33 steps isn't that far, though, probably no worse than any stairs
they may have had to use at the station they boarded the train from.

Not really: an increasingly large number of stations are now fully- disabled
compliant, as presumably ALL will have to be sooner or later. Or is it just
Routemasters that have to be abolished in the name of disability compliance?

And, as you point out later on, for people with heavy luggage, there
will be people to assist.

And I too believe in Santa Clause!

What you did not mention, is the option for passengers to stay on the
train to T1,2,3 station and then get Heathrow Express on to terminal
4, without any steps to traverse.

Is it really the case that nobody will have to use steps to get to the railway
platforms, whichever platform is used by the arriving Piccadilly Line train?
If so, I agree that this will be CONSIDERABLY easier (depending on the
frequency of the railway trains) than the bus nonsense.

Since Terminal 5 is happening, how would
you propose extending the Picadilly line to that terminal without an
enforced closure of parts of the line.

It's not the enforced closure of the line (although I fail to see how
installing a set of points and associated tunnel branching can take all of 18
months) that I object to as the ill-thought situation between Hatton Cross and
Heathrow.

What would you propose to do ?


Install lifts or escalators at Hatton Cross for a start!

If the poor District Line passengers can endure years of midget-sized platform
space at Earl's Court for years for lifts to be installed there, surely the
money could have been found for lifts at Hatton Cross?

Marc.