London Stansted Airport to Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is about 58 km from Stansted. By rail via Stratford and the Jubilee line, or via Liverpool Street and the Elizabeth line, it takes about 72–76 minutes for £21 off-peak on contactless. The National Express A9 goes direct from £7.
Coming in for meetings at Canary Wharf? Stansted is closer than it looks on the map, and you have three good ways to arrive. Two rail routes cost the same, a direct coach costs a third of the price, and a car gets you to the door. Here is what each costs, how long it takes, and what it means for the expense claim.
How far is Canary Wharf from London Stansted Airport?
Canary Wharf is 58 km (36 miles) from London Stansted Airport by road, about 1h 12m by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 46 km. By public transport, National Express A9 takes about 1h 15m and costs £7.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: National Express A9 is the one to take: £7 with no change, and only about 15 minutes slower than going by car. Timetable: A9 runs 24 hours on the airport side; check Canary Wharf times for your date.
What it costs for your group
The bus / shuttle is charged per person, while a private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus / shuttle (per person) | Private transfer (per car) | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | £7 | £94 | Bus / shuttle |
| Couple · 2 travellers | £14 | £94 | Bus / shuttle |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | £28 | £94 | Bus / shuttle |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | National Express A9 | From £7, about 1h 15m, no change needed. |
| Speed | Pre-booked transfer (Kiwitaxi and similar) | 1h and door-to-door, from £94. |
| A group of 4 | National Express A9 | Four tickets still come to about £28 — less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | National Express A9 | It runs through the night (Up to 22 a day). |
By transport mode
Train
Contactless £21.00 off-peak, £24.10 Mon–Fri 06:30–09:30 and 16:00–19:00. Changes at Tottenham Hale and Stratford. Oyster not valid at Stansted.
Where to catch it: Stansted Airport station, below the terminal
Times: From Stansted about 05:30 (05:55 Tue–Thu) until the last train at 00:30
Best for budget travellers near a stationTrain
Charged via Zone 1: £22.10 off-peak, £25.80 peak. One change, at Liverpool Street.
Where to catch it: Stansted Airport station, below the terminal
Times: From Stansted about 05:30 (05:55 Tue–Thu) until the last train at 00:30
Best for budget travellers near a stationBus / shuttle
From £7. Direct, no change. Flexible within 3 hours of the booked departure.
Where to catch it: Stansted coach station, opposite the terminal
Times: A9 runs 24 hours on the airport side; check Canary Wharf times for your date
Best for solo & budget travellersPrivate transfer
East London saloons from about £94. A fixed fare at booking makes the expense claim simple, and the boot takes equipment cases.
Where to catch it: Arrivals hall pickup, the meeting spot set out in the booking email
Times: 24 hours
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCanary Wharf & London in photos
Buying tickets in London
Trains. The Stansted Express and Greater Anglia accept contactless bank cards and phone wallets at the station gates. Since 8 March 2026 the fare is worked out by Transport for London's system. Tap in at the airport and out at your London station. To Liverpool Street it costs £21.00 off-peak, or £23.00 Monday to Friday between 06:30 and 09:30. Oyster cards are not valid to or from Stansted. You can use them on the Tube once you reach Tottenham Hale or Liverpool Street.
Advance Stansted Express singles start at £9.90 online, but they are tied to one train. Railcard discounts do not apply to contactless, so railcard holders should buy a ticket. CrossCountry trains (towards Cambridge and Birmingham) do not take contactless, so buy a ticket online, from the machines, or at the ticket office. The office is open 06:30–00:00 every day.
Coaches. National Express has desks and touch-screen machines in baggage reclaim and the arrivals hall. Booking online is cheaper, and the £1.50 booking fee is dropped when you are logged into My Account. A standard ticket is valid on a similar departure up to three hours either side of the booked one. For £5 more, Change & Go lets you board any coach within 12 hours either side. Flibco tickets are cheapest online and valid on any departure that day until 04:00 the next morning. First Essex X20 tickets cost £3 and you can pay the driver in cash or by contactless, or use the First Bus app.
Taxi scams & safety in London
Stansted has no rank of metered London black cabs. The airport's on-site car operator is Street Cars. Its desk is in the international arrivals concourse, and there is a courtesy phone in the domestic baggage reclaim area that rings the desk. Street Cars quotes a price for your exact address before you travel, takes cash or card, and its cars collect from right outside the terminal. Agree the fare at the desk before you go to the car.
In England a private-hire car must be booked through a licensed operator. Turn down anyone who approaches you in arrivals offering a ride. Pre-booked transfers and app cars use the collection points given in the booking, not the kerb. The most common expensive mistake here is not a scam at all: tapping an Oyster card at the station gate. Oyster is not valid at Stansted, so use a contactless bank card, a phone wallet or a paper ticket.
Step-free access in London
The rail station is directly under the terminal. The airport says the walk takes about two minutes and is step-free by lifts, escalators and ramps. The coach station is opposite the main terminal entrance and is also reached step-free.
- National Rail lists Stansted Airport station as step-free category A, with step-free access to every platform, lifts, accessible toilets, a Changing Places toilet and baby changing.
- Station staff are available around the clock, and the ticket office opens 06:30–00:00 daily. Induction loops are fitted.
- To book help with a train journey, email Greater Anglia's passenger assistance team ([email protected]) at least 24 hours before you travel.
- The airport says the coach station has a full range of accessibility services. For help inside the terminal, use the airport's Assisted Travel service.
Getting from STN to Canary Wharf
The brief
Canary Wharf is about 58 km from the terminal by road. None of the public routes go there directly by train. Every rail option involves a change, and the only one-seat ride is the National Express A9 coach. Which you choose depends on the time of day, how much luggage you have, and whether anyone checks your receipts.
Rail, version one: via Stratford
Take the Stansted Express to Tottenham Hale, then a Greater Anglia train down to Stratford. There, the Jubilee line reaches Canary Wharf in about nine minutes. TfL's planner timed this at 72 to 73 minutes on a weekday afternoon. The contactless fare on this route is £21.00 off-peak and £24.10 at peak times. Peak on this pair is Monday to Friday 06:30–09:30 and 16:00–19:00.
Rail, version two: via Liverpool Street
Stay on the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street, then take the Elizabeth line, which reaches Canary Wharf in about seven minutes. TfL's planner gave 76 minutes door to platform. The catch is the fare: TfL counts this as a journey via Zone 1, so it costs £22.10 off-peak and £25.80 at peak times. In return you get one change instead of two, and the Elizabeth line station is a short walk from most of the office towers.
Both versions start the same way. Tap a contactless card or phone at the gate at Stansted and tap out at Canary Wharf. Oyster is not valid at the airport. If you use a contactless card registered to a TfL online account, your journey history is available there, which is handy when you need a record for expenses.
The coach: one seat, smaller bill
National Express route A9 links the airport with Stratford and Canary Wharf. On its London-to-Stansted page the company lists up to 22 journeys a day from Canary Wharf, with a fastest journey of 1 hour 15 minutes, and fares from £7. Coaches leave the Stansted coach station opposite the terminal. A late flight is covered too: the ticket lets you board a similar coach within three hours of your booked time.
The A9 also runs through the night on the airport side; National Express's first departure of the day is the 00:05 to Stratford. If the coach does not continue to Canary Wharf at that hour, the Jubilee line and DLR from Stratford do the rest when they are running.
The trip back
National Express lists coaches from Canary Wharf to the airport between 06:05 and 20:10. After an evening meeting, the train is the dependable option: the Jubilee line to Stratford, or the Elizabeth line to Liverpool Street, then the Stansted Express. Its last departure from Liverpool Street to the airport is at 23:21. On a 06:00 flight, neither works. Book a car, or take the night coach from Stratford.
For a team of three travelling at peak times, rail via Stratford costs £72.30 in total. A car at about £94 is a little more, takes everyone door to door, and gives you one receipt instead of three.
When to book a car
Comparison sites list pre-booked private cars to east London from about £94 for a saloon. Street Cars, the on-airport operator, quotes per address from its desk in the arrivals concourse and takes card payments. A car makes sense when you are carrying sample cases or presentation kit, when two or three colleagues are splitting the cost, or when you land after the last train at 00:30. The drive can be slow at peak times: the A12 and the Blackwall Tunnel approach are not reliable at rush hour.
The decision in one line each
- Off-peak, travelling light: rail via Stratford, £21.00.
- Peak hour, wanting fewer changes: rail via Liverpool Street and the Elizabeth line.
- Watching costs, flexible on time: the A9 from £7.
- Late night, heavy kit or colleagues sharing: a booked car.
- Return trip after 20:10: the train, not the coach.
STN to Canary Wharf — FAQ
How far is Canary Wharf from Stansted Airport?
What is the cheapest way from Stansted to Canary Wharf?
What is the fastest way?
How much is the contactless fare to Canary Wharf?
How much is a taxi from Stansted to Canary Wharf?
When is the last train to Canary Wharf?
My flight lands after midnight. What are my options?
Sources
Fares and times on this page were last held against their official sources on 21 October 2026. Operators change prices without notice — if you spot a difference, the operator’s own page is the authority. How we check fares.
- TfL Unified API — single fare finder (pay as you go fares from Stansted Airport) · checked 2026-10-21
- TfL Journey Planner — sample journeys from Stansted Airport, 27 Oct 2026 · checked 2026-10-21
- London Stansted Airport — travel by train (Stansted Express, contactless, first/last trains) · checked 2026-10-21
- National Express — London Canary Wharf to Stansted · checked 2026-10-21
- National Express — Stansted Airport to London · checked 2026-10-21
- National Express — Stansted Airport transfers (routes A6, A8, A9 and stops) · checked 2026-10-21
- London Stansted Airport — travel by bus or coach (National Express, Flibco, First Essex) · checked 2026-10-21
- Kiwitaxi — East London to Stansted private transfer prices · checked 2026-10-21
- London Stansted Airport — taxi services (Street Cars desk, courtesy phone) · checked 2026-10-21
Other destinations from London Stansted Airport
