Heathrow Express when Piccadilly Line isn't running

[leshuttle]

Around 2008, I can remember that if the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow was closed for maintenance, customers could use the Heathrow Express without the premium cost to get to Central London. I'm guessing since the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow opened, this allowance stopped, albeit still a much pricier option than the Underground to Central London?

 

[JonathanH]

TfL stopped arranging for their ticket holders to use Heathrow Express long before the opening of the Elizabeth Line. The costs of arranging travel on Heathrow Express became too expensive for them.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/piccadily-lines-heathrow-branch-to-be-closed-in-october.24934/
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-passed-22-23-on-the-picc.85862/#post-1490599

As you note, now the Elizabeth Line is open passengers are just expected to use that, at the higher fares, if the Piccadilly Line is shut, with replacement buses another, slower, option.

 

[leshuttle]

TfL stopped arranging for their ticket holders to use Heathrow Express long before the opening of the Elizabeth Line. The costs of arranging travel on Heathrow Express became too expensive for them.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/piccadily-lines-heathrow-branch-to-be-closed-in-october.24934/
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-passed-22-23-on-the-picc.85862/#post-1490599

As you note, now the Elizabeth Line is open passengers are just expected to use that, at the higher fares, if the Piccadilly Line is shut, with replacement buses another, slower, option.

Interesting about the replacement bus, noted there seems to be an express bus to Hammersmith running next month during closures. Wondering if this is a normal bus fare of £1.75 or the equivalent tube fare.

 

[JonathanH]

Wondering if this is a normal bus fare of £1.75 or the equivalent tube fare.

Unless it is registered as a TfL bus route, there is no straightforward way to charge holders of Oyster or Contactless a bus or tube fare for this journey, as they can't touch in at the two ends of the operation, not least if they have just touched at at the station where the train terminates.

TfL are finally starting to register replacement bus routes as proper services so they can charge £1.75, but this is still rare for replacement that only lasts a single weekend.

 

[TFN]

During the Piccadilly Line closures, Heathrow Express will only accept LU wheelchair passengers free of charge.

Pre-paid LU tickets (£6.xx) are accepted on EL during these closures. If using PAYG, you’d expect to pay the full EL fare.

For the replacement buses, these are run as coaches so no oyster readers around to tap in. Just jump on and enjoy.

 

[T-Karmel]

I thought that the rule, although never enforced, was to touch in at the beginning of your journey at the station prior to getting on the bus, and then touch out at the end.

And in the last years before EL takeover, Piccadilly line customers during disruptions were able to use Heathrow Connect free of charge, I don't remember if that applied also during engineering works, but perhaps it didn't as these were planned.

 

[Starmill]

Unless it is registered as a TfL bus route, there is no straightforward way to charge holders of Oyster or Contactless a bus or tube fare for this journey, as they can't touch in at the two ends of the operation, not least if they have just touched at at the station where the train terminates.

TfL are finally starting to register replacement bus routes as proper services so they can charge £1.75, but this is still rare for replacement that only lasts a single weekend.

It's a bit limiting too. In the old days the replacement bus tenders could be filled by anyone, not just those with an available London Buses vehicle. Trying to register them creates an awful lot of additional work.

I thought that the rule, although never enforced, was to touch in at the begging of your journey at the station prior to getting on the bus, and then touch out at the end.

Yes that was the the policy if it were actually physically possible. It frequently wasn't. Trying to actually enforce it therefore was literally just a waste of time.

 

[jumble]

Around 2008, I can remember that if the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow was closed for maintenance, customers could use the Heathrow Express without the premium cost to get to Central London. I'm guessing since the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow opened, this allowance stopped, albeit still a much pricier option than the Underground to Central London?

Happy days
The only time I have ever been on HEX

HEX staff were standing in the passage ways happily selling tickets from portable machines to foreign tourists who had no idea they could have gone round the corner and bought an oyster out of a machine for a fraction of the cost

 

[MikeWM]

Happy days
The only time I have ever been on HEX

Similar here, that would be the last time I was on it.

Although there were a couple of times I did it (and paid HEX prices!) in the early 2000s back when you could check bags at Paddington for your flight, and I happened to be staying in a hotel very close to Paddington. According to Wikipedia the checkin facitily ended in 2003.

 

[boiledbeans2]

The only time I have ever been on HEX

It's still possible to use HEX for free nowadays... with the inter-terminal transfer.
Arrive at the airport early and ride the HEX/Liz between terminals.

 

[Falcon1200]

I thought that the rule, although never enforced, was to touch in at the beginning of your journey at the station prior to getting on the bus, and then touch out at the end.

How would this work though? ie how would someone alighting from a bus touch out, being on the wrong side of the station ticket gates? And what would happen if the passenger was continuing their journey by train, so would touch in to join the bus and touch in again to enter the station?

The only recent occasion I used a TfL bus replacement (Epping to Woodford), I asked at Epping about touching in and was just waved onto the bus!

 

[danm14]

How would this work though? ie how would someone alighting from a bus touch out, being on the wrong side of the station ticket gates? And what would happen if the passenger was continuing their journey by train, so would touch in to join the bus and touch in again to enter the station?

The only recent occasion I used a TfL bus replacement (Epping to Woodford), I asked at Epping about touching in and was just waved onto the bus!

It would be all but impossible at Hounslow Central, for example, as Piccadilly Line replacement buses don't stop at the station - they stop 500 yards (if not more) away, not too far from the Treaty Centre.

 

[DavyCrocket]

In Victoria in Australia, v/Line road replacement when operating has a railway staff member have passengers tag their cards on to the staff member device to start the journey. At some locations there are fixed machines at the stop and the driver will observe. Not impossible to do in London.
Amusing that the rail replacement notices in London say you must have a valid ticket etc, yet this can’t happen for many

 

[boiledbeans2]

How would this work though? ie how would someone alighting from a bus touch out, being on the wrong side of the station ticket gates?

I've been on c2c replacement buses, where they are "stricter". Yes, there will be staff guiding you to the right side of the station gates when you alight from the bus. The barriers would all be open as there are no trains calling at the station anyway.

 

[T-Karmel]

How would this work though? ie how would someone alighting from a bus touch out, being on the wrong side of the station ticket gates? And what would happen if the passenger was continuing their journey by train, so would touch in to join the bus and touch in again to enter the station?

The only recent occasion I used a TfL bus replacement (Epping to Woodford), I asked at Epping about touching in and was just waved onto the bus!

I've been on c2c replacement buses, where they are "stricter". Yes, there will be staff guiding you to the right side of the station gates when you alight from the bus. The barriers would all be open as there are no trains calling at the station anyway.

This, and when interchanging at the station were trains are running from, simply an open gate or manually allowing people through when they come from/go to the bus.

 

[Starmill]

The barriers would all be open as there are no trains calling at the station anyway.

Other TOCs frequently close all of their gates when no trains are due to call at the station. I once had to ask to be let in at Luton just to use the toilets because they're on the platform.

 

[TFN]

Certain stations cannot be open to the public during engineering works. Even if it’s to access TVMs or speak to station staff. It’s because some stations become a work site, hence PPE, safety briefings etc.

On the other hand, some stations aren’t work sites but staff close the station for TVM access etc.

That’s why a vast majority of the time, it’s not possible to tap at A, board the Rail Replacement Bus, then tap out at B.