Talk:Heathrow Express/Archive 1

Concorde comparisons

I've removed the comparisons of HX fares as "more expensive than Concorde". They don't make any sense any more, as Concorde services were withdrawn some time ago. It's therefore not possible to make comparisons using current numbers.

It's a fairly nonsensical comparison anyway - the fare per km on most railway services is generally higher than the fare per km for long-haul air travel. The difference is that with long-haul air travel you're travelling vastly further. It's a fine comparison to make if you're wanting to come up with tabloid headlines, but not really for other purposes. --Mpk 00:15, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Good points. But we should remember that this is how the HE expressed the value of its service for many months. Rather than a deletion it seems that a re-phrasing is in order. Pcb21 Pete 00:29, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

You make a good point. Wasn't it the HX which found that ridership increased when they put the fares up, as otherwise business types thought that it was too cheap to be any good, similiar to a well-known lager running an ad campaign based on how expensive (and therefore good) it was? I don't know whether that's just an urban myth, though - will see about doing some research sometime. --Mpk 09:54, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Other transport options from Heathrow to Central London

The phrase Wikipedia is not a tourist guide comes to mind here - it's rather POV as well ("BAA would prefer passengers to use the pricier and quicker Express"). As this article is about the train line, not about transport from Heathrow to London, I'd be inclined to delete the lot. Do people agree? Blisco 09:12, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I agree. The almost-a-rant about how expensive it is (you can prove anything with statistics..) relative to other airport links could probably go as well, as it's, meh, well, not really encyclopaedic, IMO. --Mike 09:21, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

I removed the big list at the bottom. I left the part in the main article, as it's reasonably factual and relevant --87.82.12.140 01:44, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I reworded the part in the main article about Heathrow Connect to sound less like a travel guide, and moved the information about platforms at Paddington to the Heathrow Connect page. I removed the comment about the trains being orange completely as I couldn't find a good place for it in the Heathrow Connect page, and it's obvious from the photo there anyway. --GaneshSittampalam 20:18, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

More expensive than the Heathrow Express

"making it statistically Britain's most expensive railway journey, at over £1 per mile" This is not accurate. Travelling on the London Underground between Covent Garden and Leicester Square (290 yards) costs £3, or just over £18 per mile. In fact, any journey in Zone 1 that is less than 3 miles long is more expensive per mile than the Heathrow Express. --Jcmo 12:09, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

LU is not generally considered like rail services, while the Heathrow Express is. The Heathrow Express may not be part of National Rail network but it does operate on (mostly) Network Rail tracks, IIRC its an open access operate like Hull Trains. The issue doesn't really bother me, but perhaps the fact should be kept in as a LUL comparison doesn't seam too relevant. Pickle 19:38, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Fair enough. I will give a National Rail example then. City Thameslink to Blackfriars is about 1/3 of a mile and it costs £1.80, or £5.40 per mile, a lot more than the Heathrow Express. --Jcmo 11:50, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I would guess that with both of the quoted journeys, you could go further on the same ticket, which isn't true of the Heathrow services. --GaneshSittampalam 17:05, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

This is all original-research anyway, and doesn't belong in the article. If some reliable source has criticized the fares as too high (by any standard), that's fine, but Wikipedia shouldn't be making novel arguments about the fares. The comparisons are mostly pretty silly anyway, especially comparing to the fares of airport-link trains that go to much less used airports. --Delirium (talk) 22:07, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Heathrow express logo.gif

Image:Heathrow express logo.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 23:18, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Heathrow express logo.gif

Image:Heathrow express logo.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 23:18, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Heathrow Express vs London Underground Stations

Right now, the links for the HX stations link to the pages for the London Underground stations, but those are separate stations from the HX stations. Should the links be removed, or new pages created? XofWiki 20:26, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Probably corrected which i will do right now. Simply south 14:02, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Relationship to National Rail

I've noticed that Heathrow Express journeys and fares are included in the timetable search at nationalrail.co.uk, and you can buy through tickets from thetrainline.com. Also, the Heathrow Express offers railcard discounts. Apart from the high fare and exclusion of travelcards, it therefore appears that the independence of Heathrow Express from the National Rail network makes no visible difference to the customer (?) Mtford 07:37, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Its an open access operator like Hull trains. No one is saying its totally independant like a heritage railway or something, although it (parent rpoabbalby, BAA) does own some of the infstructure (the spur from the GWML) which makes it more unique. THe fact it got there first and costs so much has made it "notable". Pickle 12:40, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Interestingly the Hull Trains article says that Hull Trains is the only open access operator currently operating, which might be wrong (?). However, my real point was that the Heathrow Express article should describe the service from a customer's perspective, and not just a corporate/political perspective. Many people reading this article will be visitors trying to make sense of the London and UK public transport systems during their short stay, and so they will be more concerned about fares and tickets rather than franchising and track maintenance (though the latter is still interesting to other readers). Currently the introduction to this article does make the Heathrow Express sound like an independent "heritage railway", and so I did not expect (on the basis of this article) to find Heathrow Express tickets with railcard discounts on sale at National Rail outlets. Mtford 19:39, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

I accept what your saying but also wikipedia is not a trvel guide, it shows numerous perspectives - thus these sorts of article tend to be sued for the "trevel guide" purpose you describe, while are written by rail fans.... As for open access oeprators there are many and growing (grand central starts very soon, next year 'wrexham, shropshire and marlebone', and maybe the heathrow connect. This article does need some work, but its outside my patch, so i'm somewhat uncertain and defer to someone with more knowledge. Pickle 11:47, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Hull Trains, Grand Central, WS&MR and HEX are all open access operators. However, HEX is the only operator which does not have a fully-integrated ticketing system. It is impossible to buy a through ticket from any Network Rail station except Paddington to Heathrow via HEX. This has come in for major criticism in Parliament (e.g. Hansard - Commons Debate on Railways Bill - 6th of December, 2004). A second criticism is that Express services will not extend through the Crossrail tunnel when it opens (e.g. Hansard - Crossrail Bill - Minutes of Evidence DAY TWENTY-FOUR WEDNESDAY 30 APRIL 2008).86.168.115.89 (talk) 18:48, 15 April 2009 (UTC)