newbie says:

        22 May22 May 19:02

        Although there’s still a small saving to be had by doing the Hatton Cross “dance”, as Hatton Cross is in Zone 5/6 rather than Heathrow’s Zone 6.

    • ON says:

      22 May22 May 10:34

      Works perfectly. Did it last Sunday while travelling to Clapham Junction. Touch out / touch in at Hatton Cross, pink card reader at West Brompton and the whole fare from LHR to CLJ was 2 GBP. It literally takes you 5 min more just to wait for the next tube at Hatton Cross. Wasn’t the only one doing that, by the way.

  • pigeon says:

    21 May21 May 13:06

    Also railcards are valid on both Lizzie and HEX.

    With the two together card you’ll be saving from your first HEX trip.

• NorthernLass says:

  21 May21 May 12:07

  I’m doing LHR-city-LHR in July as part of a longer trip. What do y’all do if there’s a tube strike?!

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    21 May21 May 12:17

    City as in LCY?

    Lizzie Line (which is run by separate entity so not part of any tube disputes) to Custom House then bus to LCY or to Woolwich then DLR to LCY.

    Canary Wharf involves an extra change of DLR but isn’t a significant issue.

    • NorthernLass says:

      21 May21 May 12:38

      No, that London city! 2 nights at the IC then one at the newish Hilton Lost Property. We’re in Vienna for 3 nights prior to that with an expiring 241 so thought it would be fun and cost-effective to visit a few places in London before we head home by flying the LHR-MAN leg 3 days after the VIE-LHR.

      Good to know there are other options, though! I’ll keep an eye out for announcements, as it would be just our luck.

  • GeoffreyB says:

    21 May21 May 16:31

    I get an Uber if there’s a tube strike. Or a bus.

• NFH says:

  21 May21 May 16:29

  When landing at LHR-T5, a useful page showing you all train departures is at https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ldbboard/dep/HWV

  The destination is Shenfield for Elizabeth Line trains and Paddington for Heathrow Express. It can help to make an informed decision whether or not to rush.

  • TooPoorToBeHere says:

    21 May21 May 16:35

    Yup. And https://traintimes.org.uk/live/HWV is an even better one.

• George K says:

  21 May21 May 21:06

  What we now need is for the long-touted connection between T5 and Clapham Junction. Surely the T5 ghost rail station can’t stay abandoned forever!

  • Bernard says:

    22 May22 May 18:37

    Why not?
    T1 has been abandoned and left to rot for years .

• ON says:

  22 May22 May 10:40

  I have to do this Saturday, 27.5., LHR-LCY, while Piccadilly line closed between LHR and Acton Town. In order not to pay the more expensive Elizabeth Line to Custom House I would first like to take the replacement bus to Acton Town. Any idea how long this will take while stopping at all the tube stations departing, say, at 5 a.m. from the Central Bus Station? Half an hour or maybe less? Solo traveller, no luggage.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    22 May22 May 20:17

    Aren’t the replacement bus timetables on the TFL website?

    • ON says:

      23 May23 May 08:18

      Didn’t find it, I’m afraid. Perhaps they put them on Friday. Google maps saysthat a car takes about 16-22 min, so I guess the bus around 35 min.

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