Heathrow to Central London: Train, Tube, Taxi & Transfer Prices 2026

The fastest way from Heathrow to central London is the Heathrow Express to Paddington: about 15 minutes from Terminals 2 & 3 for £26 (≈€31) on the day, or from £10 if booked well ahead. The cheapest is the Piccadilly line at £5.90 (≈€7) to Zone 1, taking around 50 minutes, while the Elizabeth line sits in between at £15.50 (≈€18) and reaches the West End and the City without a change. For door-to-door travel with luggage, a black cab or a pre-booked car from our Heathrow Airport transfers page is the easiest option.

Heathrow to central London: quick comparison

Option	Price	Journey time	Runs	Best for
Heathrow Express	£26 (≈€31) single; from £10 advance	15 min (T2&3), about 21 min (T5) to Paddington	Every 15 min, early morning to around midnight	Speed, hotels near Paddington
Elizabeth line	£15.50 (≈€18) to Zone 1	About 30–35 min to Tottenham Court Road	Roughly 05:15 to just after midnight	West End, City, Canary Wharf without changing
Piccadilly line (Tube)	£5.90 (≈€7) to Zone 1	About 50 min	Around 05:00–23:45; all night Fri and Sat	Lowest fare, Kensington, Piccadilly, King’s Cross
National Express coach	From £11.20 (≈€13)	About 40 min to Victoria, longer in traffic	Up to 77 departures a day, including night	Victoria Coach Station, onward coaches
Black cab	About £61–£114 (≈€72–€135) on the meter	30–60 min	24 hours	Door to door, families, heavy luggage
Uber / ride-hailing	Varies with demand	40 min–1 h 30	24 hours	Small groups paying by app
Pre-booked private transfer	Fixed price agreed in advance	40–75 min	24 hours	Groups, night arrivals, child seats

Prices are adult single fares in 2026. All Heathrow stations are in Travelcard Zone 6, and Tube and Elizabeth line journeys between Heathrow and Zone 1 are charged at the peak rate at all times of day.

Heathrow Express: the fastest train to Paddington

The Heathrow Express is a non-stop train from Heathrow to London Paddington. It leaves from the station between Terminals 2 and 3 and from the basement of Terminal 5. Passengers arriving at Terminal 4 take the free transfer train to Terminals 2 & 3 (about 4 minutes) and change there.

• Journey time: about 15 minutes from Terminals 2 & 3, about 21 minutes from Terminal 5.
• Frequency: every 15 minutes in each direction. The first train from Paddington is at 04:34 (04:55 on Sundays) and the last departure from Terminal 5 is at 23:57.
• Fares (2026): Standard single £26 (≈€31), Standard return £42, same-day return £30. PREMIER+ single £32 (≈€38). Advance singles start at £10 (≈€12) when booked 30 or more days ahead, with limited availability.
• Children: under-16s travel free in Standard with a paying adult, which makes it far better value for families than the headline fare suggests.

Buy tickets on the Heathrow Express website, in the app or from machines at the station. Contactless and Oyster are also accepted at the gates, but the walk-up fare is the most expensive way to pay. Trains have level boarding and luggage racks. Paddington connects to the Elizabeth, Bakerloo, Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines, so most travellers still need a second leg or a short taxi ride.

Elizabeth line: Heathrow train to the city without changing

The Elizabeth line runs from Heathrow through Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel, then on to Canary Wharf, Abbey Wood or Shenfield. For many hotels in the West End, Holborn or the City it is the most practical Heathrow train to the city, because it avoids a change at Paddington.

• Stations: Terminals 2 & 3 (shared station reached by a pedestrian subway), Terminal 4 (below Arrivals) and Terminal 5 (basement).
• Frequency: six trains an hour from Terminals 2 & 3, four an hour from Terminal 4 and two an hour from Terminal 5. If you are at Terminal 5 and a train has just left, check whether a Heathrow Express or Piccadilly line train gets you to your stop sooner.
• Hours: on weekdays the first trains towards central London leave Terminal 5 at 05:15 and Terminals 2 & 3 at 05:21; the last leave at 00:07 and 00:12. Weekend times differ.
• Fare: £15.50 (≈€18) pay as you go to Zone 1 from March 2026.
• Journey time: about 30–35 minutes to Tottenham Court Road.

Tap in and out with the same contactless card, phone or Oyster card – each person needs their own card. Paper single tickets are sold at the station machines but cost more. Trains are long, air-conditioned and step-free from street to platform, with space for suitcases.

Piccadilly line: the cheapest way from Heathrow to central London

The London Underground’s Piccadilly line serves every Heathrow terminal and runs direct to Earl’s Court, South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Russell Square and King’s Cross St Pancras.

• Fare: £5.90 (≈€7) to Zone 1 with contactless or Oyster.
• Journey time: about 50 minutes to central London.
• Frequency: Heathrow says you should never wait more than ten minutes, even off-peak.
• Hours: roughly 05:00 to 23:45 on most days. On Friday and Saturday nights the Night Tube runs all night, six trains an hour, but it does not serve Terminal 4.

The trains are standard Tube trains with no luggage racks, and they get crowded during the morning and evening rush, so large suitcases are awkward. Several central stations have stairs and no lifts – check step-free access before you travel if you use a wheelchair or carry heavy bags.

Heathrow bus and coach to central London

National Express coaches leave Heathrow Central Bus Station (between Terminals 2 and 3) and stops outside Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 Arrivals. The main route into town ends at Victoria Coach Station, with a stop at Earl’s Court on some services. Fares start from £11.20 (≈€13) including a £1.50 booking fee, which is waived when booking through a National Express account. The timetable allows about 40 minutes to Victoria, but the coach shares the M4 and A4 with everyone else, so allow more at rush hour. Coaches run through the night, with departures from around 01:00 until 23:59.

At night, TfL bus N9 runs every 30 minutes from Terminal 5 and Heathrow Central to central London (it ends at Aldwych). It costs the standard flat bus fare but takes well over an hour.

Heathrow taxi fare to central London

Licensed black cabs wait at marked ranks outside every terminal’s Arrivals. Fares are metered and regulated by Transport for London; TfL’s published estimate for Heathrow to central London is £61–£114 (≈€72–€135) for a 30–60 minute trip, and black cab tariffs have risen since that estimate was calculated. A Heathrow rank extra is added to the meter, and fares are higher at night and on public holidays. All London black cabs must accept contactless and card payments without a surcharge. Cabs take up to five passengers (some six) and there is no charge for luggage. Black cabs are exempt from the London Congestion Charge. See TfL taxi fares for the current tariff.

A black cab is worth considering for three or four people with luggage going to Kensington, Chelsea or Westminster, where the per-person cost can come close to the Heathrow Express. For one person heading to the City or east London, the train is far cheaper and usually quicker.

Uber and other ride-hailing apps at Heathrow

Uber, Bolt and other private hire apps operate at Heathrow. Drivers cannot use the terminal forecourts for pick-ups, so passengers are collected from the short-stay car parks: at Terminal 2 Level 1 Row Q, Terminal 3 Level 3 Row A, Terminal 4 Level 2 in the central lift lobby and Terminal 5 Level 1 Rows A or F. Prices move with demand and are often lower than a black cab outside peak times, but they can surge late at night or when several long-haul flights land together. Private hire cars must pay the Congestion Charge (£18 from 2 January 2026) when entering the central zone between 07:00 and 18:00, and that cost is usually passed on in the fare.

Pre-booked private transfers from Heathrow

A pre-booked transfer means a licensed private hire company meets you in Arrivals with a name board, helps with luggage and drives you to your address for a price agreed in advance. It is usually worth it when:

• you are a group of four or more, or need a people carrier or minibus;
• you land late at night or very early, when trains are not running or you do not want to change lines with bags;
• you travel with children and need child seats fitted before you arrive;
• you have lots of luggage, ski or golf bags, or reduced mobility;
• you want a fixed price that does not move with traffic or demand, with the driver tracking your flight if it is delayed.

Ask whether the quote includes the Congestion Charge, waiting time and Heathrow car park fees, since these are commonly added on. Companies listed on intransfers.com that serve Heathrow include Addison Lee, Green Tomato Cars, HCD Chauffeur Drive, Airport Pickups London (APL Cars) and Heathrow Minibus Service for larger groups. Compare more operators on our London Heathrow Airport transfers page, or browse companies working across the capital on the London transfers page. You book directly with the company you choose.

Getting from Heathrow to places beyond London

• Heathrow to Gatwick: the two airports are around an hour apart by road in normal traffic, along the M25. National Express runs coaches between them, and many travellers connecting between flights pre-book a car. See London Gatwick Airport transfers.
• Heathrow to Southampton cruise port: around 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes by road via the M3. With cruise luggage, a pre-booked car or minibus is the simplest option. See Southampton transfers.
• Heathrow to Dover: around 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes by road via the M25 and M20, longer at peak times. Useful for cruise passengers and ferry connections to France. See Dover transfers.

Tips for arriving at Heathrow

• Night arrivals: the last Elizabeth line and Piccadilly line trains leave around midnight on most nights. After that, the options are the Night Tube (Friday and Saturday only, not Terminal 4), the N9 night bus, National Express night coaches, a black cab or a pre-booked car.
• Use contactless, not paper tickets: tapping in with a bank card or phone is cheaper than buying a paper single for the Tube and Elizabeth line. Use the same card or device to tap out, and give each traveller their own card.
• Avoid unlicensed drivers: only take a black cab from the official rank or a car you have booked. Anyone approaching you in Arrivals offering a ride is not licensed to do so. Licensed private hire drivers display a TfL licence disc.
• Drop-off charge: if someone collects or drops you at the terminal forecourt, the Terminal Drop-Off Charge is £7 (≈€8) per visit in 2026, with a 10-minute maximum stay, paid online or by phone by midnight the next day.
• Congestion Charge: £18 (≈€21) a day from 2 January 2026 for private cars and private hire vehicles entering central London between 07:00 and 18:00. Black cabs are exempt.
• Peak traffic: the M4 and A4 into London are slowest on weekday mornings (roughly 07:00–10:00) and late afternoons. During those hours the train is usually more reliable than any car.
• Tipping: not compulsory. Many people round up a black cab fare or add around 10% for good service and help with bags.