Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station

Not to be confused with Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station.

Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 Location of Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 in Greater London
Location	Heathrow Airport
Local authority	London Borough of Hillingdon
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes [1]
Fare zone	6
London Underground annual entry and exit
2018	8.37 million [2]
2019	7.88 million [3]
2020	1.86 million [4]
2021	2.45 million [5]
2022	5.73 million [6]
Railway companies
Original company	London Transport Executive (GLC)
Key dates
16 December 1977	Opened
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
WGS84	51°28′16″N0°27′07″W / 51.471°N 0.452°W / 51.471; -0.452
London transportportal

Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 is a London Underground station at Heathrow Airport on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, which serves Heathrow Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. It was named Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 until January 2016, when Heathrow Terminal 1 was closed. ^[7] Despite the renaming of the station, the signage on the platform still says Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 as of June 2022. ^[8] The station is situated in Travelcard Zone 6, along with the nearby Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station served by Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line services.

History

The station opened as Heathrow Central on 16 December 1977 ^[9] as the final phase of the Piccadilly line's extension from Hounslow West to the airport. The preceding station, Hatton Cross, had opened as the interim terminus in 1975. At its opening, the station served as the terminus of what became known as the Heathrow branch of the line – previously it had been the Hounslow branch. It was the first time that an airport had been directly served by an underground railway system.

With the development of the airport's new Terminal 4 underway for which a separate Underground station would be provided, the station was initially renamed Heathrow Central Terminals 1, 2, 3 from 3 September 1983, then renamed Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 on 6 October 1986.

The Terminal 4 station is located on a unidirectional single track loop from Hatton Cross to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3. On the opening of the Terminal 4 station, most direct services from Hatton Cross to Terminals 2 & 3 ceased, with most Piccadilly line trains going first to Terminal 4. This meant that the westbound tunnel direct from Hatton Cross to Terminals 1, 2, 3 was hardly used for over 20 years. However, some early morning trains still went directly to Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3.

For the construction of the tunnel to the new Heathrow Terminal 5 station, the loop track and Terminal 4 station closed temporarily on 7 January 2005 and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 once again became the terminus of the line. This situation continued until 17 September 2006, when the Terminal 5 tunnel works were sufficiently complete for the loop tunnel and Terminal 4 station to reopen.

Part of a Piccadilly route map sign showing the stations at Heathrow

Heathrow Terminal 5 station opened on 27 March 2008, but the frequency of trains on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line remained the same as previously, with services from Hatton Cross to Heathrow split. Alternate trains run either to Terminal 4 (around the loop and back to Central London via Terminals 2 & 3), or direct to Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5.

Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 has a double crossover immediately to the east which can be seen from the platform. This is used to allow trains to enter either platforms 1 or 2 heading westbound to terminate here. It is used for the last Heathrow service of the day Monday to Saturday and during times of service disruption. Also, a short distance to the west, are two further crossovers where the single track loop line from Terminal 4 rejoins the eastbound track from Terminal 5 to Terminals 2 & 3.

The station has six escalators of which two operate from the platform to the ticket hall area and two operate in the opposite direction^{[ clarification needed ]}; the other two connect the ticket hall area to the surface. A mezzanine floor between the platform and ticket hall levels provide staff accommodation and facilities. British Transport Police maintain a presence at Heathrow. ^[10]

Until 2012, free transfer was not possible between terminals, in contrast to the Heathrow Express. In January 2012, free travel was introduced for Oyster card and contactless payment card holders between the Heathrow stations on the Piccadilly line. Journeys from Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 or Heathrow Terminal 5 to Terminal 4 via the Piccadilly line require a change at Hatton Cross (this journey is free, despite Hatton Cross not being part of the free travel zone).

As of March 2012, the station had undergone renovation works which featured an extended control room, all six escalators refurbished, a station enhancement and two Step Free Access lifts from the ticket hall (located near the bottom of the escalators from street level) to the platforms. Step-free access to street level will continue to be served by the two airport lifts from the Coach station.

Services

v t e Heathrow area rail services
Legend
mi-ch from Paddington Elizabeth line via Whitechapel 0-00 Paddington Heathrow Express Elizabeth line Old Oak Common under construction 4-21 Acton Main Line 5-56 Ealing Broadway 6-46 West Ealing 7-28 Hanwell 9-06 Southall 10-71 Hayes & Harlington Piccadilly line to Cockfosters 11-10 Airport Junction Great Western Main Line to Reading Hatton Cross Heathrow Junction closed 1998 Heathrow Airport: Terminal 4 16-30 Terminal 4 Terminals 2 & 3 14-40 Terminals 2 & 3 16-20 Terminal 5

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Heathrow Terminal 5 Terminus		Piccadilly line Heathrow branch		Hatton Cross towards Cockfosters or Arnos Grove
Heathrow Terminal 4 One-way operation

Connections

The station is directly below Heathrow Central bus station, which offers both local buses and long-distance express coaches.

See also

• Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station

References

1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London . April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
2. "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
3. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
4. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
5. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
6. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
7. "Tube map" (PDF). TfL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
8. "Piccadilly Line CLD" (PDF). TfL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
9. "1977: Queen opens 'tube' link to Heathrow". BBC News. 16 December 1977. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
10. British Transport Police, London Underground Area Archived 21 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Official opening of the station by Her Majesty the Queen, 1977
  • External view of station, 1979
  • Detail of platform decoration and seating, 1980
• Transport for London (March 2008). "Central London to Heathrow" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2008. – transport map for Heathrow showing Underground, Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect rail, and the N9 night bus