Heathrow Terminal 4 is a London Underground station at Heathrow Airport on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line. The station is situated in Travelcard Zone 6.
Heathrow Terminal 4  | |
|---|---|
 Entrance from terminal | |
  Heathrow Terminal 4 Location of Heathrow Terminal 4 in Greater London | |
| Location | Heathrow Terminal 4 |
| Local authority | London Borough of Hillingdon |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Owner | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| Accessible | Yes[1] |
| Fare zone | 6 |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2019 |  2.13 million[2] |
| 2020 | 0.00 million[3] |
| 2021 |  0.00 million[4] |
| 2022 |  1.23 million[5] |
| 2023 | 1.45 million[6] |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | London Regional Transport |
| Key dates | |
| 12 April 1986 | Opened |
| 7 January 2005 | Temporary closure |
| 17 September 2006 | Reopened |
| 9 May 2020 | Temporary closure |
| 14 June 2022 | Reopened |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°27′32″N 0°26′46″W / 51.459°N 0.446°W |
 London transport portal | |
History
editIn 1979, approval for a fourth terminal at Heathrow Airport was granted. An extension of the Piccadilly line to serve the new terminal was agreed in October 1981.[7] The station box would be built by the British Airports Authority as part of the £200 million construction cost of the new terminal. By 1982, construction of the fourth terminal building was behind schedule, and in July 1982 the location of the station was moved from below the terminal building to a nearby car park.
Construction began in February 1983.[8] London Regional Transport funded the construction of 2.5 mi (4.0 km) of new tunnels, the track and the fit-out of the station, at a cost of £23 million. Construction was completed by the November 1985.[8] The station was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales on 1 April 1986, before opening the Terminal 4 itself shortly afterwards.[9] Trains, however, did not stop at the station until 12 April, when the new terminal started to handle flights.[10]
The station is situated on a unidirectional loop tunnel which was constructed between the existing Hatton Cross and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 stations. The station is one of four on the London Underground with only one platform, and is the only one with one-way train service. It is adjacent to Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station used by Elizabeth line services that travel through the newer mainline tunnel.
In-service routing took trains from Hatton Cross to Terminal 4 then Terminals 2 & 3 and back to Hatton Cross. On 7 January 2005, both the loop track and the station were closed temporarily in order to allow the construction of a new rail junction to link to the new Heathrow Terminal 5 station. All trains reverted to using the original westbound track from Hatton Cross direct to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 which was used prior to the opening of Heathrow Terminal 4. For passengers travelling to or from Heathrow Terminal 4, a shuttle bus was provided from Hatton Cross tube station. This situation continued until 17 September 2006 when the loop line and station were reopened after construction finished, with new security and customer announcement technologies in place at the station.[11]
Current routing
edit
Heathrow Terminal 4 tube station is located on a unidirectional clockwise loop that branches off after Hatton Cross westbound, and rejoins the Heathrow branch eastbound to the west of Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3.
Since the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 station, alternate Heathrow branch trains run via the Terminal 4 loop, with the other alternate trains run directly to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, and Heathrow Terminal 5.
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 holders between the three Heathrow stations. But to travel from Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 or Terminal 5 to Terminal 4 one must change trains at Hatton Cross. This journey is free with Hatton Cross itself being part of the free travel zone.
On 9 May 2020, Heathrow Terminal 4 station closed temporarily until 14 June 2022, due to the closure of the airport's Terminal 4 during the COVID-19 pandemic in London.[12]
On 14 June 2022, this station reopened for passenger service.
Connections
editTwo London Buses routes serve the station: 482 and 490.
Gallery
edit
-
Looking east along the only platform (initially westbound); from here trains head to Terminals 2 & 3 and then to central London. -
Roundel on platform -
Looking west along the platform.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "No. 48785". The London Gazette. 5 November 1981. p. 14033.
- ^ a b Cobley, Jim (28 March 1986). "Royals "Fly the Tube" as Heathrow plugs in". LRT News. pp. 4–5.
- ^ "Prince opens new Tube link to Airport". LRT News. 18 April 1986. pp. 4–5.
- ^ Green, Oliver (1987). The London Underground: An Illustrated History. Ian Allan. p. 63.
- ^ "Tube one step closer for Heathrow Terminal 5". Transport for London. 14 September 2006. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Caswell, Mark (4 May 2020). "Heathrow closes Terminal 4 to passengers". Business Traveller. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
External links
edit| Preceding station |  London Underground
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hatton Cross One-way operation
|
Piccadilly line (Terminal 4 loop)
|
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 towards Cockfosters or Arnos Grove
| ||