The Heathrow Express

The Project

Above: The London Underground is currently the only train to Heathrow Airport, but with a 20mph average speed the Journey takes a full hour… you might as well drive!

The project has been to provide a fast train service from central London to Heathrow Airport. Up until now Heathrow airport, one of the busiest airports in the world, has had no dedicated rail service at all. This is peculiar because all of the other major airports in the UK have express rail links. Part of the reason why Heathrow hasn't got a rail link up until now was because the London Underground was extended a few years ago so it reaches out to Heathrow Airport. The London Underground service was thought to elevate the need for a rail service. However because the Underground is a stopping service, to get into central London on the Underground takes a full hour. London Underground train services typically average a speed of 20mph or 33km/h over a journey involving frequent stops. The Airport is served by a motorway, the M4 which is heavily contested, often at a standstill, and a while back was extended from 3 lanes each way to 4 lanes each way, much to the aggravation of environmental protesters. Clearly a good public transport system was required.

What the project involved:

It was decided to use electric transets for the link, because of the benefits electric engines offer over diesels. Paddington is the most ideal station for the Heathrow Express to terminate at, as the lines out of paddington run west in the general direction of heathrow airport. The section of line west of Paddington is unelectrified, where Inter City 125 and DMU trains run. A double track path had to be electrified using overhead wires. However the main part of the project involved building tunnels right under Heathrow airport, The Main terminals lie in between the runways, so they have to be accessed by tunnels, and this was the major part of the project. New tracks had to be laid, because the railway doesn't actually go through heathrow, and a turn off track has been made from the mainline.

Delays

The Project suffered delays with the tunneling and after heavy rains one of the tunnels collapsed setting back work by 6 months. The collapse also caused some tarmac damage on the surface. The Project for the link has taken 5 years, and services have now started although there is a bus link to do part of the journey into Heathrow Airport as the Tunnels are not yet finished, so the Bus/Train combination currently takes half an hour, 12 minutes on the train. Soon when the Tunnels are finished then the train will run the whole way.

The Trains

Above: The Class 365, a modern 4 car EMU capable of 100mph is similar to the class 322

The Trains to be used are EMU designated as class 332, which are similar to the class 365. However an aesthetic consideration has been made for the 332 and looks a lot more swish in its aluminum case. Clearly for something like the Heathrow express how the train looks is much more of an important point because regular customers are a lot more rare, so it has to attract new customers all the time, and because usually people in Heathrow won't know what to expect from the train they are often forced to judge it by looks. Heathrow Express has 14 trains, each 4 cars long. These are electrical multiple units. The 332 has been nick-named "Fast Train." Because the Journey time is only 15 minutes it was decided no catering facilities were to be offered on the train.

Speed

The Train has a top speed of 100mph or 160km/h which is possibly a little disappointing seeing as the linespeeds are suited for 125mph running (as in the Inter City 125 trains). However with not that much mileage to be done and given the fact that a significant proportion of the Journey is spent accelerating it may not be worth it. So in terms of speed this is not a special train, even though the service is marketed for its speed.

Above: It can be seen clearly that the 332 has been made to look very swish, as it needs to attract customers at face value.

However when complete it will make the Journey from Heathrow Airport to Paddington in a remarkable 15 minutes compared with 45 minutes by car or taxi and an hour by London Underground, so it does seem right to call it a high speed train service, even though it is not a high speed train.

Prices

The cost will be £5 or US $8, which is about the same for a tube ticket, and of course a lot less than a Taxi.

Will it be a success?

Almost certainly it is bound to be a complete success. With just a 15-minute ride it is by far the quickest way to get into London from Heathrow. With a frequency of one train every 15 minutes it is convenient, and price wise it is extremely cheap, especially considering international travelers may be prepared to pay a lot more. The service will be operated by BAA plc (British Airports Association). It has been predicted that the introduction of this service will decrease traffic to Heathrow Airport by 3,000 cars a day, whether or not it actually achieves that will be a good measure of its success.