Heathrow Term. 4

 

The station opened on 12 April 1986 to serve the then recently opened Heathrow Terminal 4. It is situated on a unidirectional loop tunnel which was constructed between the existing Hatton Cross and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 stations. The station is one of the few on the London Underground to have only one platform, and is the only one with one-way train service. It is adjacent to Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station used by mainline Heathrow Express railway services.In-service routing took trains from Hatton Cross to Terminal 4 then Terminals 1, 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 1, 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 following completion of the construction, and with new security and customer announcement technologies in place at the station.

 

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 1, 2, 3. Since the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 station, the service pattern is that every other Heathrow branch train runs via the Terminal 4 loop, whilst each alternate train runs directly to Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 tube station 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. However, the configuration of the loop means that journeys from Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 and Heathrow Terminal 5 to Terminal 4 require a change at Hatton Cross. This journey is free, despite Hatton Cross itself not being part of the free travel zone. The station is situated in Travelcard Zone 6. The station has wi-fi, lifts and payphones.

 

Connections: London Buses routes 203, 482 and 490 all serve the station.

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