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LHR → London · head to head

Heathrow ExpressorPiccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City Airport?

The short answer

These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The Heathrow Express reaches Paddington, and the whole of Zone 1 beyond it; the Piccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City Airport does not. The other airport, not the city. For a connection between Heathrow and London City; for central London take the Piccadilly line to Piccadilly Circus.

The Heathrow Express is quicker: 15 min against 1 h 12. The Piccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City Airport varies between 72 and 76 minutes.

Heathrow Express: hours not recorded. Piccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City Airport: 05:10–23:33.

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.
TravelersHeathrow ExpressPiccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City AirportDifference
1£26£5.90£20.10
2£52£11.80£40.20
3£78£17.70£60.30
4£104£23.60£80.40
5£130£29.50£100.50
6£156£35.40£120.60
7£182£41.30£140.70
8£208£47.20£160.80

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
Heathrow Express · Heathrow ExpressHeathrow Express
From
Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5; Terminal 4 by a free four-minute transfer train
To
London Paddington, and nowhere else
Luggage
Racks throughout; it is built as an airport train.
Journey
15–21 min

£26.00 against £5.90 on the Underground is 4.4 times the fare to save about 35 minutes — roughly £34 an hour, before you count what the cap would have saved you.

It does not count towards the daily cap. TfL states that Heathrow Express journeys "are not included in caps and Travelcards", so a same-day return is £52.00 and caps at nothing.

It goes to Paddington and nowhere else. If Paddington is not your destination, add a further journey and its fare to everything above.

Terminal 5 adds five or six minutes to the quoted fifteen — the operator says six, the airport says five.

The first departure from the airport is not stated here: the operator publishes the first train from Paddington at 04:34 Monday to Saturday and the last from Terminal 5 at 23:57, but does not publish a first departure from the airport itself.

Heathrow Express: price for every party size

Check fares with Heathrow Express
PiccadillyJubileeDLR · Transport for LondonPiccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City Airport
From
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Underground station, or Terminal 4 or 5; changing at Green Park and Canning Town
To
London City Airport DLR station, beside the terminal
Luggage
No stated limit, but these are Tube trains and the Piccadilly line has no racks.
Runs
05:10–23:33
Journey
72–76 min

Three trains and two changes, at Green Park and at Canning Town, on a ride of about an hour and a quarter. With luggage the Elizabeth line is easier but dearer: £15.50.

From Terminal 5 the Piccadilly line starts a stop earlier; Terminal 4 has its own branch, and not every train serves it.

Tap in at the Underground station and tap out at London City, or you may be charged a maximum fare.

Piccadilly, Jubilee and DLR to London City Airport: price for every party size

Check the fare with TfL

This compares two of 19 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

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