Heathrow is Britain’s biggest and the world’s busiest international airport, and is located about 14 miles to the west of central London in the Borough of Hillingdon. Heathrow is still expanding with a new Terminal 5 opening in March 2008 and a third runway and possible sixth terminal under discussion.
There are a number of ways for visitors using Heathrow to get to and from the airport, here’s a look at the options should you be going through there.
London Underground One of the first views of London that millions of visitors get each year is from a Tube train heading into central London. The Piccadilly Line serves Heathrow with a central terminal area for Terminal 1, 2, and 3, while Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 have their own Underground stations below their terminal buildings. Services run approximately every 5 minutes from Terminals 1,2,3 with journeys into central London taking around 45 minutes (its 17 stops to Piccadilly Circus). Services through Terminal 4 and 5 run every 10 minutes and take around 52 and 49 minutes respectively in town. Single fares from all five terminals into London cost £4. Tickets can be bought from ticket offices or machines.
First and last trains
First train from Terminals 1,2,3 - 05:13 (05:57 Sundays)
Last train from Terminals 1,2,3 - 23:49 (23:30 Sundays)
First train from central London arrives - 06:32 (07:51 Sundays)
Last train leaves Piccadilly Circus - 00:32 (23:38 Sundays)
First train from Terminal 4 - 05:04 (05:47 Sundays)
Last train from Terminal 4 - 23:33 (23:17 Sundays)
First train from central London arrives T4 - 06:29 (07:49 Sundays)
Last train leaves Piccadilly Circus for T4 - 23:09 (22.42 Sundays)
Heathrow Express The Heathrow Express is a quick and comfortable non-stop train service between Heathrow and Paddington Station just to the north of Hyde Park in central London. Trains run every 15 minutes and journey times are approximately the same. Services run between 05:10 and 23:12 from Paddington, and between 05:12 and 23:48 from Heathrow.
Single fares cost £14.50 if bought online, £15.50 at the station or £17.50 if bought on the train, while a standard return costs £28 online, £29 at the station or £31 on the train. The Heathrow Express stops at Heathrow Central (T1,2,3) and Terminal 5, for Terminal 4 change at Heathrow Central and take the free connection.
Heathrow Connect The Heathrow Connect train service stops at five local railway stations on its route from Paddington Station to Heathrow Central and Terminal 5. Trains leave every 30 minutes and the journey time from Heathrow to Paddington is around 26 minutes. Single fares from Heathrow cost between £4.90-£6.90 depending on how far you go. The first train leaves Paddington at 04.42 Mon-Sat, 06:12 Sun, while the first train from Heathrow leaves at 06:23 Mon-Sat, 06:07 Sun.
Buses and Coaches There are a large number of local bus services whose routes include stops at all five of Heathrow’s terminals but unless you’re trying to get to somewhere in the immediate area its not recommended using the bus to get to the centre of London, you would have to make a number of changes and it could take some time. There is a a number N9 Nightbus that runs every 20 minutes from Heathrow to central London, the first leaving Heathrow at 01:15 and the last at 05:15.
Coach services run by a number of companies depart for destinations all over the UK from the Heathrow Central Bus Station.
Taxis Licensed London black taxicabs are available outside Terminals 1-4 and at the taxi rank in the Terminal 5 bus and coach station. Journey times into central London vary widely depending on time of day and traffic but generally cost between £40-£70.
Cars Being driven to or picked up from Heathrow is often the most pleasant way to get to the airport. Heathrow is very close to the M4 and M25 motorways, the M4 heading east into London ending around Hammersmith and west as far as Bristol, while the M25 is the orbital motorway that circles the whole of Greater London, a quick way to get to the northern or southern sides of town.
All the Heathrow terminals have short and long term parking although they are not cheap. 30 minutes-1 hour short stay costs £3.90, 2 hours short stay £7.40 continually rising to £44.50 for 24 hours in short stay. Long term parking costs £15.40 per day for 1-4 days, £14.90 per day for 5 days or longer. The long stay car parks are open all year round and bus services from them to the airport terminals run every 10-12 minutes. There has been talk of introducing a £20 congestion charge for vehicles using Heathrow but as yet it hasn’t happened.
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