Ilford trains to London: 18 minutes, £2,568 a year

Redbridge is not a commuter-belt borough with one station and a season ticket. It has 15 rail and Underground stations, every one of them in zone 4 except Chadwell Heath, and two entirely separate railways serving them. Which one you live near changes your journey by up to twenty minutes and changes nothing at all about what you pay.

This page has the verified times from every station, what a journey actually costs, and the yearly numbers that matter if you commute.

The short answer

Ilford to London Liverpool Street is 18 minutes on the Elizabeth line, with 12 trains an hour at peak and eight an hour in the middle of the day. A single costs £4.80 at peak and £3.60 off-peak with contactless or Oyster. If you make that trip five days a week, the number that matters is the zones 1 to 4 annual Travelcard at £2,568, or the same £64.20 a week you would hit anyway through the Monday to Sunday cap.

All times on this page were checked against Transport for London’s journey planner for a normal Tuesday in August 2026, and all fares against TfL’s published adult fares for 2026.

Two railways, one borough

The Elizabeth line runs along the borough’s southern edge through Ilford, Seven Kings and Goodmayes on the old Great Eastern main line. It goes to Liverpool Street, then straight on under central London to Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Paddington without a change. Ilford has no other operator: since the Elizabeth line took over the stopping services, it is the only train that calls here.

The Central line covers everywhere else, and it splits. The main branch runs Snaresbrook, South Woodford, Woodford, then out to Epping. The Hainault loop runs Redbridge, Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault, Grange Hill and back round to Woodford. The loop is why Barkingside and Fairlop take ten minutes longer to reach the City than Wanstead does, despite being three miles apart, and it is visible in what homes cost in each place.

Times to the City from every Redbridge station

Fastest journey at 08:00 on a Tuesday, to Liverpool Street from the Elizabeth line stations and to Bank from the Central line stations. The two are a three-minute walk apart underground.

How often the trains run

Departures counted from the TfL journey planner across a single hour on a Tuesday in August 2026:

• Ilford to Liverpool Street: 12 trains in the 08:00 hour, one roughly every five minutes, and eight in the 13:00 hour, one roughly every seven or eight minutes.
• Gants Hill to Bank: 13 trains in the 08:00 hour and 12 in the 13:00 hour, so a Central line train about every five minutes all day.

The practical difference is not frequency, it is what happens on board. The Elizabeth line trains are nine cars long and start their run further east at Shenfield or Romford, so at Ilford you are getting on a partly full train. Central line trains through Gants Hill have already come round the loop.

First and last trains

From Ilford to Liverpool Street on a weekday, the first train is at 05:09, arriving 05:27. The last is at 00:21, arriving 00:39. That is a genuinely long service day for a zone 4 station, and it is one of the practical gains of the Elizabeth line over the old stopping service.

The Central line runs the Night Tube on Friday and Saturday nights, but only on the main branch. If you are heading home to Snaresbrook, South Woodford or Woodford after midnight at a weekend, there are trains. If you are heading for Gants Hill, Newbury Park, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault or Grange Hill on the loop, there are not, and a night bus or a taxi from Woodford is the fallback. Check the TfL Night Tube map before you rely on it.

What it costs

Every Redbridge station bar Chadwell Heath is in zone 4, so the fares are the same wherever you get on. Contactless and Oyster, adult rate, 2026 prices:

Peak means Monday to Friday, not public holidays, between 06:30 and 09:30 and between 16:00 and 19:00. Everything else is off-peak, including all weekend.

The commuter numbers

If you go into zone 1 regularly, the caps do the work and you do not need to buy anything in advance. Adult rates for zones 1 to 4, from TfL’s 2026 fares:

Two things worth knowing. The daily cap for zones 1 to 4 is £12.80 whether you travel at peak or off-peak, which is unusual: on this pair of zones there is no off-peak discount at the cap, only on individual singles. And the Monday to Sunday cap and the 7 day Travelcard are the same £64.20, so a five-day-a-week commuter into zone 1 pays the same either way and the cap needs no decision in advance. The Travelcard only pulls ahead if you buy it monthly or annually, where £2,568 a year works out at about £49.40 a week.

Where the Elizabeth line actually takes you

The reason Ilford’s 18 minutes matters is what it is 18 minutes to. Liverpool Street is a stop on the way, not the end of the line, so from Ilford these are all one-seat journeys:

• Stratford: 10 minutes. For the Jubilee line, the Overground and Westfield.
• Farringdon: 20 minutes. Farringdon is the Thameslink interchange, so it is also the sensible route from Ilford to Gatwick and Luton.
• Tottenham Court Road: 23 minutes.
• Bond Street: 25 minutes.
• Paddington: 29 minutes, for Heathrow and the west.

The one gap is Canary Wharf. Ilford sits on the Elizabeth line’s Shenfield branch, which runs through the centre to Paddington; Canary Wharf is on the Abbey Wood branch. So it is not a one-seat journey: 20 minutes with a change onto an Abbey Wood train, and £3.20 at peak.

For anywhere in the West End, the Elizabeth line beats the Central line from most of the borough. Gants Hill to Oxford Circus is 34 minutes at peak on the Central line, against 25 minutes from Ilford to Bond Street, which is a five-minute walk away.

Getting to the station

Redbridge is a driving borough with 555km of road, and station parking is the usual pinch point. Two things to check before you plan a drive-and-ride:

• Several station approaches are inside controlled parking zones operating on weekday mornings, which is exactly when a commuter would want to leave a car there. Check the signs on the street rather than assuming.
• The A12 Eastern Avenue and the A406 North Circular both run through the borough, and the Broadmead Road bridge in Woodford has been shut since July 2023, which pushes 15,000 vehicles a day onto other routes. Our Redbridge roadworks and travel page has the current position.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get from Ilford to central London?

18 minutes to Liverpool Street, 20 to Farringdon, 23 to Tottenham Court Road, 25 to Bond Street and 29 to Paddington, all on the Elizabeth line without changing.

Is Ilford on the Elizabeth line?

Yes, and only the Elizabeth line. Ilford, Seven Kings and Goodmayes are Elizabeth line stations, as is Chadwell Heath just over the boundary. No other operator calls at Ilford.

What zone is Ilford in?

Zone 4. So are all 11 of the borough’s Central line stations. Chadwell Heath, on the Havering boundary, is zone 5.

How much is a train from Ilford to London?

£4.80 at peak and £3.60 off-peak with contactless or Oyster into zone 1. A day of travel is capped at £12.80 and a week at £64.20.

How much is an annual season ticket from Ilford?

An annual zones 1 to 4 Travelcard is £2,568. If you only travel within zone 4, an annual Travelcard is £1,340.

Which Redbridge station is fastest into the City?

Ilford, at 18 minutes. On the Central line, Snaresbrook and Wanstead are joint fastest at 21 minutes to Bank.

Does the Night Tube serve Redbridge?

Partly. The Central line’s Night Tube runs on the main branch through Snaresbrook, South Woodford and Woodford on Friday and Saturday nights. The Hainault loop stations, including Gants Hill, Newbury Park and Barkingside, are not served.

Sources

• TfL journey planner for all journey times, first and last trains and the hourly departure counts, checked for Tuesday 11 August 2026.
• TfL tube and rail fares for single fares, the peak-hours definition, caps and Travelcard prices, 2026 adult rate.
• TfL station information for the zone of each station.

Times and fares were verified in August 2026. TfL fares normally change each March, and engineering works can alter services at weekends, so check the journey planner before you travel.