Heathrow Connect services have been suspended, following issues with the trains used by sister service Heathrow Express.
As a result of the “technical issue”, the majority of Heathrow Express trains have been taken out of service, and in order to keep the express route in operation, the service will be operated with Heathrow Connect trains.
This means that the stopping Heathrow Connect service has been suspended on Monday February 29 and Tuesday March 1.
The Heathrow Express service will continue to operate every 15 minutes, and anyone holding pre-bought Heathrow Connect tickets will be eligible to use the service.
Heathrow Connect said that "Passengers who wish to travel to one of the stations on the Heathrow Connect route should take the 140 bus from Heathrow to Hayes and Harlington, followed by a Great Western Railway service to Paddington".
The Heathrow Connect trains do not offer a business class section, so Heathrow Express customers who have bought Business First tickets will be entitled to a refund.
The operator also says that the cost of Heathrow Express tickets will be reduced to £17 each way (or £28 return) during the disruption.
The BBC website is reporting that a crack was found in the underframe of a Heathrow Express train on Sunday.
In a statement Heathrow Express said that:
“As a result of a routine maintenance check by Siemens, a technical issue has been identified which has resulted in the majority of the Heathrow Express trains being taken out of service as a safety precaution.
“The trains have now been recalled as a precaution. Over the coming days each train will be thoroughly inspected by a specialist team at the Old Oak Common depot, to provide assurance.”
Heathrow Express Director Fraser Brown added that: “While we regret the inconvenience this will cause to our customers and airport colleagues, safety remains our top priority.
“We are working with Siemens engineers, who manage our depot site and the maintenance of our trains, to understand the extent of this issue. When we are aware of what we are dealing with, we will be able to make a decision on when a full service will resume.”
A further update will be provided by the rail operator on March 1.
heathrowexpress.com, heathrowconnect.com
Mark Caswell
