Bakerloo to Heathrow: What is the simplest transfer with least walking?

[jamboree7123]

I'll be coming up from the southern end of the Bakerloo Line with my end goal being Terminal 2 at Heathrow. Problem is, I'll have a lot of luggage, so my main priority is to make the journey as simple as possible with the least amount of walking, while my second priority is to make the journey as quickly as possible. Which of these three options would you recommend?:

1. Transfer at Piccadilly Circus to the Piccadilly Line. Pros: one transfer, least complicated. Cons: Piccadilly Line is slow compared to Elizabeth Line. How much walking is required transferring from northbound Bakerloo train to westbound Piccadilly train at Piccadilly Circus?

2. "Transfer" at Oxford Circus to Bond Street Elizabeth Line platforms. Pros: one transfer, E Line is faster to Heathrow. Cons: Must exit station and walk on steeets to transfer? I noticed that the latest TfL Tube map made only one change from the previous version: They added a dotted-line "out of station" transfer between Oxford Circus and E Line Bond Street. Must one exit the station and walk on the streets to make this transfer? How far is the walk?

3. Transfer at Waterloo to Northern Line, then transfer again at Tottenham Court Road to Elizabeth Line. Pros: Possibly easier transfers (?), E Line is faster to Heathrow. Cons: Two transfers adds to complication.How difficult/long is the transfer from northbound Northern Line to Elizabeth Line at Tottenham Court Road?

I realize there are two other options, but I have already decided against them: Bakerloo to Paddington, then Heathrow Express (too expensive), and Bakerloo > Waterloo > Jubilee Line > Bond Street > Elizabeth Line (both of these transfers are long and involve a lot of walking).

I presume Option 1 is best, but just want to make sure that transferring at Piccadilly Circus with luggage isn't a nightmare. And maybe there's some clever route I hadn't considered? Thanks.

 

[SteveHFC]

When you say the southern end of the Bakerloo Line - how far south? If you're coming from Elephant & Castle - don't use the Bakerloo, but use Thameslink to Farringdon and change to the Elizabeth Line there.

 

[jamboree7123]

When you say the southern end of the Bakerloo Line - how far south? If you're coming from Elephant & Castle - don't use the Bakerloo, but use Thameslink to Farringdon and change to the Elizabeth Line there.

Actually, I'll be starting at Lambeth North, not E&C, and heading southbound and transferring to Thameslink would add another (pretty long) transfer that I'd like to avoid. Clever idea, though.

 

[deltic]

There is step free access from Bakerloo line at Paddington to Elizabeth line at Paddington

 

[jamboree7123]

There is step free access from Bakerloo line at Paddington to Elizabeth line at Paddington

How long/far is the transfer, walking-wise? In my memory it was a really long distance.

 

[stuu]

Changing at Paddington to the EL is by far the simplest option with the least walking - It's about 100m

 

[swt_passenger]

There is step free access from Bakerloo line at Paddington to Elizabeth line at Paddington

That’s the same one I’d be thinking of, although I think it’s often forgotten about, maybe it never achieved a high profile back when it opened.

 

[deltic]

How long/far is the transfer, walking-wise? In my memory it was a really long distance.

google says its a 250-300m walk

 

[JonathanH]

How long/far is the transfer, walking-wise? In my memory it was a really long distance.

Basically the width of Paddington station. There is no particular detour involved.

 

[jamboree7123]

Changing at Paddington to the EL is by far the simplest option with the least walking - It's about 100m

google says its a 250-300m walk

Basically the width of Paddington station. There is no particular detour involved.

Ha ha! Well, whether it's 100m or 300m, that's not too bad, I suppose. It would take me about 5 minutes to walk 300m or across all of Paddington -- but I'd save more than 5 minutes with the E Line going faster than the Piccadilly Line. So overall, I think you are all correct -- Bakerloo > Paddington > E Line is probably the fastest, and with just one transfer tied for the simplest. I just dismissed it as an option because the one time I did that transfer (in reverse, from E Line to Bakerloo) it seemed like I had to walk for miles to get to the E Line platform. Still wondering how difficult the Piccadilly Circus transfer is-- I worry more about the crowds than the distance.

 

[sh24]

Piccadilly Circus transfer will involve steps however you slice it. Slightly less total walking distance than Paddington but much more up and down.

3rd/4th car from the front on the Bakerloo will drop you in the right place at Paddington.

 

[jamboree7123]

That’s the same one I’d be thinking of, although I think it’s often forgotten about, maybe it never achieved a high profile back when it opened.

Yeah, TfL's "London Rail & Tube Services" diagram-map is a real mess at Paddington -- the distance from the Bakerloo Line dot to the E-Line Dot is a about the same distance as a three-mile gap elsewhere on the map. A non-Londoner would look at the diagram and assume the Bakerloo doesn’t go anywhere near Paddington.

 

[jamboree7123]

Piccadilly Circus transfer will involve steps however you slice it. Slightly less total walking distance than Paddington but much more up and down.

3rd/4th car from the front on the Bakerloo will drop you in the right place at Paddington.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[stuu]

There's a video of the interchange from the Bakerloo line to the EL at PAddington on YouTube, the person filming is walking quite fast but does it in less than 2 minutes

 

[jamboree7123]

There's a video of the interchange from the Bakerloo line to the EL at PAddington on YouTube, the person filming is walking quite fast but does it in less than 2 minutes

Excellent! Thanks everyone.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

There's a video of the interchange from the Bakerloo line to the EL at PAddington on YouTube,

It's low level, being down from the Bakerloo to the passage and then up to the EL platforms.

 

[jamboree7123]

One final note:

I've now done the actual calculations (assuming maximum wait-times and slow luggage-walking):

Via Elizabeth Line
From Lambeth North northbound platform: Wait 4 minutes for any Bakerloo train, ride 17 minutes to Paddington, transfer 5 minutes (step-free access) to Elizabeth Line westbound platform, wait 15 minutes, board Heathrow-bound train, ride 27 minutes to Heathrow Terminals 2+3; full journey takes 1 hour 8 minutes maximum (4 minute wait + 17 minute ride + 5 minute transfer + 15 minute wait + 27 minute ride).

Via Piccadilly Line
From Lambeth North northbound platform: Wait 4 minutes for any Bakerloo train, ride 7 minutes to Piccadilly Circus, transfer 3 minutes (must go up+down steps) to Piccadilly Line westbound platform, wait 10 minutes, board Heathrow-bound train, ride 47 minutes to Heathrow Terminals 2+3; full journey takes 1 hour 11 minutes maximum (4 minute wait + 7 minute ride + 3 minute transfer + 10 minute wait + 47 minute ride).

However, my journey is not yet over — I must still get to the check-in area of the airport. And the walk from the Piccadilly Line Heathrow 2&3 station into the airport itself at Heathrow takes about 3 minutes, while the Elizabeth Line Heathrow 2+3 station (if my memory serves me correctly) is further away, and the walk takes about 6 minutes. If you add in this final leg of the journey, both routes take the exact same amount of time -- 1 hour 14 minutes!

Ultimately though, even if the two options have identical travel times, I'm going to choose the Elizabeth Line route due to the fact that I expect to have heavy luggage and the step-free access at Paddington is preferable to lugging bags up and down stairs at Piccadilly. But if I didn't have luggage, the Piccadilly Line route would be a valid alternative, especially since I regard the Piccadilly Line (never experienced a delay) as slightly more reliable than the Elizabeth Line (twice experienced delays).

I think it's pretty interesting that the maximum wait-time journeys for both options end up being absolutely identical down to the minute. Strange coincidence!

 

[cjw714]

If you can start your journey at either Vauxhall or Waterloo a train to Feltham and a 285 bus might work out to be just as quick and simple as the other options.