Luton Airport to Central London trains

TRAINS FROM LUTON AIRPORT TO LONDON

Train frequencies, timetables and operating hours

Train frequencies operating hours

Train services between Luton Airport and London are frequent, normally 2 or 3 trains an hour and run 24x7. Do check the timetable and journey planner facility (banner link below) before you travel, especially early mornings at weekends. The Luton - London railway is called the Thameslink train service.

As you can see from the Luton to London train graphic above there are several railway stations in London where you can leave the train. The train itself continues through London and well beyond, so don't fall asleep on the train. It is the same ticket price whichever Central London station you choose to leave the train.

St Pancras, Farringdon, Blackfriars and London Bridge Stations are major interchanges with the London Underground. Note the London Underground doesn't operate 24x7 like the Thameslink Luton train. Underground trains generally start up shortly after 5 am and stop around midnight, although at weekends some lines do operate all night.

Can I use London Oyster Cards on the Luton Airport train?

Luton Airport is well outside London beyond coverage of London's public fare systems. You cannot use London Oyster Cards or Travelcards to or from Luton. If you are using the Underground or buses to complete your journey you will need to purchase a separate ticket. London's fares systems is quite complex, most visitors will use Oyster fares.

Train timetables and ticketing

Use the banner link to the Trainline app below for full timetables for your travel dates and times.

There is no universal flat train fare between Luton Airport and London by train. There are significant ticket price differences depending on when you travel, how many in your group and other factors. To make an informed ticket purchase read the Luton - London train fares section further below.

TRAIN FARES BETWEEN LUTON AIRPORT AND LONDON

Fare and ticket options

First Class - a good idea?

There are a small number of first class seats on each train between Luton and London. There is very little difference between first class and second class except for the price, so very few people use first class however affluent they are. Those few travelling in first class tend to be those where someone else is paying, typically government employees travelling on business.

Luton - London train ticket flexibility and ticket price variances

Your rail ticket is a ticket to travel from A to B, it is not specific to a single train schedule. For Luton trains there are no seat reservations.

The most expensive tickets are called Anytime tickets and you can travel at any time of the day. For Anytime Return (round trip) tickets you can make your return trip at anytime within one calendar month of the date shown on your ticket.

The most common cheaper fares are called off-peak or super off-peak tickets. These are cheaper because there are restrictions on when you can travel. The quieter the travel time, for example at weekends, the better the chance of the availability of off-peak tickets. Typically an off-peak ticket will be about 25% cheaper than an Anytime ticket,

First class tickets between Luton Airport and London are typically double the price of the cheapest off-peak ticket.

From where can I purchase rail tickets?

There are manned ticket offices at most stations and ticket machines at all. But the best fares are all too often only available in advance or on-line. Where available, tickets ordered on-line and delivered and displayed on your mobile are very convenient.

At Luton Airport there is a special ticket machine for the purpose of collecting pre-ordered tickets on-line, (see below). These machines are also at Luton Parkway, St Pancras, Blackfriars and London Bridge Stations.

Rail fare concessions

There are no seniors fares. Children under 5 travel free and those between 5 and 15 years can take advantage of children’s fares. You may be able to get family fares commonly called Groupsave fares and there are often group fares for groups of 10 or more.

If you are travelling extensively by train in the UK you can buy an annual railcard. There are various railcards for different categories like seniors, families, couples etc.. All railcards have an annual fee and give one-third off rail fares including the promotional fares. We have a dedicated UK railcards page.

Buying train tickets and timetables

Nearly all stations including Luton Parkway Station have manned ticket offices and all stations have ticket machines when the ticket office is closed. Ticket offices at the main stations in London like St Pancras are open all day from early morning to evening. However, queues for the manned ticket offices can be long.

E-tickets and mobile tickets

E-tickets and mobile tickets are increasingly becoming available from many train operating companies. These include Thameslink trains.

Magnetic card tickets

Magnetic card tickets are the traditional tickets dispensed by ticket machines and ticket offices. Magnetic card tickets can be ordered in advance on-line and collected at main railway stations.

Stations where you can collect tickets include all of London's mainline terminus stations. These stations including St Pancras, Blackfriars and London Bridge visited by Luton trains. There is aso a machine at Luton Airport and Luton Parkway., When you purchase these tickets on-line you are given a unique code which you type into the dedicated ticket machines and they then dispense the tickets. Tickets are ready after 15 minutes of order.

Card payments (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Maestro), PayPal and Apple Pay are payment options on-line.