Fast rail hub plan for Heathrow

12.02.00am GMT Mon 12th Jan 2009

I was quite interested in reading the article Fast rail hub plan for Heathrow which appeared on the Financial Times website on 4th January 2009. The article suggests that a new high-speed rail system which links London Heathrow to the north of England and the rest of Europe through the Channel Tunnel are part of plans being considered by ministers.

As someone who lives in the West Midlands and from time to time travels to and from London Heathrow I always find that we drive down to London Heathrow and then back, never have I used public transport for these journeys.

My main reason for never using public transport when travelling to London Heathrow from Birmingham is that the train journey would require me to travel to London Euston then either use the tube to get to London Heathrow or go to London Paddington on the tube and then change on to the Heathrow Express. I would hate to be on the tube with a large suitcase, finding a seat on the tube can be difficult enough carrying large suitcases would only make it more difficult and make me an inconvenience to others too. Having looked at possible train journeys between Birmingham and London Heathrow return I have also found that if travelling later in the evenings the journey would take longer and possibly require more then two changes.

The journey from Birmingham to London Heathrow through London Euston would take up to two and half hours and during evening can take more then three hours. When travelling to London Heathrow by car from Birmingham even if you get stuck in traffic you usually find yourself there in two hours. The tube journey from London Euston to London Heathrow can take up to an hour itself and would require changes which again is not easy if you are carrying large suitcases.

An Anytime Return ticket from Birmingham to London Heathrow would cost £170.00 per person while an Off-peak Return would cost £78.40 per person, this journey in a car would probably cost less then that so if there are two or more travellers the train tickets could possibly total the same as am airline ticket for another person.

So if the government and train companies want people to travel to London Heathrow using trains then they need to make the train journeys direct or as close as possible, shorter which I hope would be achieved by having direct and high-speed trains and cheaper.

However train companies and airlines should also look to work together to see if train tickets to airports could be sold as an add on to airline tickets for example if someone who lives or is based in Birmingham is travelling with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick, London Heathrow or Manchester Airport they should be offered a train ticket to travel to the airport as part of their airline ticket cost. This may help increase the number of people using train services to get to airports especially business travellers who could be offered a limo service to pick them up from home or the office take them to the train station and then from there on the train to the airport during which time they could be checked in so that when they arrive at the airport they can be taken to the lounge without too much delay.

I hope the high-speed rail system which links London Heathrow other parts of Britain is up before too long and can offer an alternative to short haul flights to London Heathrow for those travelling beyond is established and that journeys to London Heathrow are direct, shorter and cheaper.

Related Links:

Fast rail hub plan for Heathrow.

Financial Times.

Heathrow Express.

London Gatwick Airport (LGW).

London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Manchester Airport (MAN).

Virgin Atlantic.