Your tickets are booked, your luggage are packed, and also you’re getting stoked on your subsequent vacation. There’s one drawback, getting from Watford to Heathrow isn’t essentially the most stress-free expertise – one thing I got here to understand as I ready for my journey to Australia.
Fortunately, a brand new bus service, RailAir, helped me get to Heathrow from Watford in essentially the most straightforward, stress-free, and most cost-effective means I’ve skilled. Getting from Watford to Heathrow Terminal 2/3 in as little as half-hour, for as little as £9!
It’s price mentioning at this level that RailAir has agreed to work with me on this put up, nevertheless, this solely took place after I’d already used them for my journeys to and from Heathrow…so these aren’t their phrases and relies on my expertise.
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Where else do the RailAir coaches operate?
RailAir 1 (RA1) – Reading and Heathrow
RailAir 2 (RA2) – Guildford-Woking and Heathrow
RailAir 3 (RA3) – Watford and Heathrow
Using RailAir to travel between Watford and Heathrow
Travelling from Heathrow back to Watford with RailAir
Overall summary of using RailAir
The place else do the RailAir coaches function?
To offer you a bit of little bit of context on who RailAir are and the place they function I’ve created a fast abstract of the three companies, nevertheless, I’ve to be trustworthy that I’ve solely used the RA3 service thus far.
RailAir 1 (RA1) – Studying and Heathrow
The RA1 one service between Studying and Heathrow is the best entry level for these travelling to Heathrow from the West of England and Wales, and avoiding needing to pay further rail fares when you enter TFL territory or the uber-pricey Heathrow Categorical.
The RA1…
- Runs as soon as each half-hour (ish)
- Prices from £22 for a single grownup fare
- Travels between Studying Station and Heathrow Terminals 2, 3 & 5
RailAir 2 (RA2) – Guildford-Woking and Heathrow
Not like the opposite companies, the RA2 stops off at two rail stations between its journey to and from Heathrow. Depart Guildford as soon as each hour and Woking each half hour, the RA2 is a incredible entry level for these travelling to Heathrow from the South of England, similar to Hampshire and even Gatwick Airport.
The RA2…
- Travels between Guildford & Woking and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3
- Runs between Guildford Station and Heathrow as soon as per hour
- Runs between Woking Station and Heathrow each half-hour (ish)
- Prices from £9.50 for an grownup single fare
RailAir 3 (RA3) – Watford and Heathrow
For these travelling to Heathrow from Birmingham, the West Midlands and the North West, the RA3 runs between Watford Junction and the airport as soon as per hour. With common trains coming down from Birmingham New Avenue, hopping off at Watford can save a reasonably penny and keep away from paying for going into London’s Zone 1.
The RA3…
- Travels between Watford Junction and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3
- Runs as soon as between Watford and Heathrow as soon as per hour
- Prices £9 for an grownup single fare
- Permits youngsters below 16 to journey free with an grownup
Utilizing RailAir to journey from Watford to Heathrow
Residing in Watford, attending to Heathrow may be one thing of a nightmare. Between the stress of the highway networks, the fee to park, the premium charges of taxis to the airport, and the introduction of the ULEZ (Extremely Low Emission Zone) round Heathrow, it’s not the nicest means of beginning a vacation.
So, once I was how you can get from Watford to Heathrow to start out my journey to Australia, I used to be eager to seek out one thing that didn’t require me to pay an arm-or-a-leg or take without end and day to reach at Heathrow.
Checking the RailAir web site, I noticed that the hourly service was extremely handy. The earliest service leaving Watford Junction at 3:55am – means sooner than the primary trains/tubes that depart Watford – and (at £9 for a single ticket) far cheaper than reserving a taxi.
Take a look at the tough estimates desk I created to weigh up my choices…
| Transport | Ticket Kind | Journey Time | Journey Value | Parking Value | ULEZ Payment | Whole value(from) |
| RailAir | Single | 30 – 45 minutes | From £9 | n/a | n/a | £9 |
| Automobile | n/a | 30 – 45 minutes | n/a | From £7.50(quick keep) | £12.50 | £20 |
| Practice/Tube | Single | 1 hour 52 minutes | From £24 | n/a | n/a | £24 |
| Taxi | Single | 30 – 45 minutes | From £35 | n/a | n/a | £35 |
On the day of travelling, I met the bus on the Grove Mill Lane bus cease. The boarding was straightforward and to my shock there have been truly a number of of us on the primary bus of the day.
To board, all you want is the QR code that’s emailed to you after reserving. The motive force merely scans the code, checks if you happen to want a hand with luggage/to retailer them within the maintain compartment, and also you’re off in your option to Heathrow.
A few ideas on the subject of boarding from Watford:
- It’s price being on the cease barely earlier than the bus arrives, so that you’re not in a rush and may be certain you gained’t miss it.
- Whereas the motive force is notified that they should cease on the ‘optionally available’ stops, it’s at all times price placing your hand out once you see the RA3 – or alternatively, checking with the motive force that they should cease one of many optionally available ones.
- As a substitute of utilizing the reserving web site and utilizing your e-mail to get the code, you can even use the First Bus app (First Bus being the mum or dad firm of RailAir) to e-book and board the coaches.
Travelling again from Heathrow to Watford with RailAir
Returning again to the UK after 4 months away and having travelled for about 36 hours in complete, on a day of strike motion, I knew I wished essentially the most stress-free option to get from Heathrow again to Watford.
A few of the greatest stresses about touchdown and passing by Heathrow are clearly: “will my aircraft land on time?”, “how lengthy will it take to get by border management?”, “how lengthy will my luggage take?”, and “how lengthy does it take to achieve the exit I want”.
With all of the questions in my head, it reassuring to learn that RailAir’s tickets “assure your seat in your particular bus journey”, nevertheless, if you happen to’re delayed or plans change at quick discover “tickets might be accepted on any journey on the day of journey (topic to accessible house)”.
Unsurprisingly, my flight tickets have been a few these bins. It was delayed touchdown and the bags was equally delayed and took some time to reach. So, clearly, I missed my deliberate coach however simply 5-10 minutes.
Fortunately, after utilizing Heathrow’s free rail ticket to journey from Terminal 4 to Terminal 2, I used to be glad to seek out that the coach stops (cease numbers 11 and 12) are tremendous near the Terminal 2 lifts (elevators); that means A) I didn’t have to stroll rather more, and B) I may get a espresso within the Terminal whereas I waited.
After a brief wait, the RA3 arrived and the motive force merely scanned my QR after I defined the delay, and on I hopped. The leather-based seats felt like a dream after spending the higher a part of 30 hours on financial system airliner seats, with the world passing by as made our means again from Heathrow to Watford.
In all, the return journey took lower than 45 minutes, and, given this was at about 8:40am on strike motion day, I used to be tremendous impressed by the timeliness.
Some fast ideas for catching the RA3 from Heathrow:
- Double-check with the motive force if you happen to’re hopping off at an ‘optionally available’ cease alongside the route, and in the event that they swap drivers, recheck.
- You should definitely examine the entrance of the bus earlier than attempting to board, the RA1 and RA2 additionally arrive and depart from the identical stops.
- Depart time to get to the bus stations at Terminal 2 and/or 3. I travelled from Terminal 4, which took roughly 15-20 minutes to catch the Elizabeth line and use the travelators and so on.
Total abstract of utilizing RailAir
Total, I discovered the service by RailAir tremendous spectacular, and contemplating the extortionate charges and problem that come from utilizing different modes of transport to Heathrow, it’s a breath of contemporary air to have the ability to use a dependable and inexpensive…particularly once you’ve bought an extended haul flight or have simply come from one.
Working hourly and costing from simply £9, the service is simple to time and positively doesn’t break the financial institution.
The service additionally gives below 16s with free coach journey and for £18 a 30-day versatile return ticket, that means if you happen to’re a household of 4 (2 adults and a pair of children) you possibly can get to and from Heathrow for simply £36!
For extra details about RailAir, go to their website.
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