LHR immigration average late June

Four pm should be OK if your flight arrives on time.

Advance tickets are on sale now £59 for that 4pm train. Might as well go for it but if you do miss the train it's £143 for the walk up fare.

https://www.lner.co.uk/

When you buy an independent tickets after arrival you always run a risk. We have done that frequently general with a five hour gap or more. Three hour is not enough given that you have to get across London to get to Kings Cross. I will defer to the locals but airport to KC could be an hour and half with public transit. Clearing immigration is a dice roll it can be quick or take time depending on many factors you cannot control. Assume your plane is an hour late, takes a little extra time at immigration, and suddenly you are very short on time. Buy the train ticket when you get.

Two years ago we did about the same thing with separate airline ticket to continue on. About we board the plane in the US the whole flight was cancelled for a mechanical problem so we missed that flight by two days. It can happen.

How are you planning on getting from Heathrow to Kings Cross? I think the tube takes about an hour. A taxi would probably be faster, although more expensive.

I ask because my wife and I need to make the same Heathrow to Kings Cross trip in May, and we're trying to figure out the best way to do it, and which train tickets to buy.

I think the tube takes about an hour. A taxi would probably be faster, although more expensive.

I doubt it would be much faster with London traffic. The same for the Heathrow Express. All are estimated to be within about 5 minutes of each other. Figure between one hour and one hour 15 minutes to travel from Heathrow to Kings Cross.

The least expensive way is via the tube.

AA will be using two terminals by June--Terminal 3 and Terminal 5.

Heathrow Express is by far the quickest option. Takes 15 min to Paddington. Another 20 min by tube to King’s Cross Station (that’s 10 minutes actually on the tube and 5 on each end to get from the Heathrow Express to the platform, and then the platform to King’s Cross train station). That is much shorter than the hour the tube journey takes (and I’d expect a cab to take as long if not longer, and is by far the most expensive option). I find this forum skews very heavily to favouring the tube into London over the Heathrow Express; for some destinations or if cost efficiency is the main objective that makes sense but in this case, it sounds like efficiency is the objective. I’d go with Heathrow Express and then Circle or Hammersmith & City line from Paddington to King’s Cross.

As for immigration, with the e-gates it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes assuming you’re travelling on an American passport. If the e-gates malfunction or if they don’t read your passport properly, you will have to wait to see a live agent which will take longer, though in my experience it doesn’t usually take more than maybe an additional 10 min. Obviously the asterisk here is that anything could be different on the day you travel and there are of course all kinds of worse cases scenarios.

Personally, I would feel more than comfortable booking the 4pm train. YMMV depending on how confident you are making transport links, how quickly you move, whether you’re checking bags, etc.

Ok, so hearing everyone's thoughts I will probably go for 6 pm train. If I get out of immigration and things early I can spend time wasting at getting food or shop in King's Cross or Heathrow or something.

Tickets for the Heathrow Express are only 5.50 GBP if you buy them 90+ days in advance. You are committing to a particular date, but the ticket is good on any H Ex train that day.

Between 30 and 90 days in advance there are still some deals, but not as good as that one.

I just saw that the Two Together railcard, which my wife and I were planning on getting, works on the Heathrow Express. So, even though we're past the 90-days, two one-way tickets are only $42. I was thinking it would be $100, so $42 sounds good - we'll probably take the Heathrow Express.

"If I get out of immigration and things early I can spend time wasting at getting food or shop in King's Cross or Heathrow or something"

Oh, I'd definitely head on in to London! At King's Cross there is Platform 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame, lol. Also restaurants and shops in and around the station if you want something to eat. I'd probably eat and get some snacks to take on the train. If you need to get your face in the sunlight it looks like there are some green spaces not too far from the station.

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Kings-Cross-Map.pdf

IF you are there seriously early, you might consider going over to the British Library. There is a left luggage facility in the station as well at at the Library itself.

https://www.bl.uk/visit/facilities

I'd weigh in with Margaret.

In an ideal world, by the end of June the new Crossrail line to be known as the Elizabeth Line will be open - finally.

Only problem, when they designed the new line they left out Kings Cross, so the nearest stations would be Farringdon and Liverpool Street, both involving an additional change to Kings Cross. And the opening, far from starting at the originally planned Heathrow (that will have to wait for a future date) has the Elizabeth Line starting at Paddington and going east for 10 stations (including the not yet ready for prime time Bond Street which will be non-stopped).

The other issue is that by delaying until the 6pm train you put yourself in the middle of peak rush hour - something I'd avoid.

I grant you that the 4pm means things need to fall reasonably in your favour but I believe that that is a good chance, following Margaret's plan. Sure things can go west, including the airline moving your flight, but as it stands now you'd likely be fine.

Add another on the pile agreeing with Margaret. Heathrow Express to Paddington then Hammersmith & City or Circle lines to Kings Cross is the way to go. The Tube usually recommended here as it is the "easy button" - its direct to Kings Cross with no changes. It just takes longer.

I've done the LHR-Kings Cross trek more times than I can count. A 4pm train works well, particularly with Margaret's plan. There is always a chance things can go sideways in everything - but feel safe in the knowledge that you can make it work easily and still have a buffer. Looking at a simple time calculation - if you consider 1 hr to 1 hr 15 min if you were to chose the slower Tube route via the Picadilly line and allocate the same amount of time to get through immigration, that still leaves you a half hour buffer. As Margaret has already said, with the egates immigration should go relatively quickly. In your case, the 1.25 hrs allocated to the Tube is shortened, giving you an even bigger buffer than a half hour. Yes, flights and luggage can be delayed, but you have some wiggle room in your time budget to allow for some of that. I would be quite comfortable with a 4pm train.

Nigel also wisely and correctly points out that a 6pm train puts you in the peak of rush hour. Is it doable? Of course, but I'd avoid it if I could.

Ok, after hearing everyone, I will get Heathrow Express tickets, for £11 roundtrip since it is still early. I didn't know you could get a discount early so that is NICE! I will probably book the 4:30pm ticket, just to give myself a bit more wiggle room. I really appreciate everyone's input and advice, it has been very helpful.

When you get off the train at Paddington, the fastest way to the Tube station for your transfer to Kings Cross is to walk toward the back of the train to a stairway that goes right up to a walkway to the platforms.

Even better if you get on the back of the train at Heathrow - there's a few more seconds back...