You might find it strange that February 2019 was the first time I’ve ever used the Heathrow Express train between Heathrow and Paddington station. It’s just that I’ve always gone to Heathrow by bus or car, and I don’t live in central London, so I’ve had no use for this train.  But in February I parked my car at Gatwick, flew out from there, then returned a few days later to Heathrow, so I needed to get back to Gatwick to collect my car.  I decided that taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington, a tube/underground train to Victoria, then the Gatwick Express train to Gatwick would be my best option.

Most Londoners will know that Heathrow Express’ brand colour scheme is purple. And as I arrived in Terminal 2 (The Queen’s Terminal) I saw purple-clad people promoting Heathrow Express and selling tickets. I’d already bought mine online. But once I left the terminal I was confused by the signage for trains to London, because none of them referred to Heathrow Express and none were coloured purple.  Blue and white signs saying “trains to London” were alongside London Underground signs, so I wondered if ‘trains to London’ were actually Underground trains.

I was advised to keep following the blue and white signs, and after a moderately long walk I got to the train station and its clean, smart platforms and tracks. As well as the non-stop Heathrow Express, you can now also get a stopping train to Paddington, operated by Transport for London. These trains use the same tracks, so ‘mandarins’ decided it would be better not to confuse the TfL pax by mentioning Heathrow Express in purple signage. Hmmm.

I waited longer than anticipated for my Express train, but it was running to schedule. I guess the schedule is now reduced because of the other trains using the tracks.  Staff patrolled the platform the make sure people got the correct train, which was good, but I’m not sure what language skills they possessed to help overseas visitors.

Seating on the train was in a 2-2 configuration, with wide, comfortable chairs. And there was plenty of space set aside for luggage. What a contrast to the Gatwick Express, which is just a high density commuter train with 3-3 seating which is hard and very uncomfortable, and worst of all there is minimal space for luggage!

Legroom was sufficient, and near my knee was a UK standard 3 pin power supply, which, while not ideal for overseas visitors, was better than nothing.

The journey was very smooth and fast (though we were held at a red light just outside Paddington) and it arrived in London on time, 15 minutes after leaving Heathrow.

Buying my ticket online in advance cost me £14.52 in standard class, which I thought was fair for the speed of transfer and the comfort of the seats and carriages.

8.5/10