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From January 13, the new terminal 5 timetable will commence. Trains will run as follows:

Central London -> T4 (wait for up to 5 minutes) -> T123 -> Central London
Central London -> T123 to Terminate
T123 to start -> Central London

The trains will run to and from T5 for crew training purposes only. Passengers will not be conveyed and a full sweep of the train will be carried out before the train departs for T5.

On this date, the platforms at Heathrow become Westbound (for T5 only - terminating platform until March) and Eastbound (for Central London only). Eastbound trains will continue to arrive from T4 as well as the new T5.

It is consider to much of a risk to change operations at H123 and begin running in service from H5 on the same day hence the staggered change.

This affects first and last train times.

when you say a full sweep of the train will take place at terminal 4 before it continues to terminal 5.I remember other messages on this forum about people taking the Kennington loop by staying on the train do you believe that somebody wont try to see if it is possible.

Of course people will try it. I'm not sure whether London Underground would be allowed to allow it for Health and Safety Reasons though.

I understand that this is also the date that staff are assigned to the new station at T5.

I would expect that for the majority of the time they will be working at T123 until it opens. I would therefore expect that there will be a full sweep of the train.

Tube challengers are advised that each T5 train has a longer dwell time at T123 than normal stations.

So let me get this straight all trains will go round clockwise around the existing loop but some trains will pass through terminal 4 to go straight to terminal 1,2,3 and finish otherwise u get a train that goes to terminal4 and wait for the next through train?

Not quite. Trains can go direct from Hatton Cross to Heathrow terminals 1,2,3 NOT via HT4. (ie, along the opposite line to those trains normally heading back up towards London). Trains doing so will then continue on towards HT5.

The layout is something like this:

Presumably first (at least public) trains will be on the 27th March when the terminal opens?

If both the terminal itself, the station and the train are all working as planned, then yes, that would be the date. The in-train stickers and announcements would also change on that day.

Well I have noticed that the Journeyplanner seems to miss trains out even though u know that they are running when i first did i had a 18 min wait at heathorw t4 i thought that cant be right.

Does anybody know why T5 is on a branch rather than on the loop?

Presumably like most of things going on in T5 its a shambles design but im sure there more an enigineering reason to it.

Obviously building a new stretch of loop and abandoning the current portion between T123 and T4 would be a waste of money, but I can't see why this isn't a viable option:

Build a two-track branch coming off T123, as they have done.
Have trains go anti-clockwise around the track, rather than clockwise.
That way, trains can come from Hatton Cross, past T123, on to T5, then either turn around by means of a small loop or simply have the driver go to the other end of the train (giving people time to take out their luggage).
The train would then go from T5, rejoin the loop and continue to T4 and from their to Hatton Cross.
That way you effectivly have a loop.


<<<T5 <<<<<< T123 <<<<<<<<<<<<<< HATTON CROSS<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>______________________>>> HATTON CROSS>>
__________\/ ____________________/\
__________\/ ____________________/\
_________________>>>>>>>>>T4 >>>>

Could you not leave the loop clockwise and do that in reverse? That way the trains wouldn't have to cross over the opposite running line to get to/from the loop.

Also, are you suggesting that trains reverse twice (at HT5, and then at HT123 to go around the loop) or that they build a curve from the HT5 line to the loop?

Main problem with the loop is that the majority of the passengers have a longer journey. Terminals 1-2-3 is that largest with most passengers and which ever way the loop runs they are going to have to go around it when they are travelling to the airport or travelling from it into central london. Also where on this loop would the driver have his toilet break (a wait of 8 minutes) if this was a T5 that would add even more time to T123 passengers journeys.

I'm not personally agreeing with the idea, i can come up with many flaws in it, I'm just trying to find out what the suggestion was.