Train travel to Heathrow

banja · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:16

From my home town a train to Heathrow Terminal 3 costs a whopping £91. But a train to Heathrow Underground costs just £29.

Is there a reason not to just get the train to Heathrow Underground? How far from T3 is it from Heathrow Underground?

Just seems strange there's such a price difference as both trains have to travel to and past London St Pancras.

daver · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:22

Where are you travelling from? A single from Paddington to Heathrow is £16.50 or something.

Going by the underground is cheaper as you just need zone 1-6 travelcard but it takes a fair bit longer than the train.

twist3d0n3 · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:26

just go via toob to the airport

cheap and doesn't take that long

Dj_Jestar · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:28

The tube stations are in the terminals.

banja · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:33

So why a difference of £60 if it's to the same station? I don't get it.

Dj_Jestar · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:40

Tube will take longer, is more cramped, and less comfy.

banja · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:56

Thanks chaps, makes sense.

So the train to Heathrow using the underground from St Pancras to Heathrow Underground at the much lower cost is the best option

The price differences are staggering though. Lazy people who don't bother resaerching the route correctly must be getting fleeced.

DM · 1 Mar 2011 at 18:57

Get a cab from central London, what you driving yourself mad for.

banja · 1 Mar 2011 at 19:06

DiamondMark said:
Get a cab from central London, what you driving yourself mad for.

Yeah right! Cost is the issue, otherwise I would just pay whatever. I'm not going mad anyway, I'm calmly working out the details of my trip.

Another quick question. My train tickets will be advance which means I'm tied in to the specific trains I'm booked for. That's fine, but I assume this isn't the case with the underground trains it specifies for my booking? You just stick your ticket through the machine right and go on which ever tube turns up next?? (I don't travel to / in London very often as you can probably guess)

It actually appears to give zero minutes to get from the train arriving at St Pancras, to the Undergound leaving for Heathrow. The arrive time for one is the departure time for the other.

daver · 1 Mar 2011 at 19:06

banja said:
Thanks chaps, makes sense.

So the train to Heathrow using the underground from St Pancras to Heathrow Underground at the much lower cost is the best option

The price differences are staggering though. Lazy people who don't bother resaerching the route correctly must be getting fleeced.

I think its more likely that the two tickets you have researched are not comparable. A single on the Heathrow express is 18.50 and a zone 1 single (to get from wherever your other train gets in and Paddington) is 1.90 and a zone 1-6 off peak is 8.00. Getting from wherever you are to London should be the same price. So the difference should be about £10.50.

I could probably get a ticket to Heathrow from Manchester for under £50 using the heathrow express

Cosimo · 1 Mar 2011 at 19:09

Dj_Jestar said:
Tube will take longer, is more cramped, and less comfy.

The Heathrow Piccadilly can get very crowded and unpleasant at times.

Detroit_Waves · 1 Mar 2011 at 21:10

I walked from T3 to the underground today, about 7 minutes all in all.

Berserker · 1 Mar 2011 at 21:33

At a guess, the reason for the chasm is that you can get an advance ticket into London, but can't get one out again (different operators). So get creative and buy two tickets - e.g. one in to London and another out. As long as you have valid tickets for your entire journey, you're done.

Tube could be packed and isn't very luggage-friendly (lots of stairs). Not impossible though (done it many times).

banja · 1 Mar 2011 at 21:57

Thanks chaps

Cleeecooo · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:04

TBH the heathrow xpress is immensley better. Just overpriced. What about the heathrow express connect or something?? Just has a few more stips

[TW]Fox · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:04

twist3d0n3 said:
just go via toob to the airport

cheap and doesn't take that long

It takes OVER AN HOUR from Central London.

The best value way to Heathrow is on Heathrow Connect. Same line as Heathrow Express, 10 minutes longer, but half the price.

The tube is a stupid way to get there.

OP: Buy a return to London Paddington, then a return from Paddington to Heathrow on Heathrow Connect. Job done.

Cleeecooo · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:19

I have always used the bus from my house. X26 take abiut 15 min longr than the car does. Brilliant!!

alx · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:22

[TW]Fox;18578459 said:
It takes OVER AN HOUR from Central London.

The best value way to Heathrow is on Heathrow Connect. Same line as Heathrow Express, 10 minutes longer, but half the price.

The tube is a stupid way to get there.

OP: Buy a return to London Paddington, then a return from Paddington to Heathrow on Heathrow Connect. Job done.

The tube is only really worth it if you live on the Piccadilly line, otherwise it's easier/quicker to make your way to Paddington and go from there (if travelling from 'central' London) as you say.

The one time I used the Piccadilly line to get to Heathrow T5 it was actually fine, hardly anyone on it but I can see how at certain times it would get very busy.

h00fzilla · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:27

Getting tube to Heathrow tomorrow. About a fiver all the way there, as opposed to forking out £30-odd return on the Heathrow Express from Paddington which isn't really that much quicker since I'd have to get to Paddington from Finsbury Park and faff around changing to rail.

Piccadilly line is fine once you're on the way out of London, plenty of room.

[TW]Fox · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:40

h00fzilla said:
Getting tube to Heathrow tomorrow. About a fiver all the way there, as opposed to forking out £30-odd return on the Heathrow Express from Paddington

As I said, Heathrow Connect. HALF the price.