Heathrow Express

Heathrow Express

Class 332 units at London Paddington in 2018
Overview
Franchise(s)	Open access operator Not subject to franchising 23 June 1998 – 2028[2]
Main route(s)	London Paddington – Heathrow Airport
Other route(s)	None
Fleet size	12x Class 387 electric multiple units
Stations called at	3
Stations operated	4
Parent company	Heathrow Airport Holdings
Reporting mark	HX[1]
Other
Website	www.heathrowexpress.com

show v t Heathrow area rail services
Legend
miles  Crossrail  (under construction) London Underground │ 0⅓ Paddington TfL Rail Heathrow Express 4¼ Acton Main Line London Underground 5⅝ Ealing Broadway 6½ West Ealing 7¼ Hanwell 9⅓ Southall 10⅞ Hayes & Harlington London Underground 11⅛ Airport Junction Great Western Main Line to Slough and Reading Hatton Cross Heathrow Junction closed 1998 Heathrow Airport: Terminal 4 16⅜ Terminal 4 Terminals 2 & 3 14½ Terminals 2 & 3 16¼ Terminal 5 Western Rail Approach to Heathrow (proposed)

Heathrow Express is an airport rail link between London Heathrow Airport and London Paddington. It is an open-access operator, formed in 1998, and is operated by Heathrow Express Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heathrow Airport Holdings.

History[]

Heathrow Express was planned as a joint venture between BAA and British Rail, but was taken over fully by the former following the privatisation of British Rail.^[3] Construction began in 1993. The principal works were two 5-mile single-bore tunnels (including eight escape shafts) and underground stations at Heathrow Central and Terminal 4. Electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Paddington and Airport Junction, where the new line diverged from the GWML, was also required. A flying junction known as Stockley Flyover was constructed to connect the tunnel to the GWML fast lines. Beginning in January 1998, an interim service called Heathrow FastTrain ran to a temporary station called Heathrow Junction, where a coach took passengers the rest of the way.

From 1999 to 2003, a check-in service was provided at Paddington, allowing Heathrow Express passengers to check in and drop off their luggage prior to flights, which was similar to the service currently provided on Hong Kong Airport Express. Checked baggage was transported to the airport by using the luggage space at the westbound first carriage. This service was withdrawn due to low usage and high cost of operation.^[4][5]

In June 2005, Heathrow Express began jointly providing a new Heathrow Connect service, which saw a new twice-hourly stopping service on the same route between Paddington and Heathrow using Class 360 EMUs from the Siemens Desiro family. Heathrow Airport Holdings had provided the on-board staff through Heathrow Express as part of the contract.^[6] This continued until May 2018, which saw Heathrow Connect absorbed into TfL Rail ahead of the new Crossrail project, which will see Crossrail fully operate to Heathrow Airport through this takeover when it opens.^[7]

In August 2018, Great Western Railway took over the operation of Heathrow Express as part of a new management contract.^[8] Heathrow Airport continues to be responsible for commercial aspects of the service, including marketing, ticket pricing and revenue management, while GWR are now responsible for operations as well as the replacement of the Class 332 fleet in the form of modified Class 387 units from its own fleet.^[9][10]

Service[]

Heathrow Express
Route	tph	Intermediate stops	Stock
London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 5	4	Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3	Class 387

Trains depart Paddington every 15 minutes from 05:10 (06:10 on Sunday) until 23:25,^[11] and there is a similar quarter-hourly service in the return direction. At Paddington they use dedicated platforms 6 and 7, although on occasions other platforms are used. There are two stops at Heathrow: Heathrow Central, serving Terminals 2 and 3 (journey time from Paddington 15 minutes); and Heathrow Terminal 5 (journey time 21 minutes), platforms 3 and 4. Until the opening of Terminal 5 on 27 March 2008, Heathrow Express terminated at Heathrow Terminal 4. In 2010, Heathrow Express introduced a dedicated shuttle between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 that would be timed to connect with the main Heathrow Express service to/from Terminal 5 to improve connections between the terminals.^[12]

Heathrow Express has been generally well received, not least because steps were taken to reduce the environmental impact, including disguising ventilation shafts as barns.^[13] The operator employs 160 staff, who work both in the airport terminals and on board the trains.^[3]

Heathrow Express is a premium service costing more than twice that of Transport for London alternatives.^{[citation needed]}

On board[]

Trains offer a choice of two classes of travel, express class which corresponds to standard class, and "business first" class which corresponds to first class. Both classes have large luggage storage spaces and complimentary WiFi.^[14] First class offers wider seats and a table at every seat.^[15]

Children under 16 travel free of charge with a fare-paying adult; unaccompanied children may travel free of charge in express class only with proof of a same-day flight to or from Heathrow.^[16]

Route[]

The service runs along Network Rail's Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Airport Junction. The line from Airport Junction to the airport terminals is owned by Heathrow Airport Holdings but maintained by Network Rail. The line is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead and uses Automatic Train Protection (ATP). The controlling signal box for the entire route is the Thames Valley Signalling Centre (TVSC) in Didcot.

Stations[]

Station	Image	Time
Paddington		0 mins
		15 mins
Heathrow Terminal 5		21 mins

Rolling stock[]

Current fleet[]

From 29 December 2020, the first of twelve Class 387 units from the Bombardier Electrostar family began service with Heathrow Express, having replaced the Class 332 fleet.^[17] The units transferred from Great Western Railway who are also responsible for their maintenance and operation within Heathrow Express.^[9] The units underwent modifications prior to their introduction on Heathrow Express which included the fitting of USB power sockets, extra luggage space, work tables, on-board WiFi and HD TVs. A new Business First cabin was also included in a 2+1 configuration with reclining seats.^[18]

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes	Built
			mph	km/h
387 Electrostar		EMU	110	177	12	4	London Paddington – Heathrow Terminal 5	2016–2017

Past fleet[]

Until May 2018, Heathrow Express leased a singular Class 360 unit which operated the shuttle service between Heathrow Central and Heathrow Terminal 4.^[19] After the withdrawal of the Class 360 unit, all Heathrow Express services were operated by Class 332 units built by CAF with traction equipment supplied by Siemens Transportation Systems. In 2019, it was announced that all the Class 332 units would be replaced by a fleet of twelve Class 387 units from Great Western Railway with GWR also managing their introduction and arrival.^[9] The first Class 332 unit was withdrawn and scrapped in November 2020 and by 28 December 2020, all of the units were withdrawn.^[20][21]

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Transferred to	Built
			mph	km/h
332		EMU	109	176	9	4	Further use and scrap	1997–1998
					5	5
360 Desiro		EMU	100	160	1	5	TfL Rail	2002–2005

See also[]

• Gatwick Express
• Stansted Express
• Heathrow Connect

References[]

Further reading[]

• "Heathrow Express starts running public services to Airport Junction". RAIL. No. 323. EMAP Apex Publications. 28 January – 10 February 1998. p. 6. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
• Haigh, Phil (11–24 March 1998). "Take the FastTrain for Heathrow". RAIL. No. 326. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 58–62. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
• "Heathrow Express starts direct service to airport". RAIL. No. 333. EMAP Apex Publications. 17–30 June 1998. p. 17. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heathrow Express.

• Official website