Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station (also known as Heathrow Central) serves Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 (and formerly Terminal 1 before its closure in 2015) [2] at London Heathrow Airport.
It is served by Heathrow Express trains direct to central London and Elizabeth line trains that stop at local stations. It is 14 miles 50 chains (23.5 km)[clarification needed] down-line from London Paddington.
Travelcards from Transport for London are not valid on Express services from the station, although they are valid on the Elizabeth line. Passengers transferring between any of the terminals at Heathrow may use the trains free of charge.
The station was opened on 23 June 1998 upon the completion of the Heathrow Express Rail Link linking Heathrow Airport with direct non-stop services to Central London. In contrast to the station at Terminal 5, the platforms at Heathrow Central do not lie adjacent to the London Underground Piccadilly line platforms at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 station. Instead they lie perpendicular, and at a far deeper level. This is because the railway line from Paddington was tunnelled into Heathrow from the north, whereas the Piccadilly line approaches from the east. Access to the station is reached via an underground pedestrian walkway which links Terminal 3 to the Central Bus Station and the Piccadilly line's Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 station.
Trains towards Paddington use the Great Western Main Line, joining it at Airport Junction, just west of Hayes and Harlington. Elizabeth line trains continue beyond Paddington through new tunnels, stopping at stations in the West End and the City of London and on to either Abbey Wood in southeast London via Canary Wharf or, since May 2023, Shenfield on the Great Eastern Main Line.
As of the December 2023 timetable, the typical Monday to Friday off-peak service is:[3]
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station is close to London Underground Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station where Piccadilly line trains run to Terminals 4 and 5 and to central London.
There are underground walkways connecting to Heathrow Central bus station, which has local and long-distance bus and coach services.
