London Southend Airport to central London by train

Southend - London Liverpool Street Station train service is only practical public transport choice

Southend Airport train station: entrance opposite Southend Passenger Terminal

London Southend Airport is around 40 miles (64km) east of Central London.

 

Southend airport is a relatively small one passenger terminal, which although long established has only just supported mainstream commercial flights, triggered by the low cost budget airline easyJet establishing a base there.

 

All the current facilities at Southend Airport, passenger terminal, train station and infrastructure for passengers are all brand new.

Southend Airport to London by public transport - bus or train?

Unless you are travelling by private car or taxi the only viable public transport between Southend Airport and London is the train service between London's Liverpool Street Station and Southend that also stops at Stratford.

 

National Express do offer a coach service between London and Southend but at the moment it only runs once a day timed for local people to travel from Southend to London in the morning and return in the evening.

 

This coach also doesn't call at Southend Airport. There is however a frequent bus service between Southend Airport and London's Stansted Airport.

Southend Airport

Transport to London

Airport Hotels

Airport Car Parking

Southend Airport to London Liverpool Street train service

At peak times up to 8 trains an hour run between Central London and Southend Airport, but most of the day it's more like 2 or 3 trains an hour.

 

The main terminus in London is Liverpool Street Station. Liverpool Street Station is in the business area of Central London where few leisure visitors will stay.

 

Most visitors will want to change to the London Underground to complete their journey into London.

Stratford is a London Underground hub which the Southend train stops at in each direction and if you want the London Underground is probably preferable to Liverpool Street.

Journey time from London Liverpool Street Station to/from Liverpool Street Station is 53 minutes, Stratford 44 minutes.

Southend Airport train at Southend Airport station

The station opens 15 minutes before departure of the first train and closes immediately after departure of the last train.

 

Night bus service between Southend Airport and central London

This bus, called the X1, run by bus company Ensign, leaves Southend at 11.40pm and arrives at London Victoria at 1.05am.

 

Buses travelling from Victoria to Southend depart at 3am and reach the airport at 4.35am, in time for passengers departing on the first flights at 6.30am.

These buses are ideal if you are on either a very early or very late flights, where you would otherwise miss the first and last trains.

 

Train fares between Southend and London

Train fares in the UK are very complex. In crude terms if you travel off-peak, (at weekends and after 9.30am Monday to Fridays) a single fare is cheaper than at peak times. If you purchase a return fare and travel at off-peak times then the savings are substantial over two single fares.

 

London is very spread out. The cheapest transfer into London can becomes not so cheap if you have another journey to your hotel after disembarking the airport train or bus.

 

If you are travelling in a group or as a family, then GroupSave fares are the most cost effective ticket to purchase, potentially allowing 4 people to travel for the price of 2.

For fares and timetables applicable to your travel times use 'the Trainline' web site where you can also order tickets for delivery to your home address. This facility includes International addresses, though there is a fee.

 

There are no true e-tickets, but you can order on-line and collect from ticket machines at major train stations including Southend Airport, Stratford and Liverpool Street.

The Railways 2 for 1 promotion

The railways sponsor a hugely popular and long running promotion that allows those people using the train to visit leading attractions to get two people admitted for the price of one.

 

When visiting London you can you can get 2 for 1 admission to many of London's major sights including the Tower of London, the full list is very, very long and covers all of Great Britain. If you have train tickets from Southend to London and you are doing some sightseeing it's a very worthwhile promotion to look into.

Railways 2 for 1 promotion more details

London Underground

London Underground

Underground Map

Tube & Rail Map

London Underground

For the visitor to London the Underground or Tube will probably be the transport of choice to get around town. The Underground is normally the fastest way to get around town, often much faster than any taxi.

There is invariably an underground station nearby where you want to go and also your hotel, (there are currently 12 underground lines) and finding yourself around the system really is very easy.

For the visitor to London, the question of which travel pass to purchase can be very confusing. For those living and working in London they will almost always have an Oyster Card in their wallet and as a general rule of thumb the Oyster Card is the benchmark to be beaten.

 

However, for the tourist or those making short visits to London there are aspects of the Travelcard that make them very appealing and if understood can make Travelcards cheaper than Oyster Cards, especially if you are visiting the major sights on a first time visit

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