Heathrow Express - Service

Service

Trains leave Paddington every 15 minutes from 05.10 until 23.25, and there is a similar quarter-hourly service in the return direction. At Paddington, Heathrow Express trains use two dedicated platforms (6 and 7). There are two stops at Heathrow: Heathrow Central, serving Terminals 1, 2, 3 (journey time from Paddington 15 minutes), and Heathrow Terminal 5 (journey time 21 minutes). Until the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow on 27 March 2008, Heathrow Express also served Terminal 4, but this has now been discontinued and Terminal 4 is now the terminus for the Heathrow Express Terminal 4 'shuttle' (Mondays to Saturdays) and the Heathrow Connect instead.

The service uses Class 332 electric multiple unit trains built by CAF/Siemens. These incorporate video monitors and the ability to use mobile phones throughout the journey — even in tunnels. The monitors are mostly used for advertising purposes and for the broadcast of news and weather updates produced for Heathrow Express by Sky News. Prior to April 2010 news content was provided by BBC World News.

Since its opening, Heathrow Express has been generally well received, not least because steps were taken to reduce the environmental impact of the train line. Measures included disguising ventilation shafts as barns. The service has received some criticism, however, particularly of its high fares.

A single Express class fare is £18.00 online, £19.00 at ticket offices and machines, and £24.00 if purchased on board. A single First class journey is £28.00 and a return £52.00. Tickets can be purchased at either of the two Heathrow Airport stations, Paddington Station, on board the train, online at www.heathrowexpress.com, or using mobile applications for BlackBerry, Android, iPhone and iPad devices.

Standard class travel between Terminal 5 and Terminals 1,2 and 3 is free.

There is also a stopping service (Heathrow Connect) which takes the same route from Paddington to Heathrow, using the slower relief lines, on which significantly lower fares are charged. This takes approximately 15 minutes longer than Heathrow Express, but offers connections to the London Underground (Central Line and District Line) at Ealing Broadway.

In 2010, Heathrow Express announced that, to improve connections between the terminals at the airport, it would introduce a dedicated shuttle between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 that would be timed to connect with the main Heathrow Express service to Terminal 5.

Airport workers can get a discount through the Airport Commuter scheme operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited. A monthly pass costs £130 as of January 2007.