Getting the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow Airport (LHR) 2024 UPDATE

Guided walkthrough & tips for using the Elizabeth Line for getting to/from LHR airport. Travel safe xx
0:00 - Intro - My story
0:58 - Heathrow Airport to London Walkthrough
3:04 - London to Heathrow Airport Walkthrough
BONUS!
4:11 - Automated bag check-in
4:20 - Heathrow Timeslot for pre-booked security queue
Helpful links:
Elizabeth line - tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/
Fare calculator - tfl.gov.uk/fares/find-fares/t...
Heathrow Timeslot - www.heathrow.com/at-the-airpo...
#londonvlog #london #londonairport #4k #elizabethline
Cover Photo by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash

[@BrianaisGoingPlaces]

Okay you can say it was being 21 but maaaad respect for dragging your suitcases up stairs! I don't love a struggle but I do love a public transportation success story hehe

[@londonunnie]

Haha thanks Briana!! I was pretty proud of myself too when I made it in the end 😅

[@ang5798]

That's actually super helpful, thank you!

[@londonunnie]

I’m so glad to hear this! Thank you for the kind feedback and wishing safe travels ☺️

[@lindseyrea9237]

We have used both the Elizabeth Line and the Heathrow Express to get to and from Paddington to Heathrow. With the Heathrow Express - it can be a competitive price if you book well in advance through something like Trainline - especially if you have a Railcard discount. We get the "Two Together" railcard which gives 30% off most journeys. Last time in London - we used the Elizabeth Line to get from Heathrow as we had Oyster Cards, and we picked up our Two Together railcard at Paddington Station so we had that discount for our return journey 5 weeks later on the Heathrow Express. The cost was about the same. We stay near Paddington, but if we were going further into London the Elizabeth line may be more convenient.

[@londonunnie]

That’s a good shout re the Railcards esp with the discount. And I’m sure it was a nicer experience will less people in the carriage. Will try it out next time thanks!

[@markomarten]

The Elizabeth Line can get very chaotic especially at weekends and with engineering works,it’s worth checking the website for TFL (they run the travel) to see if any closures are taking place. Hopefully it will make things a bit easier to understand. I would suggest downloading the tube map as that will help you get around and show you the best carriage to use for a speed departure at the station.

[@londonunnie]

Yes this is a very helpful callout - thank you! The Citymapper App has closure, delays, and best carriage information which can be quite useful. For a comprehensive map with status updates, I find TFL best for this: tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status/

[@michaelsullivan2445]

Are there escalators and/or stairs to get down to the train level for those who prefer to not use elevators?

[@londonunnie]

Yes there’s always escalators to get in/out of the Elizabeth line level - it was built quite deep so steep escalators at some stations. I’ve had no trouble with my carryon suitcase!
But when you transfer to other tube lines, there might not be escalators although majority of lines do have them. For example, I take the escalators up out of the Elizabeth line level but have to take stairs down to another line. In a scenario where a line doesn’t have an escalator, you will usually find elevator access as an alternative to stairs. Hope this helps

[@michaelsullivan2445]

@@londonunnie Thanks, we'll be taking the Elizabeth Line from LHR Terminal 3 to Tottenham Ct.

[@jimbojimbo6873]

I was stressed af when not knowing why the Elizabeth line wasn’t going to terminal 5

[@londonunnie]

Sorry to hear you had this experience and yeah I’ve definitely been there 🫠🥲 sometimes can be waiting 10+ min to get one going to Heathrow let alone the terminal you’re wanting. Using a travel planning app like Citymapper should tell you when the next one to Heathrow is to help with estimations, although I’ve had times where I show up and there’s a delay which leads to me panicking 😅
The good news is that the Elizabeth line runs at stations with other lines that usually are running and you can orchestrate a workaround to get to the Piccadilly Line or to Paddington station for the Heathrow Express instead

[@Sharad20072008]

"and instead leverage the contactless payment system" Sounds so simple and efficient and makes this sound like a useful video right?
Wrong. For anyone with kids, your kids are not going to have a credit card. So unless they are younger than 11 and traveling with you (in which case they travel free), you have no choice but to stand in line and buy an Oyster card for them and then have the Young Visitor Discount applied to that card. Only then can you make your way through the turnstiles.
If I had a nickel for every time someone touts this trope about using contactless with total disregard for the fact that several people wanting to take the Elizabeth Line may have children......

[@listlondon9036]

In what world does the Piccadilly Line take 2 hours, utter nonsense lol

[@londonunnie]

Ha yes good call out 😅 I should have clarified I meant door-to-door* (specifically going west to east relative to my reference point, which is much smoother now with the Elizabeth Line. I used to struggle so much before that 😂). I would definitely recommend the Piccadilly Line for those that are starting from Central or closer to a connecting line!