Southampton to Heathrow

The Southampton to Heathrow Airport route

It’s a simple trip to travel from Southampton to Heathrow Airport, with three stages to your journey. The first step is to take the train from Southampton direct to London, arriving into Waterloo station. You’ll then need to travel from Waterloo to London Paddington to take the Heathrow Express to Heathrow Airport.


Let’s run through each leg of the journey in detail below, so you can plan your next trip to the airport.

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Southampton to London: Getting into the capital

The first leg of your journey is to take the train from Southampton Central to London Waterloo station. There are usually two South Western Railway trains an hour, with a journey time into London of around 1 hour 20 minutes.

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Making your way from Waterloo to Paddington

Once you arrive at London Waterloo, make your way from the train station down to the London Underground station. Follow the signs from the main station concourse. You can then take the Bakerloo Line northbound all the way to London Paddington. Paddington is nine stops from Waterloo, and the journey should take you around 14 minutes.


To make things easier when you arrive at Waterloo, you can pay for your tube tickets online alongside your Heathrow Express train ticket.

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Getting aboard the Heathrow Express at Paddington

Once you arrive at Paddington on the tube, make your way up to the main station concourse – follow the signs to the train station and come up either on the escalator or lift.


Once you’re in the main station concourse, check the boards for the next Heathrow Express train – our trains leave every 15 minutes – and make your way through the ticket barriers with your ticket in hand. We usually leave from platforms six and seven, but check the boards at the station to make sure we’re not running from a different platform on the day.

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All aboard the Heathrow Express

The last step of your journey is to jump on the Heathrow Express from London Paddington to Heathrow Airport – it’s the fastest and most efficient way to get to the airport from central London.

Heathrow Express trains leave Paddington every 15 minutes, with four trains leaving every hour. Once you take your seat on the train, the journey takes just 15 minutes to travel to Heathrow Central train station. It’s then just an extra six minutes into Terminal 5 station.

There’s plenty of room for your luggage on board our trains and you’ll find ample space at your seat to relax on board. We have free Wi-Fi throughout, available for all passengers. Anyone travelling on Business First Class gets their own table and plug socket, as well as free Fast Track through security at the airport. Children aged 15 and under travel for free on Heathrow Express.

Arriving at Heathrow Airport


It takes just 15 minutes to arrive into Heathrow Central train station on the Heathrow Express, with an extra six minutes to Terminal 5 station.


If you’re flying from Terminal 2, 3 or 4, leave the train at Heathrow Central. You can walk to either Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 using the inter-terminal walkway, arriving at check-in in around 10 minutes. For flights from Terminal 4, take the quick shuttle bus from Heathrow Central and you’ll arrive at the terminal in a few minutes. If you’re flying from Terminal 5, stay on the train to Terminal 5 station.


Discover more about Heathrow’s terminals with our helpful terminal maps.

Our ticket types

Choose from a range of Heathrow Express ticket types to suit your journey and your budget.

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