London Transport links
Airports
London is served by nearly every International airline and there are five major airports, including Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest:
London Heathrow Airport is located 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and has five terminals serving all of the world’s leading destinations. There are 17 International hotels at or near Heathrow with a ‘hoppa bus’ for easy access from the terminals.
Heathrow & London Transport Links
London Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the seventh busiest international airport in the world, handling 30 million passengers every year. Located 28 miles (45km) south of London, it has two terminals, North and South, which are linked by monorail (and takes just 2 minutes).
Gatwick – London Transport Links
London Stansted Airport is the third busiest airport in the UK with over 24 million passengers passing through. It is located 35 miles (56km) north east of central London. The budget airline, Ryan Air flies out of Stansted.
Stansted – London Transport Links
London Luton Airport is located 35 miles (56km) north west of London.
London City Airport is located 6 miles (9.5km) east of central London and is only 3 miles (4.8km) from the financial hub of Canary Wharf. One runway handles short-haul flights mainly for business travel. It is very accessible via the underground – take the Jubilee Line or DLR Docklands Light Railway to Canning Town or Canary Wharf and then catch a shuttle bus. A metered taxi from central London will cost around £20.
London is served by an impressive network of railway stations, each providing easy access to and from the city. Liverpool Street to the east, Waterloo to the south, Euston and Kings Cross for the north together with Victoria, Paddington and St Pancras create excellent travel options. All rail information is centralised on one website, providing all travel/ticket and station details. www.networkrail.co.uk
Since 1994 London has been connected to Europe with the newly created ‘channel tunnel’. Eurostar is a high speed rail passenger service (with a car/coach facility also available from Folkstone) connecting London with Paris, Brussels and Lille and onward services to hundreds of European cities. www.eurostar.com This is a fantastic option for travelling to Europe from central London (St Pancras station) and provides an alternative to the hassle of Airport travel.
In a bid to curb peak-time traffic congestion in London, the Mayoral office put in place a Congestion Charging Zone. Spreading from Notting Hill in the West to Finsbury Park in the east and Paddington to Chelsea in the south, it is enforced from 07.00am to 18.30 pm Monday to Friday.
Beware there are no tollbooths or barriers around the zone and no physical tickets – look out for warning signs and a large ‘C’ painted onto the road. You can pay on the day or up to 90 days in advance, a daily charge of £8 per car either by sms or via the Transport for London website.
You can also pay at designated shops and garages. For up to date information visit cclondon.com Penalty charges apply if you have not paid by the end of the day of travel.
Parking in Central London can be difficult and very expensive. It is far easier, if possible, to travel by public transport or hail a black (licensed) cab. If you are travelling by car, you can only park in white pay-and-display bays (not those that say ‘residents only’) Parking machines take various coins and parking can cost anything from £1 per hour up to £5 per hour in central London.
You can normally also pay through your mobile phone and instructions will be printed on the payment machine. www.park-up.com
The Oyster Card is a swipe in/swipe out, pay as you go travel card which automatically charges the lowest fare for your trip. It is an easy way to avoid queuing for tickets and the card can store up to £90 credit.
You can top up at any tube station or on-line Top up Oyster card It is valid for use on a bus/tram/tube/DLR/London over ground and some National Rail Services in London.
To assist you in getting from A to B, journey planner facilities are available on the Transport for London website. Simply input your departure and destination points it will advise you of the various alternative routes available and the applicable journey times.
