ALL CHANGE FOR HEATHROW TRAINS

Travellers taking surface trains to Heathrow airport from London will see major changes in the months and years ahead. From May 20, Heathrow Connect (currently operated by GWR and Heathrow Express) is being taken over by Tfl. Then in December 2018, Crossrail (to be renamed the Elizabeth Line in the same month) will run from east London to Paddington. From here, travellers can change to Heathrow Connect or Heathrow Express to continue their journey.

From December 2019, the Elizabeth Line will be completed, and run right through from east London to Heathrow. There will be two trains per hour to T5 and four to T4, so in total six trains serving T2/3 per hour in Heathrow’s central area.

In addition to the Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express will continue with its existing four trains per hour frequency. Since the Elizabeth Line will be priced in line with other services across the Tfl network (£10.20 peak time), it will be significantly cheaper than the Heathrow Express standard single fare (currently £27). However, the Heathrow Express is geared towards airline users, providing a faster journey of just 15 minutes, while the Crossrail trip will take 10 minutes longer. Heathrow Express say their prices will be “competitive” with the Elizabeth Line, but have not divulged future prices. New ticket barriers are currently being installed at the Heathrow Express terminals at the airport and Paddington to accept Oyster and contactless payments. They will come into use at Heathrow from May, and at Paddington from September.