Pic Line -> Heathrow T5

[sweek]

My idea is to turn it all into a big loop again whenever Heathrow Terminal 6 is opened like so:

The grey bits are disused, the red bits are new. This is the easiest way to turn it into one big loop, allowing for longer stops at both T5 and T123. The little connection at Hatton Cross also allows for one train to just go round and round the loop and connect the terminals with each other.

Ideally, you'd probably want to turn around the whole loop to make sure the majority of users reach their terminal fastest.

[Starkey7]

He's right you know. When Terminal 6 is forced through (as no doubt it will), two branches and a separate loop at the end of the Piccadilly is just going to be stupid. Perhaps the Piccadilly shouldn't need to serve all the terminals; as the busiest airport in the world, Heathrow really should have its own transit system.

This argument of reversing the loop makes no sense to me. If you reverse the loop then passengers from Terminals 1,2,3 will take longer to get to Central London than from Terminal 4, so it's six of one, six of the other.

[editorsfoot]

What people also need to remember is that Heathrow is peoples first impression of Britain, the current confusion that seems to reign must put people off. You get on at HT5, pull into HT123 where another train might arrive on the next platform and people jump onto that one which leaves first, I've seen a few shocked travellers there recently.

[eurovision50]

Perhaps the Piccadilly shouldn't need to serve all the terminals; as the busiest airport in the world, Heathrow really should have its own transit system.

What people also need to remember is that Heathrow is peoples first impression of Britain, the current confusion that seems to reign must put people off.

I totally agree. I really don't see why the Piccadilly line doesn't terminate at 'Heathrow Airport' where they can catch a train on a circular route to all the terminals. The problem with that, though, is that they'd have to literally pull up all the tracks and start again. Nonetheless, they might as well... it'd probably be the only thing that worked at Heathrow (-specifically Terminal 5). I remember coming back from the Eurovision, in Athens in May 2006, on an indirect flight through Rome. It's not quite the same thing, but they had a tiny metro which encircled the terminal, visiting all the gates (-or at least gates 1-10, 11-20 and so on and so forth). It was so jolly convenient. The problem is that Heathrow is so huge and spread out, than you'd need one train to take you from one terminal to the next and then another train to take you to your gate.

Personally I think that Sweek's suggestion is good. True, looking at the track layout just reinforces the fact that the layout is frightfully disorganised, but with a bit of rearranging and some 'pimping-up' of the stations, it would certainly work.

(Or alternativly they could rip up everything East of Hatton Cross and start again!)

[mullardo]

Make all piccadilly line trains terminate at Hatton Cross and make a circluar heathrow line starting at Hatton Cross.

You'd then have to rename in Hatton Cross for Heathrow or something stupid.

[eurovision50]

Personally I don't agree that Hatton Cross should be the hub, as it is a station in its own right serving the area. Theoretically, the 'hub' (and indeed the Piccadilly line terminus) would be close to at least one terminal. There's no point making everyone catch another train.

[editorsfoot]

Make all piccadilly line trains terminate at Hatton Cross and make a circluar heathrow line starting at Hatton Cross.

That would bugger up the all lines challenge!

[Starkey7]

(Or alternativly they could rip up everything East of Hatton Cross and start again!)

Wow!

[jbom1]

I assume that was a typo for "everything West of Hatton Cross ?!"

[Garion]

Hmmm yeah. A pretty big, expensive and long term works are to be put in place if its east of Hatton Cross

[mullardo]

Technicaly Heathrow is east of Hatton Cross, just a very long way east.

Back to the point. Currently the following services are done by Connect/Express;

1,2,3 <-> 5
1,2,3 <-> 4

and by pure genius these are the services covered by LU aswell. So any new line would have to (well should) link in the following way.

4 <-> 5
1,2,3 <-> 6
4 <-> 6
5 <-> 6

My idea therefore is run a line from T4 <-> T5 <-> T6 <-> T1,2,3 in both directions.
The piccadilly to 4 can be scraped and the platform reused. The main piccadilly can goto T1,2,3 and T5.
Couple this with better connections to connect/express and its the best idea i can think of

[eurovision50]

I assume that was a typo for "everything West of Hatton Cross ?!"

Hahahaha, sorry! I definately meant West... otherwise it'd be like eternal maintenance works. Fantastic, we all love them!

And Mullardo, that's an interesting idea, certainly not something I would ever have thought of. The problem is that we have so many different services running to Heathrow that it just gets confusing after a while. Prehaps all external services should be directed to terminate at, say, T6 (-as it'd be a new terminal, they could build a new station.) And from the T6 hub have a circular line to all the other terminals. Although, like you said, having the Piccadilly line passing through two Heathrow stations would make the journey easier for those who would otherwise have to change.

[Starkey7]

Stupid Heathrow. I say the whole darn airport be closed. Although Soup Dragon would need a new job, so he should be given the job of chief demolition team bloke. Kevin can help.

Sorry. I'm feeling rather random today.

[greatkingrat]

If Terminal 6 is built it will be North of the current terminals so it should be possible to build a station on the Heathrow Express line to serve it.

I think the Piccadilly line would remain as it is now and any passengers for T6 would have to use HEx/Crossrail.

[mullardo]

Oh i forgot about crossrail.