Heathrow Express to Circle Line Connection
 

I will be staying at LHR but need to get to Victoria by 8:00 a.m. for a day train trip. It looks like the cheapest and most efficient way is to take Heathrow Express to Paddington and connect to the Circle Line to Victoria. How far apart are these lines at Paddington? I'll be traveling about 7:00 a.m. from LHR. I don't want to be running. Is 15 minutes enough to connect at Paddington on a weekday morning?

If you are at the front of the HEx train and don't have a queue for a ticket then you'll be on the southbound Circle platform in about 3 minutes (less if you get your skates on). Look at the tfl website for service frequency at the time you are traveling.

Thanks for the quick response. Is there a way to buy the tube ticket at LHR ahead of time or is there a single ticket which will include the HEx and the tube between Paddington & Victoria ? I'll be returning back from Whitstable to LHR via Victoria and Paddington late in the day.

Cheapest ? definitely not. Taking the tube and changing at South Kensington is much cheaper than the HEX/tube combo.

Most efficent ? debatable. The tfl website shows the HEX/tube route ifrom Heathrow Central) is 42 minutes, and the tube route 49 minutes. As HEX runs every 15 minutes, you'll need to time your arrival at the HEX station just before the train departs, otherwise the tube is quicker. Also, Circle line trains are less frequent than the Picadilly line, so there's a good chance of a few minutes extra wait at Paddington.

and, FWIW, the HEX-southbound Circle line transfer at Paddington is through narrow passageways which get uncomfortably crowded at peak times. I would take the tube.

JIMCHI where are you staying at LHR?
- Depending upon the answer, there might be a very quick and cheap way to do this.

I'm not a fan of changing from Piccadilly to District line at South Ken; it involves escalators, stairs, a couple of long schleps - meh :(

The change from Piccadilly line to District line is easiest at Hammersmith, where it's a walk from one side of the platform to the other. Can be done at Barons Court as well but the platform is narrower (and more people will have joined the train at Hammersmith so it will be more crowded).

If you do take the Underground to Victoria (much easier than HEX plus the long way round on the Circle line), sit at the rear of the District line train as it's nearest the way out at Victoria station.

If the "cheapest" way is an important consideration, you have the option of taking the Tube from Heathrow to Victoria Station . That route involves one change of Tube Lines .

Go to http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/ to see if the timing works out for you.

Edited to add: I did't see the previous post before I posted my Tube suggestion!

+1 for changing at Hammersmith - far easier just walking across to the opposite platform.

@OP: I'd take the tube all the way. The Circle line is notoriously bad for service disruptions and you could be waiting 10-15 minutes for a train from Paddington to Victoria

How about the coach, if the pickup points are convenient to you ?

Direct from LHR to Victoria coach station in just over an hour. Pretty frequent, no changes and all for a fiver :)

http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm

Is that what you were cryptically referring to David-A , or do you have your own minicab firm ? ;)

I'll add my voice to the chorus - the HEx + Circle Line is a colossal waste of money for very little added gain - if any.

Cheapest and easiest by far would be (a) a coach or (b) the Piccadilly => District Line transfer at Hammersmith.

Starting from the Central Bus Station the HEX / Tube combination is a MAXIMUM of 10 minutes quicker than the Tube via Hammersmith - but that 10 minutes will cost you £16.50 more than the Tube only route.

If your pick up point for the tour is near Victoria Coach station then it's better just to get the National Express coach from the CBS to Victoria.

If you want to get to paddington in a reliable way, the HEX is the only option. As I have posted ad nauseaum the Piccadilly line can be woefully unreliable and the wait at LHR (depending on station) can easily be 10mins. However, getting from Paddington to Victoria is not so predictable (I know as I do this at the end of every working day).

The Circle line runs every 8 minutes. It is much more reliable than years past, but when they do drop a train it is one hell of a gap and taking a Wimbledon train to Earls Court is a hassle.
A cab to Victoria would cost around GBP12 and take 10-15mins. But the queues at Paddington can be quite length in the morning.
Bakerloo to Oxford Circus and Victoria onwards is the least worse option. Get in the last car at Padd for a decent chance of a seat and a simple cross platfor interchange at Oxford Circus.

If you don't mind getting up evily early then the Piccadilly line is fine. If you want to cut things fine and don't mind spending the extra cash, the HEX and Bakerloo/Victoria.

Will be staying at the Sofitel at Terminal 5.

National Express doesn't have a bus from LHR until 0705 arriving Victoria at 0920, well past the departure of my train. It also takes over 2 hours.

Thanks for all the responses. In theory, it looks like it takes about the same time from LHR to Victoria whether we use the tube or the combination of Hex and the tube. But it looks like there is a HUGE difference in price. Am I correct in calculating that a day return on Hex is GBP32 plus an additional GBP8 for a roundtrip from Paddington to Victoria? For 2 of us that would amount to GBP80 or almost $120 just to get to Victoria. The tube using the Piccadilly and District lines (via Hammersmith) appears to be GBP5 per person each way for a total of GBP20 or about $30.

Our train from Victoria departs at 0820. The tube schedule from LHR Terminal 5 shows an 0643 departure arriving Hammersmith at 0719 with the District Line departure at 0721 arriving Victoria at 0737. That would give us 40 minutes to spare. Does that seem to be sufficient to account for any possible delays?