Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
 Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 00:35 19 Apr 2024
- Arrest over alleged Russia plot to kill Zelensky
- Dubai airport delays persist after UAE storm
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]		 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
19th Apr (1938)
Foundation, Beatties of London (link)
Train RunningCancelled
23:33 Reading to Gatwick Airport
19/04/24 04:45 Redhill to Gatwick Airport
19/04/24 05:11 Gatwick Airport to Reading
19/04/24 06:04 Gloucester to Worcester Foregate Street
Short Run
19/04/24 05:33 Bedwyn to London Paddington
19/04/24 06:00 Bedwyn to London Paddington
19/04/24 06:52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads
19/04/24 07:13 Great Malvern to London Paddington
•
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
•
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
•
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
•
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
•
Train companiesSelect from:
GWR
SWR
XC
Chiltern
TfL
TfW
WMR
Southern
• Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple Meads • Bath Spa • Chippenham • Swindon • Didcot Parkway • Reading • London Paddington • Melksham
Exeter St Davids • Taunton • Westbury • Trowbridge • Bristol Parkway • Cardiff Central • Oxford • Cheltenham Spa • Birmingham New Street
April 19, 2024, 00:37:54 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[176] Rail delay compensation payments hit £100 million
[71] Signage - not making it easy ...
[15] IETs at Melksham
[13] Ferry just cancelled - train tickets will be useless - advice?
[12] From Melksham to Tallinn (and back round The Baltic) by train
[12] New station at Ashley Down, Bristol
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Great Western Coffee Shop > All across the Great Western territory > Fare's Fair > Paddington to Heathrow (& back) via Tfl Rail
Pages: [1]
« previous next »
  Print  
Author Topic: Paddington to Heathrow (& back) via Tfl Rail  (Read 1752 times)
GBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1479


View Profile Email
« on: February 17, 2019, 15:02:23 »
Hello,

Looking to take the family into Paddington, then platform transfer to Tfl Rail to Heathrow.
Only have to cart the luggage across platforms and on to another train rather than Underground/coach via Reading, etc.
Don't want to pay for Heather Express, Tfl will be fine.

Questions are when we book tickets, are the Tfl Rail valid that day, or do we need to purchase a specific train time to/from Paddington.  Just thinking of a late arrival at Paddington and the unknown question of how long we will take to clear Heathrow.
As they seem to run every half hour, it would be convenient to take 'any convenient' train.

Are we able to purchase tickets for Tfl Rail in advance?

Thank you
Logged
Personal opinion only.  Writings not representative of any union, collective, management or employer. (Think that absolves me...........)
Surrey 455
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1230


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2019, 20:37:16 »
Tfl rail was previously known as Heathrow Connect. It's the stopping service between Paddington and Heathrow (If you're going to T5, change at T2/3 station). It's often very busy between Paddington and Hayes and is almost empty after that.

You can buy tickets online from GWR▸ (Great Western Railway) and other ticket outlets. I used destination "Heathrow Rail". The Tfl rail trains are £10.50 single, you don't have to specify a particular service.

Incidentally you might be able to get the HEX for £5.50, normally £25! (if you book at least 90 days in advance and travel at the weekend) https://www.heathrowexpress.com/advanced-fares
Logged
GBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1479


View Profile Email
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2019, 10:01:35 »
Quote from: Surrey 455 on February 17, 2019, 20:37:16
Tfl rail was previously known as Heathrow Connect. It's the stopping service between Paddington and Heathrow (If you're going to T5, change at T2/3 station). It's often very busy between Paddington and Hayes and is almost empty after that.

You can buy tickets online from GWR▸ (Great Western Railway) and other ticket outlets. I used destination "Heathrow Rail". The Tfl rail trains are £10.50 single, you don't have to specify a particular service.

Incidentally you might be able to get the HEX for £5.50, normally £25! (if you book at least 90 days in advance and travel at the weekend) https://www.heathrowexpress.com/advanced-fares


Thank you very much Surrey 455. Very much appreciated, and yes, the Bank Holiday reduction would pay for one tea and one coffee on an IET▸ (Intercity Express Train) on the return journey!  Grin
Logged
Personal opinion only.  Writings not representative of any union, collective, management or employer. (Think that absolves me...........)
GBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1479


View Profile Email
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2019, 09:02:02 »
Booked HEX with a bank holiday discount, which makes it slightly cheaper than TfL» (Transport for London - about) Rail fare for the return trip.
However, the outward leg to Heathrow will have to be via TfL Rail.
I emailed them asking about advance purchase/paper tickets and were told it was either Oyster▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) or contactless only.

As there are 4 of us travelling together, can we all tap in with my bank card (and tap out at the end of course)?
My wish would be - passenger 1 taps in; passes the card back to passenger 2 who taps in; passes card to 3 to tap in; then passes to 4.  And repeat at Heathrow.

Many thanks Surrey 455 for your helpful suggestion on HEX.
Logged
Personal opinion only.  Writings not representative of any union, collective, management or employer. (Think that absolves me...........)
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2019, 09:33:48 »
Each person needs a separate card. It is possible to buy a paper ticket online though as above.
Logged
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40783



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2019, 10:27:29 »
Quote from: GBM on March 03, 2019, 09:02:02
As there are 4 of us travelling together, can we all tap in with my bank card (and tap out at the end of course)?
My wish would be - passenger 1 taps in; passes the card back to passenger 2 who taps in; passes card to 3 to tap in; then passes to 4.  And repeat at Heathrow.

No - see other advise. A very very dim view would be taken if you even tried this.

Ironic ...

My wife and I flew to Newark, New Jersey (yes, direct flights available from Heathrow) and used that PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) into New York City.  Struggling to work out our tickets at the machine (that's the same the world over!) a helpful member of staff told us to buy a multi-journey ticket, go through the gate one at a time and pass it back for the next person to come through.    Standard practice there.

Is it any wonder that overseas visitor sometimes have trouble working out our systems, and we have trouble understanding how theirs work - in each case with penalty notices and warnings displayed to leave no doubt that you'll be in big trouble if you break the rules that you're not actually familiar with!
Logged
Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
eXPassenger
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 548


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2019, 10:32:21 »
Quote
Is it any wonder that overseas visitor sometimes have trouble working out our systems, and we have trouble understanding how theirs work - in each case with penalty notices and warnings displayed to leave no doubt that you'll be in big trouble if you break the rules that you're not actually familiar with!


We have had a similar problem at an unmanned Brussels suburban station in the evening.
Logged
GBM
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1479


View Profile Email
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2019, 10:35:48 »
Tickets now purchased through GWR▸ (Great Western Railway), as suggested.

Thank you all for great help.

All that remains is to try and clear Heathrow security and baggage, etc to rush over to Paddington asap.  Need to catch the 12h03 latest back West. 
Logged
Personal opinion only.  Writings not representative of any union, collective, management or employer. (Think that absolves me...........)
Oxonhutch
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1248



View Profile
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2019, 12:13:13 »
When I first used the Heathrow Express one could check one's luggage in at Paddington in the area of the Lawn - all the airlines had their check in desks.  I checked in there for my flight to Chicago. It happened to be the morning of the Ladbroke Grove disaster. I only found once in the US when the airline announced that my luggage hadn't made it through to Heathrow.
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
« previous next »
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of page • Jump to Forum Home Page