Off-peak fares on trains and the Tube linking central London with Heathrow airport have suddenly been scrapped.
All journeys between Britain’s busiest airport and the central area of the capital, Zone 1, are now charged at peak prices.
The standard fare for journeys that start in, end in or pass through Zone 1, rises from £3.50 to £5.50.
The move represents a surge of 57 per cent for most passengers using the Piccadilly line of the London Underground.
Until the weekend, the higher fare applied only to journeys between 6.30am and 9.30am from Monday to Friday (plus journeys to, but not from, the airport between 4pm and 7pm).
On the Elizabeth line between Heathrow and London Paddington, the £2 fare rise is the same but the proportionate increase is lower, at 19 per cent, due to the higher base fare. The all-day price rises to £12.80.
Trains on the Elizabeth line will soon be extended east to other stations in the capital.
Transport for London (TfL), which made the decision, blames “conditions government placed on TfL for extraordinary funding during financial challenges of the pandemic”.
Off-peak fares from other zones are unaffected, which will benefit many workers at Heathrow as well as some passengers to and from west London.
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “Raising more money from fares was a condition of our funding deal with government.
“This fare increase was chosen as one which would have a lower impact on Londoners currently worried about the cost of living, and to ensure that journeys that avoid Zone 1 will not be affected, helping to protect those living near and working at the airport.”
Rob Burgess, editor of the frequent-flyer website Head for Points, said: “It was always ironic that the London airport most associated with high fares has always been the one that was, by far, the cheapest to reach by rail.
“Even at £5.50 it is difficult to complain given the cost of Stansted Express, Luton or Gatwick trains, although adding even more complexity to the Underground fare structure for a modest rise in overall fare revenues clearly isn’t helpful to anyone.”
All “pay as you go” journeys will continue to benefit from daily and weekly caps. Concessions, including free travel for under—11s, will remain in place.
The changes are expected to generate up to £27m per year.
Fares on the Heathrow Express, which is the UK’s most expensive railway, are unaffected. The standard single fare, bought online, is £25 – though advance-purchase tickets are available for as little as £5.50, which matches the new all-day Tube fare.
