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The London
Underground comes out to Heathrow in the form of the Piccadilly
Line. The big attraction is price, frequency and speed. (45-60 minutes
to most hotels in Central London with trains around every 5 minutes).
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The
downside is crowded carriages and around 20 stations into town. There
will be an Underground station near your ultimate destination, (after
perhaps a change).
Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6 of London's zoned transport system.
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The
Underground carriages become grossly overcrowded during peak rush
hours. Heathrow is first stop so you will get a seat, getting off
in Central London with lots of luggage at this time maybe an experience
you can do without after a long flight.
When you are returning to Heathrow make sure you board the right train.
Not all Piccadilly Line trains go to Heathrow and trains that visit
Terminal 4, do not visit Terminal 5 and vice-versa.
Fares
Heathrow Airport is in Zone 6. Nearly all hotels visitors will use
are in Zone 1 or 2. The Fare is £4.00 adult into Central London.
Consult our London
Underground page for more details. You will probably find it advantageous
to purchase a travel pass called
The
Travelcard or Oyster
Card - you can purchase these at the Underground ticket offices
at Heathrow. |
Important!
Different Trains Visit Different Terminals.
Since
the opening of Terminal 5 on 27th March 2008, a rather complicated
routing of Underground trains at Heathrow applies.
Crudely, there are two different routes that Underground trains take,
if you are travelling to Terminal 4 or Terminal 5 make sure you board
the right train!.
Trains normally alternate between the different routes, if yours is
not the first train, the next Heathrow train will be. |
- Route
1 (Terminal 4) - Incoming trains from London will branch off after
Hatton Cross station to Terminal 4. After Terminal 4 the train
loops around to Central (Terminals 1,2,3) before going back to
London. These trains do not go to Terminal 5 and do not travel
the other way from Central to Terminal 4.
- Route
2 (Terminal 5) - Incoming trains from London will go straight
to Central (Terminals 1,2,3) before going onto Terminal 5 where
the train terminates. After a short while the train will return
to London the same way. These trains do not visit Terminal 4.
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Train
Times
The
first train to central London leaves Heathrow at around 5.15 a.m.
, (45 minutes later on Sundays). The last train leaves at around midnight
(60 minutes earlier on Sundays).
The first train from central London arrives at Heathrow at around
06:30 (08:00 on Sundays) and the last train leaves around 00:00 (23:30
on Sundays).
There is a night bus, route N9 which runs throughout the night at
30 minute intervals from the central bus station. The route includes
stops at Hammersmith, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly. |
| London
Underground Fares (from 2 Jan 2008 ) |
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Zones
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Adult
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Child*
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Oyster
Card Pre-Pay |
| Mon-Fri |
Weekend |
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1
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£4.00
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£2.00
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£1.50 |
£1.50 |
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1-2
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£4.00
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£2.00
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£2.00 |
£1.50 |
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1-4
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£4.00
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£2.00
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£2.50 |
£2.00 |
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1-6
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£4.00
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£2.00
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£3.50 |
£2.00 |
*
Childrens Fares
Children pay £0.50 with an Oyster
Card - though see free travel section below.
Free Travel For Children On Buses & Underground
Under-5s
Children under five can travel free at any time on the Tube, DLR, buses
and trams as long as they are accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket.
Under-11s
Under-11s can travel free at any time on buses and trams. They can also
travel free at any time on the Tube and DLR when they are travelling with
an adult who has a valid ticket. Up to 4 children under 11 years old accompanied
by a paying adult travel free on the London Underground.
Under-11s travelling with an adult will not be issued with tickets and will
be allowed to pass through the ticket gates at stations
11-14s
Children aged 11-14 can travel free at any time on the entire London bus
network, |
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Using
The Underground
There is a ticket office at all stations. The ticket offices accept
credit cards and also sell the various travel passes.
Next to the manned ticket offices are always at least one bank of
automatic ticket machines (see picture left).
These can you save you a lot of time if there are queues at the manned
ticket office. They take credit and debit cards as well as cash.
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To
gain access to the platforms, and to exit a station you have to pass
through automatic barriers, (pictured left).
You are allowed through by inserting your ticket into a slot in the
barrier, or if you have an Oyster
Card swiping it over the yellow pad.
If you have a single ticket, the barrier at your destination will
not return your ticket. There is usually a manned side gate by the
barriers.
All Underground trains run at about 1-4 minute intervals between around
05:00 and 24:00. |
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