London Heathrow Airport Transfers: Train, Taxi or Coach?

Heathrow has more ways into London than any airport in Europe, which is exactly why people get it wrong. Start with the mistake that costs the most money and time: Heathrow Express does not serve Terminal 4. If you are flying into T4 and have booked a Heathrow Express ticket, you are changing trains at Terminals 2 and 3.

Heathrow Express: fastest, and cheap only if you plan ahead

Runs from Terminals 2 and 3 and from Terminal 5 to London Paddington, four times an hour. Fifteen minutes from T2 and T3, twenty-one from T5.

Ticket	Fare
Advance single, booked 30 or more days ahead	£10
Walk-up single	£26
Same-day return	£30
Open return	£42
Premier+ single	£32, includes Fast Track security

The £10 advance fare is non-refundable and cannot be amended, but it is not time-restricted on the day. Children 15 and under travel free in Standard with a paying adult. First train from Paddington is 4.34am Monday to Saturday, 4.55am Sunday; the last from T5 is 11.57pm.

Elizabeth line: the sensible default

Serves all three Heathrow stations, takes contactless and Oyster, and lands you at Paddington on a different platform from Heathrow Express for a good deal less. Reckon on under 45 minutes into central London.

The service pattern matters. Six trains an hour call at Terminals 2 and 3. Of those, four carry on to Terminal 4 and only two go to Terminal 5. If you are heading for T5 you can wait a while for the right train, or change at T2 and T3.

Fares to Zone 1 sit around £15.50 after the 2026 increase, made up of the standard Zone 1 to 6 fare plus a Heathrow supplement. Several pages still quote £13.90; that figure is out of date. Check TfL’s fare finder for the exact number on the day.

Piccadilly line: slowest, cheapest, and it goes everywhere

All Heathrow terminals, about 50 minutes into central London, and never more than a ten minute wait even off-peak. Around £5.90 with contactless.

One quirk worth knowing: TfL charges peak fares all day on Tube and Elizabeth line journeys to and from Heathrow that touch Zone 1. Travelling mid-morning to dodge peak pricing saves you nothing here. The Night Tube runs through Friday and Saturday nights, which no other rail option does.

Black cabs

Ranks sit outside every terminal. TfL publishes an expected range of £70 to £120 between Heathrow and central London, taking 30 to 60 minutes, with a £1.60 extra for journeys starting at an airport rank. Heathrow’s own advice is blunter: allow at least an hour. A cab makes sense with heavy luggage, small children or a late arrival, and rarely otherwise.

Uber, Bolt and private hire: you cannot be collected at the door

Picking up from a terminal forecourt is prohibited at Heathrow and unattended cars are removed. Private hire and rideshare collect from the Terminal Parking car parks, roughly a two minute walk from the doors at T2, T3 and T5, and that pickup is charged:

• Up to 29 minutes: £8.00
• 30 to 44 minutes: £12.50
• 45 to 59 minutes: £15.50
• One to two hours: £20.00

Park & Ride gives you the first 29 minutes free, which is the cheapest legitimate way to be collected. Terminal 4 is mid-redevelopment: its multi-storey car park closed on 23 June 2026, parking moved to Park & Ride Zone A, and a new Priority Pick-Up area outside arrivals charges £7 for up to ten minutes.

Coaches

The Central Bus Station sits between Terminals 2 and 3, directly above the Underground station. National Express runs up to 77 services a day into London from around £10 one way, reaching Victoria Coach Station in about 40 minutes and Earl’s Court in about 25. From Terminal 4 use stops 12 to 17 on the arrivals level; from Terminal 5, stops 9 to 15. Long-distance services run from Heathrow to Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge and Southampton without going into London at all, which is the coach’s real advantage.

Being dropped off by car: two charges, not one

The terminal drop-off charge is £7 per visit at all four terminals, payable online or by phone by midnight the following day. Miss it and the penalty is £80, halved to £40 if you pay within 14 days. Blue Badge holders, motorbikes, coaches and emergency vehicles are exempt. Dropping off at a Park & Ride car park and taking the free bus costs nothing.

Separately, Heathrow has been inside the ULEZ since 29 August 2023. A non-compliant car pays £12.50 for the day on top. So a friend collecting you in an older vehicle is looking at £12.50 plus at least £8, and cannot legally stop at the door.

So which one

• Going to Paddington and booked more than a month out: Heathrow Express at £10 is unbeatable.
• Booked late, going anywhere central: Elizabeth line. Around £15.50 against £26 walk-up, for a few minutes more.
• Watching every pound, or arriving on a Friday night: Piccadilly line, and the Night Tube if it is very late.
• Three or four people with luggage going to one address: a black cab at £70 to £120 splits better than four Elizabeth line fares plus a cab at the far end.
• Leaving London entirely: the coach. It saves you crossing the city twice.

For the general case, see how to choose between a taxi, a train, a shuttle and a private car.

Sources

Checked 19 August 2026: Heathrow Express fares, Heathrow on the Elizabeth line, TfL Tube and rail fares, the TfL taxi fare card effective 25 April 2026, Heathrow passenger pick-up, the terminal drop-off charge and National Express at Heathrow. UK fares change every spring. Tell us through the contact page if these have moved.