Tuesday 17th October 2023
First Beeline’s new route RA3 running hourly between Watford Junction railway station and Heathrow Airport is now in its 13th week so I thought it was high time I gave it a try to see how it’s settled in. It recreates a link offered many years ago by Virgin Rail West Coast.
Introduced on 23rd July the two coach operation from First Berkshire’s Slough bus garage joins the long established RailAir branded route RA1 from Reading rail station and the four year old route RA2 from Guildford, which in January 2020, was diverted to also serve Woking replacing the previous coach connection to Heathrow from that town’s rail station and more recently from 20 August this year was increased to half hourly between Woking and Heathrow.
The RA3 hourly timetable operates across 20 and a half hours each day with a first journey from Watford at 03:55 (through until 23:00) and last journey back leaves Heathrow at 23:50 (arriving Watford 00:31).
Coincidental with route RA3’s introduction on 23rd July, routes RA1 and RA2 were removed from Heathrow’s Central Bus Station in favour of using bus stops at the front of Terminals 2 and 3 instead which is how coaches on RA3 are routed too.
While RA1 and RA2 also serve Terminal 5, RA3’s route into and out of the Airport doesn’t lend itself to include that so it’s a free one-stop transfer on the Underground, Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express for any Watfordians wanting Terminal 5 (once they’ve walked to the Central Bus Station/Underground station from Terminal 2).
Arriving into Heathrow, coaches serve Terminal 2 first (in the gloom laden dropping off and picking up area) …
… and then the small bus and coach station outside Terminal 3 where five minutes stand time is included before coaches return direct to Watford.
A daytime round trip Watford to Heathrow and back to Watford is timetabled to take an hour and 44 minutes including the five minutes stand at Terminal 3. An increased allowance is included at peak times and less at the beginning and end of the day.
The route is a simple one, from Watford using the A411 and motorway slip road to Junction 19 on the M25 then the M25 to Junction 16 for the M4 and its slip road into the Airport.
Although that stretch of the M25 is notorious for delays at busy times (especially between Junctions 17 (M40) and 16) it looks like there’s enough slack in the schedule to cope. Indeed on my try out on Monday last week on the 11:44 departure from Terminal 2 we joined the M25 at 12:05 (having left Terminal 3 on time at 11:55) and with a very smooth clear run left at Junction 19 just 15 minutes later at 12:20 arriving into Watford Junction bus station at 12:32, 12 minutes ahead of schedule with the next journey for Heathrow not leaving until 13:00. So the coach went off to park up somewhere and have a rest.
Unlike the smart gleaming RailAir branded coaches depicted in First’s official PR photos I’ve included at the beginning of this blog, It was slightly disappointing to have one of the green Truronian branded coaches which are helping out on RailAir services until the arrival of new coaches due in January. This doesn’t help raise awareness of the new route during these first few months. Another one was on the RA2 Guildford route too.
The interior was very comfortable though and it gave a lovely ride gliding along the motorway at around 60 mph.
Bus stops at both Terminals 2 and 3 had updated timetables displayed for all three routes….
…. and if you had the patience you could wait for a five screen display to click round advising which departure bay (at Terminal 2) the services use.
My other disappointment was not being able to work out how to obtain the promised discount on the fare using my Senior Railcard.
I tried following the instructions online but, maybe due to my own lack of technical expertise, just couldn’t make it work. The instruction is “If using Railcard please leave (Adults) set to 0” but then nothing happens (because you’ve set it to zero!).
I’m not sure how much of a discount I would have enjoyed but more annoying was all the faffing around on my smartphone trying to get the discount meant I ran out of time to buy an online single for £9 and instead had to buy the same ticket from the driver for £12 – and he couldn’t find a way to include a Railcard discount either.
After leaving Terminal 2 there was a driver changeover at Terminal 3 and I understand the two vehicles provide for six driver duties each day.
I was the only passenger.
Departures are listed in the usual Hertfordshire County Council format at the departure stand at Watford Junction bus station as well as a branded poster which includes a QR code that takes you to a tracking website showing where the coaches are which I also noted at Heathrow and found useful and reassuring to see my coach approach.
Whereas the long established RailAir RA1 from Reading as well as the Guildford/Woking RA2 are included in the National Rail database with the ability to book through journeys, I couldn’t see the three month old RA3 has appeared yet.
When I checked a journey from Rugby to Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 leaving at 13:30 on Avanti West Coast’s website (both Avanti and RailAir are operated by First Group), it advised me to travel north with West Midlands Trains at 14:04 to Coventry then catch a Cross Country train to Reading and then take the RA1 from there arriving Heathrow at 16:53 …
…whereas leaving eight minutes earlier at 13:56 I could catch an Avanti West Coast train to Watford Junction ….
… and change on to the 15:00 RA2 departure which would get me to Terminal 2 over an hour earlier at 15:49.
What’s more, the former via Coventry and Reading would set me back £83.50 whereas the latter would be £46.50.
I think someone at First needs to take a look at that, and get National Rail’s database updated.
Until the RA3, people in Watford used Arriva’s Green Line branded hourly route 724 which for decades has linked Harlow, Hertford, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and St Albans as well as Watford, Rickmansworth, Denham and Uxbridge with Heathrow.
This departs from the Central Bus Station (rather than the Terminal Buildings) and I took a look at the 11:15 departure and saw 18 passengers board which took some time to achieve resulting in a six minute late departure.
Characteristically Arriva not only produced a bus with no Green Line branding but one branded for its airport routes between Harlow and Stansted Airport.
How to confuse passengers without trying very hard.
Thr 724 takes an hour to travel from Watford Junction to Heathrow’s Central Bus Station whereas the RA3 does it in 44 minutes to the Terminals.
I wonder if any of those passengers I saw boarding the 724 were travelling to Watford and were even aware of the RA3’s existence which is one of the downsides of the new route not serving Central Bus Station which acts as the main hub for bus routes to and from the Airport.
Heathrow Airport are undoubtedly providing funding for the RA3 which is just as well as I doubt loadings will improve until the new branded coaches are in service and awareness increases. Once that happens it should catch on as a quick way to connect between train and plane. But through ticketing and awareness on the railway needs to be urgently established.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
Comments are welcome but please keep them relevant to the blog topic and add your name (or an identifier). Thank you.
BusAndTrainUser 
Don’t forget this link was first stopping Green Line 727 back in the 1960s (pre-motorway), later added to with Jetlink 747 non-stop, and on to Gatwick, which was gradually extended by Speedlink Airport Services to continue to Brighton in one direction and Stansted Airport in the other and even further afield. We enjoyed working closely with the development of Jetlink and helping it grow.
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I remember living in Croxley Green as a kid and the bizarre situation that the 724 stopped at Croxley Met while 727 didn’t. I think this was some sort of legacy from the 727 being an “express” route. Eventually LCBS sorted out this nonsense and for a while we had what was probably the best ever service from Watford to Heathrow Airport.
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What a pity the route doesn’t run round the clock to provide a 24 hour service. Although LHR doesn’t have night flights luggage and customs delays etc would justify running services well past midnight. It would also be easier to market and brand. It used to be the same at LGW. I remember once landing there around 0100 which was the time when National Express took their reliefs. As for Arriva’s 724 they just seem to want to kill off what was once a flagship route. Bring back London Country !
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In fact the 724 is one of the few routes in the old London Country north area that runs at the same frequency that it did pre-pandemic, that frequency including a good (and relatively recently improved) evening and Sunday service. Even though a 508/9/10 bus was seen when Roger travelled, a new dedicated 724 livery is being applied to the regular fleet. Arriva haven’t done a lot of investing recently, but I can’t agree that they’re trying to kill it off!
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Is it me but does French ever get to use his Senior Railcard sucessfully on anything he tries to use it on?
Personally I think for once it’s good to see First actually doing something positive and forward looking for once I for one hope it success.
As for the Truronian coach having worked at First the way they allocate vehicles he should be lucky he didn’t get a Streetlite!
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At least it did not go shopping.
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I do hope that’s not a reference to recent events.
Of course, the irony is that it is Arriva (rather than First) that has turfed out standard buses onto long-distance services, though the 724 does act more as a local bus service for much of its length. And as always, the attention to detail and pride in the appearance of Arriva’s Harlow depot fleet is evident.
As regards anon 08:36 comments, much of the marketing and route of the RA3 is the responsibility of Heathrow as they’re the ones responsible for the commissioning of the route and on-site marketing, and possibly being responsible for the wider marketing piece.
I can understand why First has drafted in some temporary vehicles (perhaps Ray could’ve designed some temporary bespoke marketing to go on the Truronian livery) but really the ticketing gap with Avanti is perhaps the biggest issue.
BW2
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The RA 2 often has the last remaining Volvo 7900 bus on it – not exactly a great advert for a premium coach service
Paul D
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That 7900 was withdrawn last week
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Bus Companies just cannot grasp the concept of Marketing. The poor loading on the RA3 are almost certainly as a result of poor marketing and advertising. The RA3 is a lot faster so people traveling between Watford and Heathrow would use it if they new about it. Not using the Central Bus Station may be another issue, How do the fares compare to those of the 724?, If the RA3 is faster and cheaper that’s a good selling point and the RA3 coaches certainly provided a higher level of comfort than the old buses Arriva are using
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Arriva 724 is included in the £2 fare cap so currently, that is the cost. For the sake of 10-15 minutes, it’s £7 cheaper than the RA3.
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Must have changed then as initially the Greenline services were excluded
Another problem is the Railair Web site has not been properly updated. If you try to book a ticket on line you cannot as it dos nor recognise Watford
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The 724 bus illustrated is two years newer than the Truronian liveried coaches!
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Is the average punter going to know that? Certainly, the Arriva vehicle looks a darn sight shabbier
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Sadly, that’s one of the tidier examples of the Arriva fleet….! Most look like they’ve been dragged straight out of PVS Barnsley.
Normal stock on the 724 are some 63 plate Wright/VDLs so the usual bus fleet is actually older than the Truronian coaches…
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I personally think 100% bullet proof reliability is the main requirement for an airport service. Passengers are either going to work or for a flight. Either way their journey is time critical. The new 730/1 from Basingstoke has suffered from missing journeys in it’s early existance which has done nothing to build usage. First on the other hand seem to run all of their Rail Air journeys.
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I have had a look at the First Bus app, which what I always use for ticket buying for RA1 and RA2, and for getting my Railcard discount. I couldn’t find RA3 anywhere, and there wasn’t even an obvious area that covered it, unless you consider Watford to be in Berkshire and Thames Valley (RA3 wasn’t there either).
The move out of Heathrow Central Bus Station caught me out two weeks ago. I missed a bus as a result, but as it was RA1 the wait wasn’t serious. I solved the problem of finding a bus stop by taking the Tube to T5, where nothing has changed.
For those who don’t know the RA routes, be aware that the Railcard discount applies all day long. Senior Railcard holders are advised to use split ticketing in the morning peak rather than one through ticket.
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The Railair website also seems to direct people to book connections with WMR (West Midlands Railway), rather than LNR (London Northwestern Railway). No through fares seem to exist as they did in the Virgin Trains ExpressCoach (RailLinks) days. Does anyone from Avanti or First actually know what they are doing?
Charley
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Truthful answer is no, not many people at First Group do know what they are doing. People in high places because of who they know, not what they know. Absolute shambolic operations, poor marketing and lack of care for passengers. That is the policy that First Group staff live by and that is from CEO level down to customer facing staff.
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WMR and LNR are the two brands (local and long distance) of the same company (perhaps confusingly called West Midlands Trains), and neither are Avanti….
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My last paragraph is really only relevant to journeys that are wholly within the Network Southeast area. Ironically, no RA discount is available for Network Railcard holders
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The fare from Heathrow to Watford on the 724 is currently much chealpr than on the new Railair coach. I think the fact that the 724 leaves from the central bus staion is also better than leaving from just the terminals. It is worth remembering that not everyone who catches a bus or coach from Heathrow is an airline passenger. Many people from outer west London, including myself, come into Heathrow on local TFL buses and then interchange onto express services. I would rather walk a few metres from the TFL drop off stop to the 724 departure stop than walk miles to one of the terminal bus stations. Also most people in west London are completely clueless about tbihs new service as the local publicity has been almost non-existent.
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Good points, would think the 724 would be popular with shift workers as well, but the annoying thing is Arriva charge premium fares to/from Heathrow even though the 724 stops in the TFL part of the bus station, i’m not sure if the £2 fare covers Heathrow as the Arriva site is dreadful
I think the 724 more of an express bus service than a coach service [yes i know Arriva use standard buses on the 724] coaches aren’t suitable for this route, also notices Arriva have expanded the 724 timetable, which now has a couple of overnight journeys.
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Am I reading the destination display on the bus at T2 right? It appears to be showing ‘Watford Station’. This is the Metropolitan Line station and is a long way from Watford Junction.
Nigel Collins
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I notice that the RailAir Book Fares area has a drop down menu for number of passengers. All the other destinations have a third option for adult with railcard but not the Watford one. But does it mean they’ve left it off by mistake or you can’t get one. I can only guess which of those is the real reason.
Lawrie Davidson
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I doubt anyone at First would be aware that there’s more than one station in Watford – but then nor would most of the interchanging passengers!
Not that the latter makes First’s oversight right, of course.
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I have found the Railair website a bit clunky. There is no information about what the fares are for RA1 unless you try to book, with or without a railcard. When you do book it is for a specific journey and you can’t buy an open return. When I used the service a few months ago on return as I didn’t have a ticket and having just missed one I jumped on the 702 to Slough and train from there. NT
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Just a minor correction regarding the RA2 and National Express 925 at Woking. The RA2 didn’t replace the 925 in 2020 as stated. The National Express 925 did briefly resume after Covid, running 17th August to 8th November 2020, during which time the RA2 was still on its original Guildford – Wisley – Heathrow routing up the A3. The Guildford to Heathrow RA2 didn’t actually swap its intermediate Wisley stop for Woking Station until the following year – 9th January 2021. [DC]
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Thanks for that info.
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The £2 cap is definitely in force on the 724 as we used it recently. Although fabulously cheap, it was stressful with our luggage as there was hardly any luggage rack so our luggage kept trying to slide around the floor, especially at the roundabouts which the driver took with gusto!
One thing that has changed on the railway side is that less long distance trains stop at Watford Junction than they used to, which will likely reduce longer distance folk.
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I had cause to use the RA2 last month (flying back into Heathrow from Chicago, then onto Hampshire to join friends in the country) – and it turned out to be a very good choice. Straight out of T3 to a waiting 23654, at least twenty onboard once we’d left T5, and a breeze of a journey down to Woking – and straight onto the platform for my Petersfield train which was already approaching.
Integration as it should be, frankly – and the promised new coaches (presumably more Scania/Irizar?) will make it even better.
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It’s depressing that time and again we see the same patterns with new services being launched. Poor or non existent marketing, information either incomplete or not updated both online and at stops, ticketing errors and poor vehicle branding and allocation.
Heathrow appear to be investing substantially in supporting new services, a plan which has been delayed from pre covid, yet their co-ordination of the above aspects is virtually non existent. Is it just ineptitude or do they have no interest in these new services succeeding?
To the south of the airport the 555 timetable has been changed for the second time in about a year with the introduction of a complementary 556. Yet the information at T4 and at stops along the route hasn’t been updated and there’s been zero publicity locally or on board buses. The two share a common route as far as Sunbury Cross yet the timetables are presented completely separately without even a reference to the complimentary route. This makes it much harder to read if you do know they exist, and if you don’t it makes buses look much less frequent than they are. The start of the new timetable was marked by the ubiquitous A4 paper destination blind although that at least does appear to have been sorted.
You can also add in the generally unenticing condition of the various Heathrow stops which is in stark contrast to the investment over the last few years in the terminals themselves which now look very smart and well looked after.
Surfblue
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