How to get a discount on Heathrow Express train tickets (2023 edition)

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• Andrew says:

  21 Jun21 June 03:52

  Don’t forget the advance purchase price stacks with both a railcard discount and “kids go free” offers. Our family of four is heading to Heathrow for a total of £7.30 each way.

• Antonio says:

  21 Jun21 June 04:07

  If you work for the railway, you get 75% off standard class tickets

• Charlie says:

  21 Jun21 June 05:26

  Elizabeth Line is substantially cheaper too if you do not need to go through Zone 1 by changing at Ealing Broadway (and can also be much faster if you live in west London). This opens up places like Earls Court, Notting Hill Gate etc for the Zone 2-6 fare only.

  Only people taking HEX these days seem to be tourists who got mugged in the duty free store in Arrivals, or who booked far ahead and got lucky with BA by getting an on-time arrival into LHR so make the train connection work.

  • Andrew J says:

    21 Jun21 June 05:32

    Absolutely – should be renamed the Tourist Express. Anyone in the know uses alternative transport.

    Although on your point around train time connections – advance tickets only require you to specify the date, not the time.

    • Alex says:

      21 Jun21 June 07:21

      Not really, an advance ticket on the Heathrow Express can quite easily be cheaper and quicker than the Lizzy Line

      • lumma says:

        21 Jun21 June 07:34

        But you’re still only at Paddington mainline station, which is unlikely to be most people’s final destination and it’s a lengthy and confusing interchange to the separate tube stations AND you have to pay an extra zone 1 journey on top of the HEX ticket.

        If you take the Elizabeth line and do more journeys the same day, you’ll hit the Z1-6 cap pretty quickly too

        • ClubSmed says:

          21 Jun21 June 09:47

          I fly down at least once a month and my final destination is Paddington. That is where the hotel I use is, and it is just a short walk from there to the office in Marylebone.
          I use HEx rather than Elizabeth Line as I know my schedule well in advance so it is far cheaper.
          On the few times a year I travel down with the family, I also use HEx as the advance booking and kids go free makes it cheaper (even if we have been using a 1-4 Zone day pass)

        • John says:

          21 Jun21 June 13:20

          OK, yours is one of the uncommon scenarios where HEx is actually optimal

        • The Savage Squirrel says:

          21 Jun21 June 13:34

          I really don’t think travelling to Wales and the West Country is THAT uncommon a scenario…

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        21 Jun21 June 15:26

        Yes IF you can get one of the limited number of cheap tickets it is.

    • Londonsteve says:

      22 Jun22 June 14:46

      I had a colleague travelling to London on business prior to the opening of the Elizabeth Line and despite her final destination being nowhere near Paddington, she simply refused to believe the HEX wasn’t the best way to London. I tried to explain (as a lifelong Londoner) that it was sub optimal to get to Canary Wharf, she was better off taking the tube, she was suckered by the marketing and perceived ‘poshness’ of it all and insisted on using it. If it saved her any time at all to CW, it won’t have been more than 5 minutes compared to taking the Picc line into town and changing onto the Jubillee.

• Mohamed says:

  21 Jun21 June 06:05

  I was standing at platform the other day, HEX arrived and you can notice barely 10% of waiting passengers get in while the remaining kept waiting for Elisabeth line, soon HEXwill realise they don’t have monopoly and keep being the most expensive airport train won’t work.

  • flyforfun says:

    21 Jun21 June 08:43

    I was on the HEX from T5 last Wednesday night. Got to T2/3 and it nearly filled up.

    I took the HEX because I saved my company £120 compared to taking a taxi/mini cab both ways. On my own dime, if I book early enough I’ll take the HEX at £5.50 otherwise I’ll do the Elizabeth line. Took it home after a 25hr flight from Australia earlier this year and it was fine.

  • Tim says:

    21 Jun21 June 12:17

    The Elizabeth line service would be better if these lightly-used HEX trains were off the track. Just think now much more efficient the Elizabeth line would be if a lower proportion of trains were able to avoid reversing at Paddington. And how much extra mainline capacity would be released at Paddington if GWR gained two extra platforms. This is all because HEX has a contract running to, I think, 2040. After that, I’d be surprised if it survives.

    • Rhys says:

      21 Jun21 June 13:48

      2028, I think.

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        21 Jun21 June 15:32

        Yes their current concession is until 2028. It was awarded an 5 year extens during the pandemic.

        I’m not sure reversing trains outside of Paddington is an issue, it’s the central core that needs the service not Heathrow. In fact operating more trains from LHR would take up more train paths than the reversing trains as they go into a separate track not used for any other services and allows for the driver to walkthrough the train whilst the train reverses itself into the platform to start its east bound run.

• David Cohen says:

  21 Jun21 June 09:22

  I’m hoping that as the passenger numbers for the Lizzie Line increase further, it starts to cost HAL more to run the Hex, than the revenue it brings in.

  The train paths that it currently takes given the presumably lower passenger numbers could be repurposed for more GWR services on the fast up/down lines. There’s then room for further Lizzie Line paths on the relief lines increasing useful and more affordable services for everyone else.

  HAL then continues to win with the various track access charges that they levy on TfL for not having to run any service at all.

• ClubX says:

  21 Jun21 June 09:31

  Don’t forget there’s a discount code if you pay with a master card. Works on the day. Making it £22 each way.

• ClubSmed says:

  21 Jun21 June 09:41

  If you do not have Heathrow Fast Track security access via your airline, the only other way to obtain it at the moment is as a benefit of HEx First Class.

• Devon Diamond says:

  21 Jun21 June 10:00

  Have booked a £5.50 ticket for September. As it turns out it’s quicker and cheaper to get to Paddington than Reading to pick up my train back to the South West

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