I finally tried the new Elizabeth Line (with family in tow) from Heathrow Airport into London (and back) and it worked out flawlessly…this is a great way to travel, even with large baggage.
Elizabeth Line Review: Heathrow – London
We had two checked bags and three carry-on bags–we were not exactly traveling light on this trip–and in the past I’d just get a taxi (using the Free Now app) to get my sister-in-law’s house in the Bermondsey neighborhood of London. But while the price is fine (about 45GBP) for the ride, you are looking at a minimum of 90 minutes (often pushing two hours) just to go about 20 miles during rush hour. It’s an arduous way to travel.
If I am traveling solo, the London Underground Piccadilly Line has always worked well…a bit slow with all the stops, but easy enough. However, traveling with young children and luggage makes the rather compact carriages on the Piccadilly Line too difficult.
There’s always the Heathrow Express, but that’s rather expensive and since my sister-in-law’s home is not near Paddington Station, the time savings are limited.
> Read More: Heathrow Express – Too Much For Families?
We picked up the Elizabeth Line outside Terminal 5 (lowest level), simply tapping our phones to get through the turnstile via Apple Pay (and we each took a kid with us…children under 11 travel free with a fare paying adult).
The carriages are quite roomy and we traveled to Bond Street (nine stops; one station beyond Paddington), before transferring to the Jubilee Line to catch our connection to Bermondsey.
The total fare (to Bermondsey) was £13.30 each (again, the kids were free). Not bad at all considering the journey only took one hour.
We traveled back to Heathrow the next morning the same way, this time alighting at Terminal 2. The trip was just as smooth.
CONCLUSION
Even though a taxi is easier for families and reasonably priced considering you can drop your bags in the boot (trunk), we prefer the time savings of the Elizabeth Line and will now use this method going forward for transport between LHR and Central London.
The Elizabeth Line has had some teething problems for sure, but is a really efficient, and enjoyable way to travel from Central London to Heathrow Airport. I’ve used it a bunch of times from Farringdon to T3 and found it to be efficient, fast, comfortable, and quick.
Yes! The Elizabeth line is Heathrow Express’ cuter cousin who’s down for whatever 😉
I’ve never understood the HEX, even less so now with the Elizabeth line. Surely its days are numbered?
I think for people near Paddington it may still make sense to go nonstop, but I think the cost is going to have to come down.
And this is what joined up transport does. A much easier ride than a 4 wheeled vehicle.
When fully integrated this will be a one seat ride from mums to Heathrow. About the same time and twice the distance in the burbs of Hertfordshire
“We picked up the Elizabeth Line outside Terminal 5 (lowest level), simply tapping our phones to get through the turnstile”.
Please explain this to those of us in the back of the room. Certainly you didn’t just tap your phones with no prep. Download an app? Pay in advance? pay app like venmo?
Thank you.
You pay using Google Wallet or Apple Pay, the same way you would using your phone for contactless payment at a store. I unlock my phone, open the Wallet app,and choose which credit card I want to use,then tap the phone to the target spot next to the faregate. It’s very very easy. You can also just use any contactless credit/debit card and tap that instead.
Fair question. I should have specified Apple Pay.
You literally tap your phone with no prep. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTqO77I1ZuM
Was the £13.30 one way or return (roundtrip)? If it’s one way then return is twice that (£26.60) which is not very different than HEX return which is £37.00 (and children under 15 are free). I like HEX, choose hotels in good part based on proximity to Paddington. The convenience and time saved getting from and to LHR is well worth it.
CrossElizPurp is definitely a leap forward in Heathrow access. For several years, especially for those classic 23 hour layovers on BA, I’d stay at the Hilton Paddington specifically because the Heathrow Express was so relatively easy to combine with it. Either that, or I’d stay in a hotel near the Piccadilly Line, though that’s always dicey if you have anything larger than a carry on with the stairs you often need to negotiate. Plus, the Piccadilly takes a long time if you are going beyond about South Ken. I do still like a black cab, which isn’t all that expensive when you spread among 2 or 3, and you can’t beat the luggage room.
One thing to note is that this “Elizabeth Line” service has run previously as “Heathrow Connect,” just not all the way through Central London and just into Paddington.