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We are to reach at 7.30 AM on LHR from India for further move to Newcastle along with 2 kids. Plz suggest what to do ? Piccadilly Line/ Tube/Taxi/Bus or any other mode?

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    AFAIK, the only rail services to LHR are the Picadilly Line into central London, the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, and the TfL Train which follows the same route as the Heathrow Express but makes more stops and costs less. You're going to have to change somewhere to get to Newcastle.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jul 22, 2019 at 2:08
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    @PK Rattan How much luggage will you have as a family? 7:30am on a weekday or at the weekend? If it’s a week day and/or your children aren’t old enough to comfortably manage their own cases (assuming they have them) a London Underground transfer could be a nightmare, possibly sufficiently so to make the cost of a taxi transfer to KX well worth it (you can probably book one in advance online, which may well save you money). A bus transfer is available but it takes around 6.5 hours eg checkmybus.co.uk/london-heathrow-airport/newcastle-upon-tyne and may have luggage restrictions
    – Traveller
    Jul 22, 2019 at 9:59
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    @Traveller If you're going to spend the money on a taxi from Heathrow to Kings Cross then flying is by far the better option.
    – Ben Watson
    Jul 22, 2019 at 14:44
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    There's no such place as "Newcastle Gateshead": are you going to Newcastle or Gateshead?
    – David Richerby
    Jul 22, 2019 at 18:21
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    @BernhardDöbler Newcastle Gateshead is the name given to a combined tourism effort by the separate places Newcastle and Gateshead. It isn't a place and it is therefore incorrect to say "I'm going to Newcastle Gateshead". Nor have I ever heard anyone refer to it in that way.
    – Ben Watson
    Jul 23, 2019 at 7:45

7 Answers 7

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Take the Piccadilly line to King's Cross St Pancras, and change to an Edinburgh-bound train taking you to Newcastle (there are also Newcastle-bound trains, but those are much slower). Then catch the metro to Gateshead.

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    I agree this is the best method, however, do note that if this is a week day you'll be travelling at peak time and therefore the tickets are likely to be expensive and the route packed. Definitely look into booking the Kings Cross to Newcastle ticket in advance.
    – Gamora
    Jul 22, 2019 at 11:18
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    Newcastle isn't the same as Gateshead. OP will need to change at Newcastle Central Station to the underground "Tyne and Wear Metro" train system to complete the journey.
    – AJM
    Jul 22, 2019 at 11:48
  • Definitely book in advance, I've done this journey many times. It's quite a lot of money even when you do book a month or 2 in advance! Also, at King's Cross, the platform number for the train isn't often shown on the board until around 10-15 minutes before the train is set to depart, so don't worry if it feels like it's not showing up. It's not clear what time you're going, but be aware there are works being done at King's Cross on some dates which could impact your journey.
    – Clusks
    Jul 22, 2019 at 12:49
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    @Bee the OP won't have to do more than stop for a cup of tea to miss peak time with an 0730 LHR arrival. By the time (s)he's deplaned, got luggage, cleared customs and immigration, got tickets and down to the Underground, then done a one-hour tube journey to KGX, it'll be awfully close to 0930.
    – MadHatter
    Jul 23, 2019 at 6:47
  • It was only something for them to be aware of
    – Gamora
    Jul 23, 2019 at 6:53
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An alternative route which might be better if you have lots of luggage and small children would be to get the Railair bus from Heathrow to Reading and then get a train to Newcastle. There are direct trains and also some which involve a change on route.

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    Note that the direct train from Reading takes 5 hours (vs 3 hours from Kings Cross).
    – Mark Perryman
    Jul 22, 2019 at 9:59
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    @MarkPerryman that of course is perfectly true and perhaps something I should have mentioned but the OP did not specifically ask for the quickest, or cheapest route.
    – mdewey
    Jul 22, 2019 at 12:17
  • If one specifically wanted to avoid buses and anything except walking between platforms, it's possible to do Heathrow Express to Paddington, Paddington to Reading, Reading to Newcastle. Won't be fastest, probably not cheapest.
    – nigel222
    Jul 23, 2019 at 13:49
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A very quick search with Google suggests that a flight might be viable.

British Airways operate several flights each day from Heathrow to Newcastle with fares as little as £92 (Google list), while LNER run trains from King's Cross, starting at £160 - you might get a lower price with advance booking.

A direct flight takes just over an hour and will save you time travelling into London, plus three hours on the train.

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    Note however that if the tickets are booked separately rather than changing the booking to make it a connection, passengers need to account for enough time for the connection (including immigration, baggage claim, customs, getting to the right terminal, queuing at check-in/baggage drop, checking in before the deadline, going through security and to the gate before it closes), plus enough padding in case of delays. At least 3-4 hours would be a minimum.
    – jcaron
    Jul 22, 2019 at 9:47
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    "starting at £160" is nonsense. That is the Anytime Single price, which is about the most you would pay. Super Off-Peak Return tickets are £142 (equiv £71 each way) and even tomorrow there are a number of £86 (Advance) tickets. Further in advance, £48 or even £29 tickets are available. A flight mey be faster, but it unlikely to be cheaper.
    – Mark Perryman
    Jul 22, 2019 at 9:57
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    Please don't ever capitalise the C in Newcastle again ;). Also flying is absolutely the best option, unless OP is desperate to save a few pennies at the expense of a miserable day of travelling after an already long flight. Also you realistically have to book the LNER in advance, so if the plane from India is late/immigration is slow, you'll be stuffed.
    – Ben Watson
    Jul 22, 2019 at 14:34
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    @ben Sorry about the 'C'. I blame too many hours camelCasing in software.
    – user90371
    Jul 23, 2019 at 0:43
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    @Mark I did say that this was a quick search and that cheaper fares might be available. I am not a travel agent™
    – user90371
    Jul 23, 2019 at 0:46
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Heathrow does not have a mainline rail station so there is no possibility of a direct train to Newcastle.

The most common route taken is the Heathrow Express to Paddington, switch to Kings Cross by underground (or taxi if you have luggage) and take the direct train to Newcastle. There are trains about every 30 minutes most of the day.

With four of you a taxi from Heathrow to Kings Cross is also viable, and a good bet if you have luggage. The Piccadilly line is cheapest but slowest, and very hard with luggage.

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    Although morally correct (in that you can't get trains to anywhere except central London, and suburban stations in between), there is a non-London underground station at Heathrow, which is the usual UK meaning of "mainline station" (particularly with regard to ticket validity). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathrow_Central_railway_station
    – origimbo
    Jul 22, 2019 at 3:02
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    The LHR stations as well as King’s Cross St Pancras have elevators and the journey can be made step-free on the Piccadilly line.
    – jcaron
    Jul 22, 2019 at 9:54
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    On the other hand, on weekdays the Piccadilly line is probably going to be very busy around that time of day.
    – jcaron
    Jul 22, 2019 at 9:55
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Just for completeness I will mention the existance of National Express Coaches, probably the cheapest mode of transport from Heathrow to Newcastle. A ticket would cost £30.00 per person.

The downsides are there are no direct coaches from Heathrow, you would need to travel to London Victoria Coach Station and change there, and the time it takes to travel around 7hrs.

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Fly. It's much faster and likely cheaper.

The LNER train from Kings Cross to Newcastle is only cheaper than flying if you book seats on a specific train, which you realistically can't do if you're flying from India - if your flight is delayed or you're held up in immigration then you'll lose your tickets.

The flight takes an hour, the train will take closer to five once you factor in travelling time between Heathrow and Kings Cross.

If for whatever reason you have to take the train there's also the problem of getting from Heathrow to Kings Cross at 7:30am on a weekday - either brave a long rush hour tube journey with your family and all your luggage (never nice after a long flight), or get an expensive taxi.

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    Taxi is not only expensive. On a weekday it would be slow due to traffic.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Jul 22, 2019 at 16:13
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    @PatriciaShanahan A taxi is actually only slightly more expensive than four people on the Paddington Express
    – DJClayworth
    Jul 22, 2019 at 19:15
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    Flying is a good option if you can get both flights on the same ticket for a reasonable price. Otherwise afaict you have much the same issue as with a pre-booked train.
    – Peter Green
    Jul 23, 2019 at 7:54
  • @PeterGreen absolutely, and if OP doesn't buy them together he's looking at an extremely expensive journey and almost no chance of being sat with his kids for the three hour train journey.
    – Ben Watson
    Jul 23, 2019 at 8:07
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For rail enquiries in the UK use the National Rail site. As other answers have pointed out, trains to Newcastle leaves from King's Cross station. The cheapest fares are if you buy in advance for a specific departure. However, that can be risky when coming in from a long flight with risks of delay, as the tickets would be worthless of you miss the train.

With 4 people, a rental car could be the cheaper option, but perhaps not such a good idea after a long flight and jet lag.

Best would be if you could get a connecting flight added to your ticket. Might not be possible at this point.

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