Home / London /Heathrow / Elizabeth line vs Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick
LHR → London · head to head
Elizabeth lineorElizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick?
The short answer
These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth line is quicker: 40 min against 1 h 16. The Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick varies between 75 and 101 minutes.
Elizabeth line: 05:21–00:12. 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
Elizabeth line
Elizabeth line and Thameslink to Gatwick
Difference
1
£14.60
£23.10
£8.50
2
£29.20
£46.20
£17
3
£43.80
£69.30
£25.50
4
£58.40
£92.40
£34
5
£73
£115.50
£42.50
6
£87.60
£138.60
£51
7
£102.20
£161.70
£59.50
8
£116.80
£184.80
£68
Side by side
Where each one leaves you
Elizabeth · Transport for LondonElizabeth line
From
Rail stations at Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5
To
Paddington, continuing through Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street
Luggage
Racks at the ends of the carriages; the trains are built for it.
Runs
05:21–00:12
Journey
40–45 min
It is the weakest value of the three on time alone: 2.5 times the Underground fare to save about ten minutes. It is also the option the airport promotes hardest.
The airport quotes this journey at "£13.90" on its own page. TfL, which sets the fare, charges £14.60 to Paddington and £15.50 beyond.
The airport states the journey as "under 40 minutes" on one page and "under 45 minutes" on another.
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.
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