Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3

The station was opened as Heathrow Central on 16 December 1977. At the time, it served as a terminus station of what became known as the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, previously it was called Hounslow branch (from the name of Hounslow - a London borough in west London).

The opening day of the station was a grand event. The tracks were decorated with a 'finish line' ribbon saying "Underground extension to Heathrow 16 December 1977". Queen Elizabeth II was a special guest at the opening, riding in the cab of a train, which made its journey from Hatton Cross to Heathrow Central.

A poster of the station opening day, hanging at the entrance hall of the Heathrow Terminal 2 & 3 station

On 3 September 1983 the station was renamed to Heathrow Central Terminals 1, 2, 3, as the development of Heathrow Terminal 4 and its corresponding tube station was on its way. On 6 October 1986 it was further renamed to Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3. In January 2016, following the closure of Heathrow Terminal 1, the station was renamed to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, however, when I was visiting the station in December 2022, the signs on the platform still said "Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3".

At Christmas time, the station was not as full as I would have expected

When Terminal 4 was opened in 1986, direct services from Hatton Cross to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 stopped, with the trains going first to Terminal 4 before reaching Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3. Thus the tunnel connecting Hatton Cross and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 was unused until Heathrow Terminal 5 station was opened in 2008.

From January 2005 to September 2006 Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 became the terminus station again, when the construction works for the tunnel to Heathrow Terminal 5 were underway, which also caused the closure of the Heathrow Terminal 4 station during that period.

Starting March 2012 free travel between the Heathrow stations became possible for Oyster card and contactless payment card holders. Interestingly, journeys to the Terminal 4 station from Terminals 2 & 3 or Terminal 5 through the Hatton Cross station are also free, despite Hatton Cross being outside the free travel zone (it is impossible to reach Terminal 4 without changing at Hatton Cross).

For the etymology of the word "Heathrow", please check out the Heathrow Terminal 4 post.

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I visited the station a few times, the last being in December 2022. The pictures below and above are from that visit.