Heathrow Express celebrates 20th birthday with free travel offer

Heathrow Express

Heathrow Express: Free travel offer this weekend to celebrate birthday

If you are aged 20 and using the Heathrow Express this weekend, you are in luck. Travel is free. To celebrate the high-speed link’s 20th birthday tomorrow, Heathrow Express is offering free travel for 20-year-olds on Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24.

That’s a saving of £22 for a single off-peek ticket bought on-line. Heathrow Express Director, Fraser Brown said: “With almost half of our customers aged under 35, we’re celebrating two decades of being the fastest way between London Paddington and Heathrow Central by inviting anyone who’s 20 to enjoy free travel on our services this weekend.”

On June 23, 1998, as France hosted the World Cup, Prime Minister at the time Tony Blair officially opened the fastest route between the UK’s hub airport and central London. Today, with its future guaranteed until at least 2028, Heathrow Express is set to continue to be the fastest route between London Paddington and Heathrow Central, as the only dedicated rail service to the airport.

Heathrow Express trains reach speeds of 100 mph on the 15-minute journey between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminals 2&3, while its fleet of fully electric trains are a sustainable option for passengers, supporting Heathrow’s goal of ensuring that 50% of the airport’s passengers will use public and sustainable transport to travel to and from Heathrow by 2030.

In 20 years, Heathrow Express has carried more than 100 million passengers on more than 1 million services and is estimated to have saved 266 million kg of carbon emissions – offering customers a 54% reduction in carbon emissions compared to a taxi.

Customers will be able to use Oyster and contactless payments from autumn this year, while by December 2019, they will benefit from a new dedicated fleet of trains being introduced to the service. The new trains will provide first class carriages, high speed Wi-Fi, additional luggage racks and on-board entertainment.