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What are the TFL Rail (ex Heathrow Connect) fares to Heathrow Airport?

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Here are details of the new fares on the old Heathrow Connect stopping service from Paddington to Heathrow which passes to the control of TFL Rail from 20th May.  Once the central section of Crossrail opens this service will be discontinued entirely.

Fares will be slightly cheaper than at present for most people.  From Paddington they drop 10p to £10.20 (by 20p off-peak) with a bigger fall of 70p (peak) and £2 (off-peak) from Acton, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway and Greenford.

The real innovation is the inclusion of Heathrow Connect / TFL Rail in the £12.50 daily Oyster cap for Zones 1-6.

If you are only in London for the day, £12.50 will get you a return trip from Heathrow to Paddington on TFL Rail / Heathrow Connect (not Heathrow Express) plus all of your tube and bus travel for the day.

You may even make a saving if you are only travelling one-way to Heathrow, as the £12.50 daily cap may be cheaper than a tube ticket from home or office to Paddington plus the £10.20 TFL Rail fee.

Anyone with a Zone 1-6 season ticket will now also be able to travel to Heathrow free of charge on Heathrow Connect / TFL Rail, instead of having to take the tube.

All of these changes begin on 20th May.  They are NOT in place today.

It was also announced yesterday that similar fares will be in place for Crossrail / Elizabeth Line once it is fully operational to Heathrow.  Whilst Crossrail will follow standard zonal pricing – so fares will be identical whether you take the tube or Elizabeth Line – this will not include Heathrow.

Fares to the airport will be similar to those I listed above, albeit with a peak time premium, due to a surcharge paid to the airport for the use of the track and signalling which it controls.  We will cover this in more detail nearer the time.  The Heathrow Express will continue to operate and will be around 10 minutes quicker to Paddington than a Crossrail train.

Category

General

Comments (104)

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  • Lou says:
    17 Mar17 March 04:51

    HE is only going to be faster, I imagine, if you only want to go to Paddington. I suspect the vast majority of people will want to stop at one of the CR stations, which will like be faster due to being direct with no changing.

    • Joe says:
      17 Mar17 March 06:19

      Yes, and also not having to wait 15 minutes for each HE train will likely reduce that 10 minute time difference too.

  • Rich says:
    17 Mar17 March 06:23

    A crew seat embedded in rear WC door is exactly what easyJet planes have.

    • HeathrowFlyer says:
      17 Mar17 March 07:25

      Yes, they have the same ‘SpaceFlex’ configuration offered by Airbus.

      • JamesB says:
        17 Mar17 March 10:39

        I did not pay much attention to density, pitch etc but on my first ever flights with easyjet last year I found their seats more comfortable than those on BA.

    • Doug M says:
      17 Mar17 March 10:59

      Surely that seat could be sold to a passenger as extra legroom, the crew member could sit in the toilet. Honestly BA have no idea how to maximise revenue.

      • ankomonkey says:
        17 Mar17 March 12:14

        “…the crew member could sit in the toilet.”

        Best suggestion of the week 🙂

      • Lady London says:
        18 Mar18 March 08:51

        No that would mean the cost of putting a safety belt in the toilet

  • shd says:
    17 Mar17 March 06:25

    It’s scandalous that LHR should get away with earning extra revenue from public transport passengers (and visitors!) due to “a peak time premium, due to a surcharge paid to the airport for the use of the track and signalling which it controls”

    • AndyG says:
      17 Mar17 March 06:45

      Not entirely – HAS (the owner of Heathrow at the time) did pay for the construction of the tunnels for Heathrow Express

    • Jonty says:
      17 Mar17 March 06:50

      It’s a lot less scandalous considering the airport paid for the very expensive track, signals and tunneling, unlike most UK railways which were paid for by men in stovepipe hats 150 years ago

      • Jonty says:
        17 Mar17 March 06:51

        Too slow, sorry!

      • shd says:
        17 Mar17 March 08:08

        I’ve worked with HAL. I have formed a fairly strong opinion of them.

        • Will says:
          17 Mar17 March 11:01

          If you wanted to set up Heathrow Express to be financially asconfusing as possible in terms of wether or not it’s a money printing machine they’ve also done exactly that.
          It posts a loss but pays an infrastructure use fee. Ideal to tell anyone moaning about the price “we don’t turn a profit” while possibly accruing a huge profit in the “parent” company.

          Disgusting how they sell tickets in the corridor after customs, many a first time visitor to London will have been caught out there.

    • Paul says:
      17 Mar17 March 07:51

      Agree. Rail net work should be nationalised……or at least run by the Germans

      • mark2 says:
        17 Mar17 March 08:21

        It was, in 2002.

      • Mikeact says:
        17 Mar17 March 08:26

        Or Swiss.

      • mark2 says:
        17 Mar17 March 08:42

        Deutsche Bahn, whose biggest shareholder is the government, operates the Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, London Overground and Grand Central operations. There may be other UK trains which are operated by state-owned railways from other European countries.

        • RussellH says:
          17 Mar17 March 10:50

          Just about all non-InterCity TOCs are at least partially owned by State-owned railways from other countries. Abellio (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) operate Scotrail and Greater Anglie, Trenitalia operate C2C (Fenchurch St – Southend – Shoeburyness), Arriva also operate Northern. Southwestern is a joint venture with First Group and MTR (Hong Kong Metro). Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern + Southeastern are joint ventures between 65% Go-Ahead (UK Bus Co) and 35% Keolis (70% SNCF French Railways and 30% Québec Investment fund). Japanese Rail compnies have been trying to get a foot hold too

        • David says:
          18 Mar18 March 01:37

          “It’s all government owned”
          https://youtu.be/ELaBzj7cn14

        • Lady London says:
          18 Mar18 March 09:00

          No wonder the British consumer has to pay such high fares then. We are all paying the shareholders of all these companies the governmemt has allowed to own us. Similar to water and increasingly, rubbish disposal. The bankers that advise them know how to sniff out a captive customer base that can be milked and milked forever….

          Their own governments mostly do a better job of protecting their people (so far, at least)

  • Si says:
    17 Mar17 March 06:38

    O/T bits:
    Traveling back from Doha BA First to LHR. Can we use the Qatar airways First Lounge in departures?

    Used the excellent Business class lounge and would love to see how first class is better/differs??

    P.s. currently on La Digue, Seychelles, if anyone has any tips? LOVING IT!

  • KevMc says:
    17 Mar17 March 07:12

    O/T I see that there are new Iberia and Aer Lingus credit cards launching in the US, with hefty sign up bonuses (75k each I think). This could make it more difficult to find redemptions, particularly between the US and Spain/Ireland.

  • Jane says:
    17 Mar17 March 07:22

    On the subject of the Loo being bang next door to a food preparation area – does it break any health and safety rules ? I’m not sure I’d want to consume food or drink prepared so close to an area which will be full of germs !!

    • Paul says:
      17 Mar17 March 07:54

      What food? Do you mean the crap provided by M&S in order for BA to use premium in every sentence of its marketing blurb? It’s all wrapped up!

      • The Original Nick says:
        17 Mar17 March 09:41

        Where’s CE food stored? Surely that’s not all wrapped up.

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:
          17 Mar17 March 10:39

          The CE food is still in the front galley. The rear galley isn’t large enough for this.

    • Nick says:
      17 Mar17 March 10:41

      Have you ever flown CE? The toilet at the front is the same distance from the galley as the one at the back now is…

    • RussellH says:
      17 Mar17 March 10:53

      I have lived in two flats – USA + Switzerland – where the bathroom / loo access was via the kitchen. Keeps all the plubing in one bit of the building. It is hardly an unusual arrangement, I would have thought.

      • Lumma says:
        17 Mar17 March 11:04

        I’ve lived in places in the UK like this too

        • Bryan says:
          17 Mar17 March 17:53

          There used to be a ‘two door rule’ for houses in the UK, meaning that you had to have 2 doors between a kitchen and toilet. That led to some interestingly designed doors.

          My understanding is that rule has now been relaxed as long as there are hand washing facilities. I cannot imagine anyone installing a toilet with a sink?

        • Gavin says:
          17 Mar17 March 22:37

          Bryan I believe the two door rule is no longer required, I too had some interesting accommodation which had 2 doors between kitchen and bathroom!

    • chuck says:
      17 Mar17 March 22:36

      What are you on ? all food is pre packaged … Club meals are covered/sealed

  • Marcw says:
    17 Mar17 March 07:41

    I think the problem with the new Recaro Slim seats is that Recaro is not able to produce them fast enough. Iberia hast started changing the configuration on some of its A320 seats… now, they received an ex-Monarch A320, however they’ve installed the old seats/configuration.

  • Cheshire Pete says:
    17 Mar17 March 07:53

    I agree about the announcement yesterday about ‘Premium’ prices from Zones 1&2 to Heathrow. The public has paid Billions of £ for this project. I feel sorry for he local people who use the Hounslow branch. They were probably expecting to have less congested trains once the Heathrow Crossrail commenced. Just a crazy decision £12> for a journey that to T5 will still be 30-35 minutes against the tube at £3.60 for 20 minutes longer. They’re simply not going to get enough people off the tube based on that economic/time taken ratio. The cap thing is a white elephant for most UK uses of Heathrow that will be making single journeys.

    • John says:
      17 Mar17 March 08:07

      They will have less congested trains because the frequency is doubling and then tripling.

      Piccadilly line trains are tiny, Crossrail trains are big. If you’re starting from Hammersmith, obviously you will continue to take the tube. If you’re starting from Kings Cross, some people may prefer to continue taking the tube direct, others may prefer to pay a bit more and get Crossrail via Farringdon.

      Why do you think “most UK uses of Heathrow” will be making single journeys?

      • Doug M says:
        17 Mar17 March 11:05

        Because most flyers don’t return the same day I assume. I like the sound of Farringdon to Heathrow. I no longer user HE as the price difference doesn’t justify the time saving. Heathrow is a boring journey on the Piccadilly line, but no worse really for me than getting to Paddington and the hassle of a change there.

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:
      17 Mar17 March 10:53

      I believe a lot of people WILL move from the tube to Crossrail if it’s appropriate for them. It’s not just price it’s also convenience. The cap will be used by more people than you expect (tourists, those going to the office before flying, etc) and those with travelcards on Oyster will automatically only be charged for the extra zones used (zone 1-6 season tickets will have no extra to pay).

      The problem with the current Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect is it’s not integrated into the TfL fares system so you pay your high fare and then if you’re travelling around London you then have the TfL fares on top of that. Now you know that you’re given the same cap as a regular zone 1-6 traveller so your extra TfL usage doesn’t cost much more.

      • Lumma says:
        17 Mar17 March 11:09

        That’s what I’m wondering, would a journey from say, Aldgate East to Heathrow cost the same as Paddington to Heathrow? I find coming back from the airport really depressing on the tube cureently, especially if it’s an early arrival into Heathrow and I end up on a crowded district line train when I change at Hammersmith or Baron’s Court.

        Paying the extra will then become a complete no brainer when I can get a direct train from Heathrow to Whitechapel

        • flyforfun says:
          17 Mar17 March 15:03

          Yes, it will cost the same as you are effectively paying a zone 1 – 6 ticket plus HAL supplement.

          And yes it will depend on where you are whether it’s worth the hassle of either the cheaper tube or dearer crossrail. From where I live crossrail means no changes. If I was at work, Piccadilly Circus is 3 mins walk away but the new Bond St 10 mins away. If I’m going after work I’d have to weigh up the benefits and timings.

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