Fraser Brown says new east-west London rail link will complement his operation’s service from Paddington. Ian Taylor reports
The opening of London’s Crossrail link to Heathrow this year will be a boon to the airport and its passengers.
That is the view of Heathrow Express chief executive Fraser Brown, who could be forgiven for being less than happy about the competition with Crossrail, due to begin services from Paddington to Heathrow Terminals 2, 3 and 4 from December.
But Brown insists: “It’s good news for the airport. Crossrail will provide customers and colleagues with a high-quality, stopping service [to Heathrow]. The airport is thrilled to have more seat capacity.”
Heathrow Express is a subsidiary of airport parent company Heathrow Airport Holdings. The service, which runs every 15 minutes from Paddington to Heathrow Terminals 2, 3 and 5, will celebrate 20 years of operating this June.
Brown has yet to finalise plans for celebrations, but he said: “We can both have a niche in the market. Crossrail will connect the airport to the City and East London. That is important for the airport and for the 76,000 people who work at the airport, with 40,000 at work at any time.”
However, he insisted: “We know the public value the speed and simplicity of our service.”
Heathrow Express carries more than five million passengers a year to and from the airport. Last year it carried its 100 millionth passenger since 1998.
Brown sees Crossrail replacing the existing Heathrow Connect service, which supplements Heathrow Express with its twice-an-hour, 30-minute service between Paddington and Heathrow via five intermediary stops.
He said: “Crossrail will operate twice an hour to begin with, but eventually run four times an hour.”
However, Brown said: “We’re working with Transport for London and the government to get Crossrail up to six trains an hour.”
The growth of Heathrow, with work on a third runway moving closer, makes improved rail links crucial, insists Brown.
“The growth of rail is critical to the airport,” he said. “Heathrow has to grow in a sustainable way, getting more people to travel by rail to the airport, balancing the needs of London with the airport.”
He added: “Heathrow as a railway is a bit of a cul‑de-sac.
“If you want to go to Reading, you have to travel into Paddington and out again, so our next programme will be to connect Reading, Slough and Maidenhead into T5, with a link to Bristol and South Wales – [although] it’s a matter for Network Rail. We don’t have planning consent yet.”
On track: Crossrail and Heathrow Express
Dec 2018: Crossrail’s Elizabeth line due to open partially with services four times an hour between Paddington and Heathrow T2, T3, T4 and T5.
Dec 2019: Crossrail fully open, connecting Heathrow to the West End, City of London and east to Shenfield and Abbey Wood.
• Crossrail journey times to Heathrow T5 should be 36 mins from Tottenham Court Road, 48 mins from Stratford.
• Heathrow Connect services will cease when Crossrail begins operating.
• Heathrow Express will continue operating four services an hour from Paddington to T2, T3 and T5.