Is Heathrow Express a good use of resources?

[zn1]

£6 quid single from zone 1...i done this in october MKC - Heathrow Via zone for 24 quid, it was literally 6 quid each section of the journey. ok i had to sit in euston for 3 hours, but the rush hour show was brilliant, u cant beat watching the cattle runs down to the platforms from the hall ..i had self bets on who would fall over !! t

 

[InFoTan]

I'm sorry, I don't follow the logic.

Zone 1 is Central London. The Piccadilly Line enters Zone 1 at Earls Court...

Yes, I didn't express myself very well there. I was trying to say that it isn't necessarily slower, and also that it's much cheaper if you can avoid Zone 1. Which I typically do by changing to the southbound District Line at Earls Court.

 

[matt_world2004]

Yes, I didn't express myself very well there. I was trying to say that it isn't necessarily slower, and also that it's much cheaper if you can avoid Zone 1. Which I typically do by changing to the southbound District Line at Earls Court.

Its much cheaper even if you go through zone 1 on the picadilly line

 

[InFoTan]

It is, but I was quite surprised how cheap it is to go from Heathrow to a Zone 5 station on the other side of London. By avoiding Zone 1, it's only £2.70. Not that the TFL journey planner will ever recommend it to you!!

 

[matt_world2004]

It is, but I was quite surprised how cheap it is to go from Heathrow to a Zone 5 station on the other side of London. Off-peak (avoiding Zone 1) it's only £2.70. Not that the TFL journey planner will ever recommend it to you!!

It should be £1.50 avoiding zone 1

 

[InFoTan]

Sorry, that must have been peak. Even cheaper!

 

[ainsworth74]

Zone 1 is Central London. The Piccadilly Line enters Zone 1 at Earls Court...

If you don't need to end up in Central London then the Piccadilly Line will be very much cheaper than HeX (or Connect) as there is a premium for going via Zone 1.

For example Heathrow Terminals 123 Underground to Stratford Underground is £5.10 in the peak via Zone 1 but if you avoid Zone 1 it's £2.80 in the peak. Where as fare from Heathrow Terminals 123 mainline to Stratford Mainline is £32.90.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Thee used to be the JFK Express on the NY Subway - a non graff daubed set , packed with New York transit police (OK - 1 or 2 , but it was only a single unit) - with I think a $5 surcharge - made people "think transit" when riding the normal services through East NY was a bit challenging to say the least , in keeping your possessions and money intact.

Did not do well , loading wise - however in today's NYC , you have no worries by and large - in using the normal subway - in my experience anyway - and yes - I was there in the crack ridden and graff covered 1980's.

Didn't it go along the same lines as the Stilwell Avenue (Coney Island) service which gained fame in 'The Warriors'?

 

[frodshamfella]

'High fares' are a concept if you cant afford them surely otherwise its just a 'fare'?

'Ripped off' is also the same sort of thing - am I being ripped off if I get somewhere faster because I value my time and am prepared to pay for that which is my choice?

It really does happen all over the world too as other have said so should I feel ripped off because of your fake news

Fake news please !! Frankfurt Brussels Amsterdam Bangkok ......fast train normal fare.

 

[InFoTan]

Bangkok has suspended the express service (when I last used it there were less than 10 people on board - and no taxis waiting at the station - so I think we know why). The standard non-express service is still operating.

 

[Mojo]

Fake news please !! Frankfurt Brussels Amsterdam Bangkok ......fast train normal fare.

Many cities charge a premium for airport trains even if they are part of the suburban rail network. Bangkok doesn’t have an airport express train anymore, it was withdrawn a few years ago, but when it did run it cost double the price of a single ticket on a stopper.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Didn't it go along the same lines as the Stilwell Avenue (Coney Island) service which gained fame in 'The Warriors'?

No , not quite , it went down the "A" train tracks via Euclid Avenue , Brooklyn - quite slowly - even though it was on the Express tracks , and terminated at 6th Ave and 57th Street. Set down only at stations - you were let out by a conductor and a TA Patrolman from one door panel !

 

[coppercapped]

Yes, I didn't express myself very well there. I was trying to say that it isn't necessarily slower, and also that it's much cheaper if you can avoid Zone 1. Which I typically do by changing to the southbound District Line at Earls Court.

Now I really don't understand. Changing at Earls Court for a southbound District Line train takes you to towards Wimbledon, that is towards parts of London which are nowhere near the HEx/Crossrail/Piccadilly Line corridor at at. What relevance has that journey to HEx/Crossrail?

 

[fowler9]

Unfortunately there have been some cases (sorry) of luggage being stolen from the airport buses when passengers are on the upper deck enjoying the good views.

As a visitor I have used the Heathrow Express to get to Central London, and I used to think that the Piccadilly line was ridiculously slow. However, after I tried it, I discovered that it really isn't (allowing for waiting time and interchanges) and it's a great deal cheaper (especially if you can avoid Zone 1).

Personally, l can't see the Heathrow Express surviving for too long once people are fully aware of the services on the Elizabeth Line - with the Piccadilly line remaining as the cheaper option.

I think the bus we got from Chek Lap Kok wasn't even a special airport bus. We took our rucksacks upstairs with us. It went right around the airport estate first, then Tung Chung before we even got off Lantau Island. It cost buttons. If you are not bothered about the length of the journey it was amazing, saw loads of stuff you just don't if you jump on an airport express.

 

[SaveECRewards]

I see anyone mention the E/L phrase i will down bleach.

If you use Chrome there's a fix if anyone dares mention the Elizabeth line.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/elizabeth-line-to-crossra/aknkncpmdfnkjofnopifdnofpohbblje

 

[itznonbine]

i dont want a fix if anyone metntions Crossrail

 

[SaveECRewards]

i dont want a fix if anyone metntions Crossrail

Have you already installed an extension that changes mentions of E******** line to Crossrail?

 

[InFoTan]

Now I really don't understand. Changing at Earls Court for a southbound District Line train takes you to towards Wimbledon, that is towards parts of London which are nowhere near the HEx/Crossrail/Piccadilly Line corridor at at. What relevance has that journey to HEx/Crossrail?

My route's a bit more complicated than that and I have previously used the HEx (back when I thought the Piccadilly Line was too slow). With Crossrail, the Farringdon interchange with Thameslink becomes an option, which is what I'd expect the TFL Journey Planner to recommend. I might even use it myself (though I am rather attached to the £1.50 / £2.70 option).

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

Fake news please !! Frankfurt Brussels Amsterdam Bangkok ......fast train normal fare.

Others have already dealt with your Bangkok ball and hit it out of the park. So...

Frankfurt: ICEs take 10-13 minutes and cost 14.00 EUR, local trains take 10 minutes and cost 4.90 EUR. There is a premium for comfort but certainly not for speed! Most passengers on the ICEs are connecting passengers to/from other IC services at Frankfurt Hbf.
Brussels: all trains are ICs with journey times varying between 16 & 24 minutes. No premium could possibly be justified.
Amsterdam: ICs take 13-14 minutes, Sprinters take 17 minutes. Again no premium could be justified.

But where a premium can be justified then there is every chance that one will exist, as other posters have demonstrated.

 

[bluegoblin7]

Now I really don't understand. Changing at Earls Court for a southbound District Line train takes you to towards Wimbledon, that is towards parts of London which are nowhere near the HEx/Crossrail/Piccadilly Line corridor at at. What relevance has that journey to HEx/Crossrail?

Neither do I, because the District line is an east-west railway throughout and no part of it is referred to as 'southbound'...

 

[SaveECRewards]

The Londons Reconnection article someone mentioned earlier mentioned that TfL Rail may have issues with the Heathrow tunnels initially so there's a a possibility they need to use a contingency plan:

That plan is simply to continue running the existing Heathrow Connect service using the existing Class 360 rolling stock into the airport, presumably with the swift application of some Crossrail decals. This would then be supplemented by a new half-hourly service using new Crossrail Class 345s between Paddington and the bay platform at Hayes & Harlington. This would replace the existing GWR service currently operating with their Class 387 trains between these two stations.

I've noticed now if I look at booking tickets on gwr.com (the National Rail site doesn't let me go that far ahead) between Paddington and Hayes on a weekday late May it currently shows 4 TfL Rail services an hour, 2 continue to Heathrow T4 but the other 2 are terminating at Hayes. Prices are shown the same as the current Heathrow Connect prices but that doesn't mean Oyster won't be much cheaper or maybe TfL will lower the fares once they take over the running.

So does this mean that TfL are going with the contingency plan initially or are they just hedging their bets and hoping they can run a full service into Heathrow from day one.

Has anyone been to Heathrow recently? Are there Oyster readers on the platforms yet? Does anyone know if the HEX will start accepting it from that date as well?

 

[Taunton]

Has anyone been to Heathrow recently? Are there Oyster readers on the platforms yet? Does anyone know if the HEX will start accepting it from that date as well?

I wonder how it's going to cope with the very large numbers who have free passes (children, Over 60s, staff, etc) who can touch in anywhere on the system but can't have any prepay balance on them. Even if you could, where would it charge from.

 

[coppercapped]

Neither do I, because the District line is an east-west railway throughout and no part of it is referred to as 'southbound'...

So how do you explain the fact that Wimbledon station is about 5 miles south (well, just west of south) of Earls Court?

 

[TFN]

The Londons Reconnection article someone mentioned earlier mentioned that TfL Rail may have issues with the Heathrow tunnels initially so there's a a possibility they need to use a contingency plan:


I've noticed now if I look at booking tickets on gwr.com (the National Rail site doesn't let me go that far ahead) between Paddington and Hayes on a weekday late May it currently shows 4 TfL Rail services an hour, 2 continue to Heathrow T4 but the other 2 are terminating at Hayes. Prices are shown the same as the current Heathrow Connect prices but that doesn't mean Oyster won't be much cheaper or maybe TfL will lower the fares once they take over the running.

So does this mean that TfL are going with the contingency plan initially or are they just hedging their bets and hoping they can run a full service into Heathrow from day one.

Has anyone been to Heathrow recently? Are there Oyster readers on the platforms yet? Does anyone know if the HEX will start accepting it from that date as well?

I'm an on-train assistant at HeX. Barriers installed at T5 but not in use. Not installed at Central and T4 yet.

 

[matt_world2004]

The Londons Reconnection article someone mentioned earlier mentioned that TfL Rail may have issues with the Heathrow tunnels initially so there's a a possibility they need to use a contingency plan:


I've noticed now if I look at booking tickets on gwr.com (the National Rail site doesn't let me go that far ahead) between Paddington and Hayes on a weekday late May it currently shows 4 TfL Rail services an hour, 2 continue to Heathrow T4 but the other 2 are terminating at Hayes. Prices are shown the same as the current Heathrow Connect prices but that doesn't mean Oyster won't be much cheaper or maybe TfL will lower the fares once they take over the running.

So does this mean that TfL are going with the contingency plan initially or are they just hedging their bets and hoping they can run a full service into Heathrow from day one.

Has anyone been to Heathrow recently? Are there Oyster readers on the platforms yet? Does anyone know if the HEX will start accepting it from that date as well?

I dont think that is accurate at the moment as I tried to book a fare to hanwell on the sunday 20th May and it said no fsres available despite tfl rail promising a sunday service

I'm an on-train assistant at HeX. Barriers installed at T5 but not in use. Not installed at Central and T4 yet.

I am suprised there are barriers at the heathrow terminal stations given you can legitimately ride between them without a ticket.

 

[bluegoblin7]

So how do you explain the fact that Wimbledon station is about 5 miles south (well, just west of south) of Earls Court?

How do you explain that London is 'up' from Edinburgh when it's down on a map.

As I said. The District line is an east-west railway. The geography is irrelevant because at no point are trains running 'southbound'.

 

[InFoTan]

The District line is an east-west railway. The geography is irrelevant because at no point are trains running 'southbound'.

Obviously there is a substantial section of the District Line (from Turnham Green to Upminster) that is indeed east-west. But the branch from Edgware Road to Wimbledon is basically north-south, as shown on the tube map or Wikipedia or http://carto.metro.free.fr

 

[InFoTan]

I am surprised there are barriers at the heathrow terminal stations given you can legitimately ride between them without a ticket.

There are already barriers on the Piccadilly line and it's free to travel between terminals if you use an Oyster card or Contactless, or you can buy a ticket for £4.90.

I wonder how it's going to cope with the very large numbers who have free passes (children, Over 60s, staff, etc) who can touch in anywhere on the system but can't have any prepay balance on them. Even if you could, where would it charge from.

Over 60s already have to pay on some services (e.g. National Rail before 9.30 am) and so these Oyster cards can have balances. Presumably they'd use the same system (touching in and out at interchanges). Sorry, not correct

 

[bluegoblin7]

Obviously there is a substantial section of the District Line (from Turnham Green to Upminster) that is indeed east-west. But the branch from Edgware Road to Wimbledon is basically north-south, as shown on the tube map or Wikipedia or http://carto.metro.free.fr

Yes. Geographically, but it's not referred as anything other than east-west *anywhere*. So saying that you're taking a southbound District line train is utterly wrong, because no such thing exists. It is ambiguous at best.

But don't worry, the Internet has told me that they know my own railway better than I do. I'll try and send the first District south in the morning and see what happens.

 

[InFoTan]

I'm intrigued. Do TfL describe the District Line as an east-west railway?

Let's stop as this is totally off-topic.