Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:


You'd probably have to look for Heathrow Airport strategic travel plans.


This article is quite dated, and I'm not sure the detail about fares is still
valid, but it does show there was intent to protect HX.

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/s...o-takeoff.html


"Because Heathrow Connect services will not be advertised as through trains and
will always be overtaken en route, Murphy believes most London - Heathrow
passengers will continue to use the fast trains. There will be no through
tickets other than the full Heathrow Express fares."


Thanks, that's an interesting article from 14 years ago. It's an
interesting reminder of how projects slip even when they're not notoriously
delayed:

"In the longer term, Heathrow Connect may be absorbed by Crossrail Line 1,
which plans to operate four trains/h into Heathrow Airport from around
2014. BAA Rail is also pushing ahead with the Airtrack project to extend
the Terminal 5 branch to carry local services to and from the southwest
suburbs."

So the full Crossrail 1 will finally run to Heathrow more than five years
later than was expected back in 2004, and Airtrack is still no more than a
(renamed) concept, with no possibility of opening before 2030.