51-426: Heathrow Express is a high-frequency airport rail link operating between London Heathrow Airport and London Paddington . Opened in 1998, trains run non-stop, with a journey time of 15 minutes. The service is operated jointly by Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heathrow Airport Holdings . Around 16,000 passengers use the service each day. Heathrow Airport,
102-407: A North and West London Light Railway . The line has been identified by Campaign for a Better Transport as a candidate for reopening. In July 2008, a high-speed rail network was proposed by the 2M Group , a campaigning group representing people affected by Heathrow Airport expansion, as an alternative to increased air traffic. A rail route running from Heathrow to Cambridge would connect with
153-412: A check-in service was provided at Paddington, allowing Heathrow Express passengers to check in and drop off their luggage prior to flights, which was similar to the service currently provided on Hong Kong's Airport Express . Checked baggage was transported to the airport by using the luggage space in the westbound first carriage. This service was withdrawn due to low usage and high cost of operation. In
204-406: A choice of two classes of travel: express class which corresponds to standard class, and "business first" class which corresponds to first class. Both classes are fully accessible, with large luggage storage spaces and complimentary Wi-Fi . First class offers wider seats and a table at every seat, as well as 'Fast Track' security at the airport terminals. Children under 16 travel free of charge with
255-409: A direct connection must use a people mover to access their terminal. People movers typically also serve parking lots, airport hotels and off-site car rental facilities. People movers are seen to have a higher perceived quality compared to a shuttle bus. Another hybrid solution is a direct link to an airport railway station connected to a shuttle bus. The passenger transfers from the railway station to
306-725: A fare-paying adult; unaccompanied children may travel free of charge in express class only with proof of a same-day flight to or from Heathrow. The service runs along Network Rail 's Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Airport Junction. The line from Airport Junction to the airport terminals is owned by Heathrow Airport Holdings but maintained by Network Rail. The line is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead and uses Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and European Train Control System (ETCS). The controlling signal centre for
357-528: A nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or shuttle bus . Advantages for the passenger include faster travel times and easy connections with other public transport. Advantages for the airport include increased patronage and enhanced accessibility for staff. Additionally, authorities have benefitted from less highway congestion, less pollution, and more business opportunities. Although airport rail links have been
408-526: A new Heathrow Connect service, which saw a new twice-hourly stopping service on the same route between Paddington and Heathrow using Class 360 EMUs from the Siemens Desiro family. Heathrow Airport Holdings had provided the on-board staff through Heathrow Express as part of the contract. This continued until May 2018, when Heathrow Connect was absorbed into TfL Rail ahead of the new Crossrail project. In May 2022, TfL Rail services were rebranded as
459-710: A new West London Orbital Railway passenger service that would connect Hounslow with Hendon and West Hampstead via the Dudding Hill line. New stations would be built at Neasden and Harlesden , and an interchange with the Elizabeth line and the Overground 's North London line in the vicinity of Old Oak Common on Victoria Road, North Acton. On the Midland Main Line new platforms would be built at Hendon and at Cricklewood and West Hampstead, while
510-555: A popular solution in Europe and Japan for decades, only recently have links been constructed in North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, and the rest of Asia. Some early examples of inter-city railway stations built to serve an airport include: The first rapid transit station to connect with an airport was Berlin's U-Bahn U6 Paradestraße station which opened in 1927 as Flughafen ( lit. ' airport ' ) and
561-477: A short shuttle bus transfer from the station to the airport terminal, whilst Cleveland's link is considered the first direct service in the Western Hemisphere. Tokyo Monorail , which opened in 1964 as Japan's first airport rail link, had its original southern terminus underneath the old domestic terminal of Haneda Airport . When Haneda Airport was expanded onto landfill reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in
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#1732765440907612-412: Is a railway line in west and north-west London running from Acton to Cricklewood . It is roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) long, with a 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) speed limit, and semaphore signalling . The line has no scheduled passenger service, no stations, and is not electrified . It is lightly used by freight trains and, very occasionally, passenger charter trains. The southernmost point of
663-506: Is often used where the airport is outside the urban area and some way from the mass transit system but a direct downtown service is required. There are various ways this can be achieved: it may operate on a combination of existing or newly built mainline rail track using a dedicated fleet of rolling stock designed for airport service. Similarly to high-speed and inter-city services, these services often have premium fares, lower frequencies and luxury features. For airports built within or close to
714-601: Is to provide high-capacity service. A hybrid solution adopted in some cities is a direct link to an airport railway station connected to a people mover . The passenger transfers from the railway station to the people mover which then completes the journey to the airport terminal. While this option is commonly chosen to reduce construction costs, it is only feasible when a rail line is near the airport. Some airports, such as San Francisco International Airport , are directly served by an airport rail link to some terminals but not others. In such cases, passengers using terminals that lack
765-827: The Elizabeth line , with through trains running through central London from November 2022. Heathrow Express services will continue to terminate at London Paddington. Trains depart Paddington every 15 minutes from 05:10 (06:10 on Sunday) until 23:25, and there is a similar quarter-hourly service in the return direction. At Paddington they use dedicated platforms 6 and 7, although on occasions other platforms are used. There are two stops at Heathrow: Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 (journey time from Paddington 15 minutes) and Heathrow Terminal 5 (journey time 21 minutes), platforms 3 and 4. Passengers travelling between terminals can do so for free, with passengers for Heathrow Terminal 4 having to change to an Elizabeth line train at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 station. Trains offer
816-633: The Metropolitan line and Jubilee line . Later plans replaced all this with a new tunnel connection, and finally the Aylesbury branch was dropped completely from the scheme. During the late 1990s, BAA planned to run some or possibly all Heathrow Express trains along the line to St. Pancras . In early 2008, the London Group of the Campaign for Better Transport published a plan for
867-764: The Midland Main Line at a "Cricklewood Interchange" station, using new track north from Heathrow to Ruislip, then the Great Central Line (nowadays the Chiltern main line) to Neasden, then a short northernmost section of the Dudding Hill Line from Neasden to Brent Cross. After several independent efforts, in early 2009 the British Government began an official detailed study of possible high-speed rail routes . In June 2013,
918-601: The Midlands to south coast holiday resorts. Nowadays the freight traffic is perhaps a dozen trains a day each way. The line is hardly mentioned in the April 2007 Network Rail Freight Route Utilisation Strategy report, or the August 2007 London Rail 'Rail Freight Strategy' report. The main traffic is aggregates (including to a cement depot at Neasden) and compacted household waste from depots at Brent Cross and Dagenham to
969-759: The Narita Express between Narita International Airport and Tokyo , the Union Pearson Express between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Toronto , and the Leonardo Express between Leonardo da Vinci–Rome Fiumicino Airport and Rome . Examples include the East–West Line between Changi Airport station and Singapore, the Silver Line between Washington Dulles International Airport station and Washington, D.C., and
1020-820: The North London Line , West London Line , and two new branches, to Hounslow, and via the Dudding Hill Line to Thameslink stations on the Midland Main Line . In October 2016, a report by Jonathan Manns and Dr Nicholas Falk, on behalf of the UK Government's All Party Parliamentary Group for London's Planning and Built Environment, proposed new orbital rail links in West London modelled on Swift Rail or Rapid Transit, connecting existing communities and those which could accommodate additional growth. It encouraged West London Business (West London Alliance) to reconsider work it had commissioned in 2001 which flagged
1071-542: The North and South Western Junction Railway , now part of the North London Line , at Acton Wells (an area now called North Acton ). It had stations at Dudding Hill and Harlesden (the latter also called Harrow Road and Stonebridge Park ). The M&SWJR was authorised on 14 July 1864 and absorbed by the Midland Railway on 30 July 1874. Confusingly, the similar name Midland and South Western Junction Railway
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#17327654409071122-771: The Orange Line between DFW Airport Terminal A station and Dallas. Examples include Soekarno–Hatta International Airport via Soekarno–Hatta Airport Skytrain to/from SHIA station, London Luton Airport via Luton DART to/from Luton Airport Parkway station, and Paris Orly Airport via Orlyval to/from Antony station. Examples include Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport via shuttle bus to/from Zhengding Airport station, Salvador Bahia Airport via shuttle bus to/from Aeroporto station, and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport via shuttle bus to/from Milwaukee Airport station. Dudding Hill line The Dudding Hill Line (or Dudding Hill Loop )
1173-683: The West Coast Main Line from the south at Harlesden and the Chiltern Main Line from the south at Neasden . The line was opened through open countryside on 1 October 1868 (goods) and 3 August 1875 (passengers) as the Midland and South Western Junction Railway , as part of the Midland Railway 's extension to London. It connected the Midland Main Line , and what would become its large Cricklewood goods yard, to
1224-713: The subsidence of a surface building and three large surface craters. The investigation into the collapse led to a six-month delay in opening and additional costs of around £150 million. Beginning in January 1998, an interim service called Heathrow FastTrain ran to a temporary station called Heathrow Junction , where a coach took passengers the rest of the way. Full service between London Paddington, Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 opened on 23 June 1998, with an opening by Prime Minister Tony Blair . The Heathrow Express brand, as well as staff uniforms, train design and station architecture were designed by Wolff Olins . From 1999 to 2003,
1275-492: The "up" line at Wembley Stadium. In 1990 Crossrail plans were announced by Secretary of State of Transport Cecil Parkinson , which would have seen trains using part of the line to reach the Chiltern line to Aylesbury . A new viaduct would have run alongside the Grand Union Canal from Old Oak Common to Harlesden , and the first stop out of Paddington station would have been Wembley Park , for connections to
1326-660: The 1980s–2010s, the monorail was extended to the new terminals as well, with the original southern terminus later renamed as Tenkūbashi Station . A high-speed or inter-city service provides direct travel between an airport and its surrounding cities. This solution usually requires the building of new track, whether it is a newly built main line or a branch (spur) line . These services often have premium fares, lower frequencies (e.g. every 30 minutes) and luxury features (e.g. luggage racks, power outlets, Wi-Fi, bathrooms). Integration with high-speed and inter-city services has produced alliances where airlines sell tickets that include
1377-525: The Class 332 units would be replaced by a fleet of twelve Class 387 units from Great Western Railway with GWR also managing their introduction and arrival. The first Class 332 unit was withdrawn and scrapped in November 2020 and by 28 December 2020, all of the units were withdrawn. Airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and
1428-506: The Dudding Hill line is in Acton , where it branches north from the North London Line between Acton Central and Willesden Junction stations, immediately to the west of the site of the proposed Old Oak Common High Speed 2 station . From there it heads north then east, passing through Gladstone Park and terminating at a triangular junction with the Midland Main Line between Cricklewood and Hendon . There are intermediate junctions with
1479-545: The GWML, was also required to achieve a 15-minute journey time. A flying junction known as the Stockley Flyover was constructed to connect the tunnel to the GWML fast lines. As part of the construction of the project, steps were taken to reduce the environmental and visual impact of the railway, including disguising ventilation shafts as barns. In October 1994, a tunnel collapse occurred during construction that led to
1530-566: The Heathrow Surface Access Study recommended a non-stop airport rail link between London and Heathrow Airport. In July 1988, Secretary of State for Transport Paul Channon approved a joint venture between the British Airports Authority (BAA) and British Rail to work on the project, with an opening date of 1993. In November 1988, a Parliamentary bill was introduced, seeking approval to build
1581-705: The Mayor of London and the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham released 'vision' consultation documents about the Old Oak Common area of west London. This involves a major development area for London, based around a new Old Oak Common station for High Speed 2 and Great Western Main Line , including Crossrail . The vision mentions various connections to the Transport for London London Overground system, connecting Old Oak to
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1632-610: The Underground. Neither proposal took place, following Railtrack's financial issues in the early 2000s. In March 2008, the service was extended to the Heathrow Terminal 5 station with the opening of the new Terminal 5 . In 2010, a dedicated shuttle between Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 was introduced, timed to connect with the main Heathrow Express service to/from Terminal 5 to improve connections between
1683-810: The basis of which the Board voted to progress engagement with the Mayor of London around a West London Orbital . The Mayor put forward a proposal to work with the West London Alliance and others to deliver a West London Orbital in March 2018, following publication by the West London Alliance of a proposal. In September 2017, the West London Alliance , a partnership between the local authorities of Barnet , Brent , Ealing , Hammersmith and Fulham , Harrow , Hillingdon and Hounslow , proposed
1734-551: The city limits, extending rapid transit or light rail to the airport allows seamless transport to suburbs and full integration with other lines. These services usually have a higher frequency (e.g. every 5 minutes) but longer travel times due to the service making many intermediate stops between the airport and the city centre. Additionally, there may not be enough space for baggage commonly carried by airport-bound passengers. Luggage stowing facilities are not commonly found on rapid transit or light rail vehicles as their primary objective
1785-427: The connecting rail service. Parts of Europe have seen integration of high-speed rail stations into airports, with domestic and international TGV services from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and ICE services from Frankfurt Airport . Because of this, some stations have received IATA codes . A regional or commuter "airport express" service provides direct travel between an airport and its city centre. This solution
1836-750: The entire route is the Thames Valley Signalling Centre (TVSC) in Didcot. On 29 December 2020, the first of twelve Class 387 units from the Bombardier Electrostar family began service with Heathrow Express, having replaced the Class 332 fleet. The units transferred from Great Western Railway who are also responsible for their maintenance and operation within Heathrow Express. The units underwent modifications prior to their introduction on Heathrow Express which included
1887-669: The fitting of USB power sockets, extra luggage space, work tables, on-board Wi-Fi and HD TVs. A new Business First cabin was also included in a 2+1 configuration with reclining seats. The initial BAA/BR joint venture initially proposed use of Networker trains, similar to those purchased elsewhere by Network SouthEast in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Instead, 14 Class 332 trainsets were ordered from Siemens Transportation Systems in July 1994. These were built by CAF with traction equipment supplied by Siemens, and first entered service in 1998. Additional carriages were ordered in 1998 to extend
1938-519: The land-fill site at Calvert in Buckinghamshire. The line is still authorised for passenger services. Very occasionally, it is used for chartered passenger trains, including Pullman heritage coaches. In 2009, the track received considerable maintenance in parts, including complete track and ballast removal and replacement. Chiltern Railways use the line to take faulty rolling stock to Willesden Depot via Neasden Junction, accessible from
1989-471: The late 1990s, BAA proposed an extension of the line to St Pancras , proposing use of the Dudding Hill line to access the Midland Main Line to access St Pancras. Railtrack proposed a stopping service from Heathrow to St Pancras, by using London Underground tracks. This was part of Railtrack's bid to win the public-private partnership (PPP) contract to upgrade and maintain the sub-surface lines of
2040-617: The main international airport serving London , was connected to the London Underground network in the late 1970s. However the journey to central London on the Piccadilly line takes around 40 to 50 minutes, the same time as a black taxi . In the early 1980s, the quality of public transport to the airport was criticised at public inquiries regarding expansion of the airport, with the inspector noting that "a direct and dedicated ... rail link should be provided". During 1986,
2091-500: The more genteel spelling of the name. The line became an important freight line, and southwest-to-northwest chords were later added to the West Coast Main Line at Harlesden, and what is now called the Chiltern Main Line (originally the Great Central Railway ) at Neasden. War-time traffic was particularly heavy. At various times, summer special trains were run on the Dudding Hill Line, to carry holidaymakers from
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2142-423: The operation of Heathrow Express as part of a new management contract. Heathrow Airport continues to be responsible for commercial aspects of the service, including marketing, ticket pricing and revenue management, while GWR are now responsible for operations. In December 2020, new trains were introduced, replacing the trains used since the service began in 1998. In June 2005, Heathrow Express began jointly providing
2193-489: The project was taken over by BAA in 1996. Construction began in 1993, with an estimated cost of £350 million. The principal works were two 6.8 km (4.2 miles) single-bore tunnels (including eight escape shafts) and underground stations at Heathrow Central and Terminal 4 . Electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Paddington and Airport Junction, where the new line diverged from
2244-471: The project. The Heathrow Express Railway Act received royal assent in May 1991. In March 1993, government expenditure for the project was approved in the spring budget . BAA would fund 80% of the cost, with British Rail contributing 20%. In August 1993, British Rail and BAA signed the contract to build the line, with an opening date of December 1997. Following the privatisation of British Rail from November 1993,
2295-672: The scope to connect Old Oak Common and Brent Cross along the Dudding Hill line. This connection was supported in addition to smaller connections using underused or unused existing connections. It was agreed at the following meeting of the West London Economic Prosperity Board, in December 2016, to undertake further analysis on the feasibility of establishing an orbital passenger rail connecting regeneration schemes. The findings were presented in June 2017, on
2346-562: The shuttle bus which then completes the journey to the airport terminal. A shuttle bus requires no specialised infrastructure, and is often the preferred choice at smaller or low-cost airports. Shuttle buses may involve a wait for a transfer to the next stage of the journey and often suffer from lower perceived quality and market share compared to direct connections. Examples include Schipol Airport station to other Dutch cities, Zürich Flughafen station to other Swiss cities, and Daxing Airport station to other Chinese cities. Examples include
2397-502: The terminals. During 2009, flight information display screens were introduced at London Paddington. In 2017, Heathrow Express announced that over 100 million passengers had used the service since opening in 1998. In March 2018, the Department for Transport and Heathrow Airport Holdings announced that the contract allowing Heathrow Express to operate had been extended to 2028. During August 2018, Great Western Railway (GWR) took over
2448-410: The trains firstly to four carriages, then in 2001 to extend 5 of the trains to five carriages in length. Until May 2018, Heathrow Express leased a singular Class 360 unit which operated the shuttle service between Heathrow Central and Heathrow Terminal 4 . Following the withdrawal of the Class 360 unit, all Heathrow Express services were operated by Class 332 units. In 2019, it was announced that all
2499-656: Was built to provide direct access to Berlin Tempelhof Airport . However, the connection was removed in 1937 and the preceding Platz der Luftbrücke station was instead granted the connection and remained so until Berlin Tempelhof Airport's closure in 2008. Other early examples of rapid transit stations connecting with airports include Boston's MBTA Blue Line Airport station which opened in 1952 (rebuilt in 2004), and Cleveland's RTA Rapid Transit Red Line Cleveland Hopkins International Airport station which opened in 1968 (rebuilt in 1994). Boston's link requires
2550-495: Was closed to regular passenger traffic in 1902. During World War II , air-raid shelters were constructed within the embankment. Although railway usage is almost always "Dudding Hill Railway", the geographical area is usually called "Dudden Hill", and there is a London Borough of Brent electoral ward of that name. Dudden Hill is named after a Saxon settler called Dodda. The earliest known record, as Dodynghill , dates from 1544. "Dudding Hill" has been regarded historically as
2601-594: Was later used for a completely different railway in Gloucestershire , which was eventually taken over by the Great Western Railway . From 1878 to 1880 it formed the basis of the Midland Railway's Super Outer Circle , which ran from St Pancras to Earl's Court via Cricklewood, Acton and the District line . Various other, shorter routes were then used, but passenger demand was low, and it
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