25 JANUARY 2021

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Article from BTNews 25 JANUARY 2021

Heathrow Express updates

The lack of passengers due to the pandemic has been seized upon by the airport-owned Heathrow Express for a fleet upgrading.

This marks the first refresh since Heathrow Express launched over 20 years ago, in 1998 with contemporary interiors, and exteriors in iconic Heathrow purple.

Passengers will have a more comfortable journey offering more space for wheelchair users, double the number of toilets and a continuous gangway through the whole train. In addition, Business First passengers will enjoy worktables and extra legroom.

The carriage units include USB plugs with every plug socket, making it easier for passengers to charge devices while they travel.  The on-board 4G enabled wi-fi will work continuously throughout the journey including the Heathrow tunnels.  

Every carriage has more and improved TV screens showing live flight and rail connection updates, daily news highlights and shopping deals at Heathrow.

The refurbished trains feature the latest rail technology including the new European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling system, which continuously calculates a safe maximum speed for each train, with cab signalling for the driver and on-board systems that take control if the permissible speed is exceeded. This means Heathrow Express is at the forefront of the industry-wide roll out of state-of-the-art signalling technology.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Heathrow Express is currently running two trains an hour, alternating with the Heathrow Direct stopping service, which is part of the Transport for London (TfL) London fare system.

www.heathrowexpress.com

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OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum


Andrew Sharp, St Albans UK

There was a refresh of the original Heathrow Exoress trains in 2001/2, when new carriages were ordered to lengthen trains to 9 cars. And the local service is TfL Rail: it used to be Heathrow Connect and at some point will be the Elizabeth Line.


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