wrote:

In a couple of weeks the Mrs. & I will be arriving at Heathrow T3 headed
for St. James Underground Station. Due to our Travelcards and railpasses,
taking LU all the way or taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then
LU to St. James would incur no additional cost to us.

What rail pass do you have? A Britrail? I wasn't aware they allowed travel
on the Heathrow Express, as the domestic equivalent (All Line Rail Rover)
doesn't.

The Journey Planner shows virtually identical travel times regardless of
routing. As we travel extremely light, luggage and stairs are not an
issue. Does anyone here have a preference? Or, assuming "good service"
reported by all affected lines should we simply go as the spirit moves us.
We have ridden both services downtown before, so we are familiar with each
experience, however never really paid attention to the timing or ease of
connecting. Thanks.

Without heavy luggage, I would probably opt for Heathrow Express, then
Circle Line for St James's Park. If you take LU all the way, Barons Court is
a good place to change from the Picc to the District line, as it's
cross-platform. If you leave the change until Earls Court or South
Kensington, you will have to negotiate stairs/escalators for no time
benefit.

Chris

"Chris Read" wrote in message
...

wrote:

In a couple of weeks the Mrs. & I will be arriving at Heathrow T3 headed
for St. James Underground Station. Due to our Travelcards and
railpasses, taking LU all the way or taking the Heathrow Express to
Paddington, then LU to St. James would incur no additional cost to us.

What rail pass do you have? A Britrail? I wasn't aware they allowed travel
on the Heathrow Express, as the domestic equivalent (All Line Rail Rover)
doesn't.

Britrail London Plus Pass
(http://www.raileurope.com/rail-ticke...ss/index.html).
Over the years it has morphed from the Network Southeast Pass to the Day Out
of London Pass to the current Plus. As the price has shot up dramatically,
I guess the marketing folks thought they'd throw in a Heathrow
Express/Heathrow Connect voucher as a bonus. When I bought the Pass, I had
no idea the voucher was included nor, frankly, cared as I was going to
simply take the Piccadilly to Hammersmith - as Paul suggested - and switch
to the District. Since I have the vouchers, I thought I'd ask you folks if
there was any benfit other than "because I can". FWIW, I was a suspicious
as you, so after I received the paperwork I sent a query to
as that's where I bought the Pass. Here is the
answer they sent:

Dear Rich,

Thank you for your email.

The BritRail London Pass does not include travel on the airport express
trains. Therefore it comes with two vouchers to travel on the Heathrow
Express train which you can use at any time. These do not count towards
your travel days.

Kind Regards

Anna


The Journey Planner shows virtually identical travel times regardless of
routing. As we travel extremely light, luggage and stairs are not an
issue. Does anyone here have a preference? Or, assuming "good service"
reported by all affected lines should we simply go as the spirit moves us.
We have ridden both services downtown before, so we are familiar with each
experience, however never really paid attention to the timing or ease of
connecting. Thanks.

Without heavy luggage, I would probably opt for Heathrow Express, then
Circle Line for St James's Park. If you take LU all the way, Barons Court
is a good place to change from the Picc to the District line, as it's
cross-platform. If you leave the change until Earls Court or South
Kensington, you will have to negotiate stairs/escalators for no time
benefit.

Chris

Your input is much appreciated.

Rich