"Dave Arquati" wrote in message
...
Martin Underwood wrote:

- Heathrow to Essex and Kent via Crossrail: I wonder if this will be the
death knell of the premium-rate Heathrow Express service?

Probably not. A new service is starting in December run jointly by BAA
and First; it is a stopping service running between Paddington, Ealing
Broadway, Southall, Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Central. It is this
service which Crossrail would take over.

There will be no ticket for Heathrow Connect from Paddington to
Heathrow; only for Paddington to intermediate stations (fares go to
First), and for those stations to Heathrow (fares go to BAA).

I have information on my website at:
http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/67

This fares structure will have to change if Crossrail runs these
services, but I imagine that BAA will still charge a (smaller) premium
for tickets to Heathrow.

And I bet Heathrow will be "conveniently" outside the outer-most Travelcard
zone. I wonder how many people will use Heathrow to (for example) Southall
and then Thames Trains Southall to Paddington (and vice versa) to avoid
paying the premium. I certainly would. What's the betting that TT are
"asked" to arrange that their connecting trains depart 1 minute before the
Heathrow Connect train arrives and vice versa, giving the longest journey
time possible? The BAA fare is ridiculously expensive and is just taking the
**** - they deserve to be undercut by Heathrow Connect. It's a shame that GW
and TT services from the west can't introduce Southall or Hayes & Harlington
as an additional stop for connection to Heathrow: a cross-platform change at
a railway station would be much easier than having to lug your cases down
the steps at Reading and enduring the delays while the luggage is loaded
onto the coach and endure the slow journey out of Reading and along the M4
to Heathrow.