Heathrow Express

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.

Heathrow Express
Class 332 units at London Paddington in 2018
Overview
Franchise(s)Open access operator
Not subject to franchising
23 June 1998 – 2028[1]
Main route(s)London Paddington – Heathrow Airport
Other route(s)None
Fleet size12x Class 387 electric multiple units
Stations called at3
Stations operated4
Parent companyHeathrow Airport Holdings
Reporting markHX
Other
Websitewww.heathrowexpress.com
Route map
mi 
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
 Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3
16¼
 Terminal 5

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.[2] 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 This service was withdrawn due to low usage and high cost of operation.[3][4]

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.[5] 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.[6]

Standard class interior on a Class 332

In August 2018, Great Western Railway took over the operation of Heathrow Express as part of a new management contract.[7] 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.[8][9]

Service
Heathrow Express
RoutetphIntermediate stopsStock
London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 54Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3Class 387

Trains depart Paddington every 15 minutes from 05:10 (06:10 on Sunday) until 23:25,[10] 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.[11]

First class interior on a Class 332

Heathrow Express has been generally well received, not least because steps were taken to reduce the environmental impact, including disguising ventilation shafts as barns.[12] The operator employs 160 staff, who work both in the airport terminals and on board the trains.[2]

Heathrow Express is a premium service costing more than twice that of Transport for London alternatives.

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
StationImageTime
Paddington0 mins
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 315 mins
Heathrow Terminal 521 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.[13] The units transferred from Great Western Railway who are also responsible for their maintenance and operation within Heathrow Express.[8] 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.[14]

Class Image Type Top speed Number Carriages Routes Built
 mph   km/h 
Class 387 Electrostar EMU 110 177 12 4 London Paddington – Heathrow Terminal 5 2016-17

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.[15] After the withdrawal of the Class 360 unit, all Heathrow Express services were operated by Class 332 units built by Siemens and CAF. 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.[8] The first Class 332 unit was withdrawn and scrapped in November 2020 and by 28 December 2020, all of the units were withdrawn.[16][17]

Class Image Type Top speed Number Carriages Transferred to Built
 mph   km/h 
Class 332 EMU 100 160 9 4 Storage and scrap 1997-98
5 5
Class 360 Desiro EMU 100 160 1 5 TfL Rail 2002-5

See also

References
  1. "Heathrow Express service". Heathrow Express. 10 September 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  2. Fender, Keith (February 2014). "Heathrow's Billion Pound Railway". Modern Railways. Key Publishing: 52–57.
  3. Clark, Andrew (7 July 2003). "BAA's Paddington check-in faces axe". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  4. Peter Fox (March 1998). "Heathrow Express Starts Public Service". Today's Railways UK. Platform 5 Publishing Limited: 27–29.
  5. "Heathrow Connect close to takeoff - Railway Gazette". 24 June 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  6. Matters, Transport for London | Every Journey. "TfL to operate Heathrow Connect services ahead of Elizabeth line opening". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  7. "GWR to manage Heathrow Express service". Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  8. "Heathrow Express service confirmed to at least 2028". www.heathrowexpress.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  9. "GWR to manage Heathrow Express operations". International Railway Journal. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  10. "Heathrow Express times". Heathrow Express. 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  11. "UK News in Brief". Railway Herald. Scunthorpe. 29 June 2010. p. 6. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  12. "Heathrow Express takes off". BBC News. 23 June 1998. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  13. "Today's the day we're rolling out our new Heathrow Express fleet!". Heathrow Express. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  14. "Heathrow Express unveils images of new fleet". Business Traveller. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  15. Heathrow Express livery for Connect 360 The Railway Magazine issue 1312 August 2010 page 72
  16. First of the Heathrow Class 332s is scrapped Rail issue 920 16 December 2020 page 27
  17. "Today we're saying farewell to our Class 332 trains". Heathrow Express. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.

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.

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