A Londoner has spoken of feeling like an ‘idiot’ after paying more than they thought they would for a train from Heathrow Airport. They took to the internet to vent their frustration after a ‘stressful’ experience.
__haylxel said on Reddit: “Can’t tell if I’m just an idiot or what but I was coming back from Heathrow airport, Piccadilly was closed so I followed the signs to the Elizabeth line.
“The sign said Paddington, and when the train arrived I got distracted by helping someone with a pushchair, assumed it was the Elizabeth line, and just hopped on. I can’t tell if I went to the wrong platform or what but I feel like an absolute idiot, especially since I live in London.
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“So I’ve paid like £25 now. Granted, it was pretty quick, but I was too stressed to enjoy the experience.”
According to Heathrow itself, London’s newest rail line – the Elizabeth line – can get you from the airport to Central London in less than 45 minutes, with trains every 30 minutes. Prices from Heathrow to TfL Zone 1 cost £12.80.
The London Underground, meanwhile, gets you from Heathrow to the middle of London in under an hour, with trains running every 10 minutes. Heathrow has three underground stations, one at Terminal 2/3 and at Terminal 4 and 5. Prices begin at £5.50 for the journey.
Alternatively, you can get to London Paddington in ‘just 15 minutes’ on the Heathrow Express. Trains run every 15 minutes from all terminals to the interchange.
Here, you can transfer to the London Underground or the Elizabeth Line. Prices start from £15.00, if booked in advance. Or you can buy tickets online or in person at the airport.
Prices to the airport
If you’re travelling to the airport, there is a little trick you can do on the Tube which means that you can avoid what we will call a ‘Heathrow tax’. As explained in a TikTok by @vaguely.mundane, the Heathrow Express costs £25.
There are cheaper tickets such as a £16.50 earlybird ticket which is available a couple of months before. Online, Heathrow Express does promote that you can get a £5.50 earlybird ticket and these were only found to be available five months in advance.
But getting to Heathrow via the Elizabeth line directly costs £13.30, anytime from Zone 1, according to the TfL Single fare finder. It would be cheaper to go to Hayes & Harlington for £5.10 (peak times) tap out and then back in and take the Elizabeth line to Heathrow which costs £7.10 (peak). This overall makes it £12.20.
The final way to get to Heathrow is via the Piccadilly line which costs £5.60 anytime. As we see in the video, there is a handy trick that can make the trip even cheaper.
If you get the Tube to Hatton Cross and tap out there, it will cost you £5.10. If you tap back in and go to Heathrow, that journey will be free because of the Heathrow Free Travel Area which means you can use any trains between the terminals and Hatton Cross for free.
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