Heathrow Connect
A train service which is provided by Heathrow Express and great western which leads to the connection between Heathrow Airport and the Paddington station. This service is exclusively available in London and follows the same route as that of Heathrow Express. This service also connects several locations in West London with each other like airport and central London. Best feature of Heathrow connect train that it is a cheaper alternative to the Heathrow Express and the reason behind it is the various stoppages it stops and the longer it takes than Heathrow Express.
Heathrow connect has some disadvantages like it is less frequent and doesn’t go to terminal 5. It does stop at Terminal 1 and Terminal 3(Heathrow central) and terminal 4 as well. It shows a frequency of every 30 minutes on weekdays and 60 minutes on weekends. It also proves a kind of shuttle between Heathrow central and terminal 4 every 15 minutes.
This service makes use of Relief lines of Great Western Main Line which is between Airport Junction & Paddington. It also replaces some of the stopping services which are operated by the Former great western link. These lines were electrified at 25KV AC while being a part of original Heathrow Express project. To provide the access to the airport spur without even crossing the Main lines, the trains in both the directions make use of a flyover track which is built originally for the Heathrow express train which head towards Paddington. This denotes that Heathrow connect trains to airport uses the flyover in the opposite direction to normalize the operation.
Heathrow connect service was launched on 12th June 2005 and a 5 coach class 360/2 electric multiple unit type of trains were built by Siemens in Germany. After BAA purchased these units, there was an extra coach added to it to make it a 5 car unit.
Heathrow Connect proves to have a complex form of structure. BAA supplies rolling stock and on board staff through Heathrow Express company.
Fares:-
While travelling on Heathrow Connect the ticket prices are as follows:-
- Adult Single Fare: £7.90
- Adult Return Fare: £15.80
*Children half fare
Purchase of Tickets
At all the train stations you can find manned ticket offices & ticket machines as well. All major credit cards as well as cash are accepted here.
Logistics of using Heathrow Connect Train
Trains from London Paddington to Heathrow
Monday to Saturday: You can avail Heathrow Connect service every 30 minutes from 05:13 to 22:30.
On Sundays: This service can be availed every 60 minutes from 06:12 to 23:12.
Trains from Heathrow Terminal 4 to London Paddington
Monday to Saturday: You can take this service every 30 minutes from 05:21 to 23:21.
Sunday: Every 60 minutes 06:07 to 23:07 (plus 00:01)
Journey Time: 25 minutes (35 minutes Terminal 4)