Home / London /Heathrow / Piccadilly line vs Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick
LHR → London · head to head
Piccadilly lineorElizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick?
The short answer
These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The Piccadilly line reaches Paddington, and the whole of Zone 1 beyond it; the Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick does not. The other airport, not the city. For a connection between Heathrow and Gatwick; for central London take the Elizabeth line, the Piccadilly line or Heathrow Express.
The Piccadilly line is quicker: 50 min against 1 h 16. The Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick varies between 75 and 101 minutes.
Piccadilly line: 05:00–23:30. Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick: 05:36–23:36.
Priced against each other
Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in GBP. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
Travelers
Piccadilly line
Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick
Difference
1
£5.90
£23.10
£17.20
2
£11.80
£46.20
£34.40
3
£17.70
£69.30
£51.60
4
£23.60
£92.40
£68.80
5
£29.50
£115.50
£86
6
£35.40
£138.60
£103.20
7
£41.30
£161.70
£120.40
8
£47.20
£184.80
£137.60
Side by side
Where each one leaves you
Piccadilly · Transport for LondonPiccadilly line
From
Underground stations at Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5
To
Every Zone 1 station without a change, including Piccadilly Circus and King's Cross
Luggage
No stated limit, but it is a tube train and the Piccadilly line has no racks.
Runs
05:00–23:30
Journey
50 min
It is the slowest of the three trains at about 50 minutes, and it stops everywhere. What it buys is £20.10 kept and a fare that counts towards your daily cap.
There is no off-peak fare on this journey. Landing at a quiet hour saves you nothing, which is not true of any other Zone 6 station.
The Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights only, and not to Terminal 4.
Elizabeth→Thameslink · Transport for London and ThameslinkElizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick
From
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 or Terminal 5 rail station; changing at Farringdon
To
Gatwick Airport station, in the South Terminal, beside the coach stops
Luggage
Racks at the ends of the Elizabeth line carriages; racks by the doors and overhead on Thameslink.
Runs
05:36–23:36
Journey
75–101 min
Change at Farringdon: TfL's planner allows as little as four minutes between the trains, so a missed change costs a quarter of an hour. The Thameslink leg is longer in the evening and at weekends, up to an hour.
The coach is cheaper (from £14.90) and quicker, but it runs on a timetable of its own and can sell out.
Can we count your visit?We use Google Analytics to see which airports people look up. It sets cookies. Nothing runs until you say yes, and refusing changes nothing about the site. What is stored · Privacy
