Should the Heathrow Express exist?

Ajouté : 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Hello all. Earlier this month I came across an article in Rail magazine on the subject of the Heathrow Express and the question of whether it should exist.

[00:00:11]So, I dropped everything badly injuring my right foot in the process and considered the matter.

[00:00:17]Basically, the reason this has come about is because Transport for London and the Mayor of London have called for the operation of the Heathrow Express to be reviewed.

[00:00:27]The situation is this. The Heathrow Express is a non-stop service from Paddington to Heathrow Airport, which runs for much of its length over the Great Western Main Line before branching off for the final stretch to the airport.

[00:00:40]The Elizabeth Line takes much the same route, but it stops at a number of stations along the way. The Elizabeth Line is an enormously successful route, far more successful than even the most optimistic projections thought it would be.

[00:00:54]In January last year, it hit 500 million passenger journeys after having operated for slightly less than 3 years.

[00:01:03]More trains would be good, but the problem is that the Great Western Main Line is an extremely crowded route. In fact, that section really is the line's Achilles' heel because it's the only place where it shares track with other services. Well, apart from the airport branch, but it's only sharing with the aforementioned Heathrow Express there.

[00:01:23]Meanwhile, ridership on the Heathrow Express is falling. It's by no means a total flop. It saw over 4.5 million passengers last year, but the service contract ends in 2028 and it's currently taking up four slots an hour that TfL think might be better served by the Elizabeth Line. The Express is what's known as an open access service. That is to say, the operator buys access to the National Rail Network. It's jointly operated by Great Western Railway and the Heathrow Express Operating Company, which in turn is owned by Heathrow Airport Holdings.

[00:02:00]Great Western Railway is a train operating company, but those are slowly being absorbed into Great British Railways. GWR's current contract is also due to expire in 2028.

[00:02:12]Hello everyone, Jay Go from The Edit here. In the time between this video being made and this video going live, it's been announced that GWR is in fact being nationalized later this year. So, what you just heard was inaccurate.

[00:02:30]Wonderful timing. Could they not have held off just a few more days?

[00:02:34]It would have made my life a lot easier anyway.

[00:02:38]Now, the two services are very different. The Elizabeth Line is a commuter service running all the way through London, while the Heathrow Express is a specialized premium service designed to cater purely to travelers, particularly business travelers.

[00:02:52]As I said earlier, the Heathrow Express is non-stop, while the Elizabeth Line serves several other suburban stations.

[00:02:59]The Heathrow Express has luggage space, which the Elizabeth Line really does not.

[00:03:05]And the Heathrow Express charges a premium fare.

[00:03:09]The Express started operating in 1998.

[00:03:13]Back then, the only rail connection between Central London and the airport was the Piccadilly Line, which did have luggage space, but used small trains that got very crowded and had many, many stops before they reached Heathrow. So, the Express was a viable, indeed arguably essential, alternative. But these days, things are less clear-cut.

[00:03:34]The Elizabeth Line is far faster than the Piccadilly Line and cheaper than the Express.

[00:03:40]With a very important proviso, which I'll get on to.

[00:03:44]Let's consider the pros and cons of the Express as compared to the Elizabeth Line. Obviously, the big one is speed.

[00:03:51]The Express takes about half the time to get to Heathrow that the Elizabeth does.

[00:03:56]I compared the two myself a couple of years ago.

[00:03:59]Now, half the time, that's pretty good, right?

[00:04:02]Well, not so much.

[00:04:05]It took the Elizabeth line half an hour to get to the station for Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3, but it took the Express 15 minutes. 15 minutes really doesn't make much difference.

[00:04:17]Especially when you factor in the fact that there are fewer Express services, so you might have to add another 5 or 10 minutes while you wait for your train.

[00:04:26]And if you're embarking on a journey that will likely take several hours with a long wait at the airport anyway, I don't think the difference is all that.

[00:04:35]Then there's the question of space. The Heathrow Express has luggage space, the Elizabeth line does not.

[00:04:42]As I've said before, the big flaw with Elizabeth line trains is that they operate like a metro in central London, but a conventional train out in the suburbs.

[00:04:52]Which means that both functions are compromised.

[00:04:55]And one of these compromises is that there is no luggage space. The trains are quite roomy, but still, you're either going to have to sit with luggage in the aisle or stand with it.

[00:05:07]Neither is ideal, especially if you're traveling in rush hour, and if you're tired and or stressed.

[00:05:13]If you have a big suitcase, you're going to make enemies.

[00:05:17]This is not a problem on the Heathrow Express.

[00:05:21]Because the Express is a premium service, it has more space in general, along with other facilities.

[00:05:27]It has toilets, charging sockets, and Wi-Fi. However, I would question how much use you're going to get out of these in 15 to 20 minutes.

[00:05:36]Unless you have a bladder condition, food poisoning, or a caffeine addiction, it's unlikely that you can't hold on for the length of the journey.

[00:05:44]The tables and chargers do mean that you can work on the train, but again, how much will you get done in 15 minutes?

[00:05:51]Personally, I find that it takes me 15 minutes just to get in the zone. I don't know. Maybe today's young go-getters can do better.

[00:05:59]One big advantage the Elizabeth line has is that it serves more places. Now, yes, this does make it slower, but if you don't want to stay in Central London, the suburbs offer cheaper accommodation.

[00:06:11]And if you are in Central London, the Elizabeth line continues beyond Paddington through the West End, the city, and the Docklands, and in fact all the way out to Shenfield. Albeit, you may have to change trains for some of these destinations.

[00:06:25]The Heathrow Express terminates at Paddington in the west of Central London, and to continue your journey, you'll have to navigate the nightmare that is changing trains at Paddington Station. It's better than it was, but you must be prepared to drag a suitcase a long way.

[00:06:40]Then there's the fare question. This seems pretty straightforward on the face of it. A single standard fare on the Express is £26, whereas the Elizabeth line is £13.90, more if you're traveling at peak time.

[00:06:54]One of the most common criticisms I see of the Express is that it's a rip-off for tourists and people with more money than sense.

[00:07:02]But it's a bit more complicated than that.

[00:07:05]See, apart from the space advantage, under the right circumstances, the Heathrow Express can be cheaper than the Elizabeth line. If you book in advance, the fare for an adult on the Express is just £10.

[00:07:19]The Express also allows children under 15 to travel free, whereas children aged 11 to 15 have to pay a child fare on the Elizabeth line. What I'm getting at here is that I think there's a market the Heathrow Express isn't targeting aggressively enough, and that's families.

[00:07:36]Consider it thus.

[00:07:37]If you're going on holiday with your family, you likely know exactly when you're going. You will need plenty of luggage space, and you probably appreciate saving a few quid.

[00:07:47]Kids being kids, they actually will appreciate less time on the train, and given how kids always wait until the worst possible moment to need the toilet, the toilets will no doubt be welcome.

[00:07:58]By all means, cater to business travelers, too. Have a couple of quiet carriages, say.

[00:08:03]But, I feel like if the Heathrow Express basically put it on blast that their train offers a potentially cheaper and roomier service, they could attract more passengers than they do. That's just my two penneth.

[00:08:16]I'm not here to push the Express over the Elizabeth line, or vice versa, but I think the question of which one is better is not all that straightforward.

[00:08:25]The advantages of the Express are small, but they do exist. On the other hand, there are things the Elizabeth line does better.

[00:08:33]So, I guess I'd like to know what you think.

[00:08:36]Express yourself in the comment section.

[00:08:44]Well, I do hope you enjoyed today's video. If so, please do leave a like, and consider subscribing for more. I would like, as ever, to thank my donors on Ko-fi, on Patreon, and here on YouTube for your generous support. You are the luggage rack to my airport train.

[00:08:59]And, I will see you all very soon.

[00:09:02]Cheerio.