Quote: "Do not right off airports in London "not allowed commercial flights", sole use charters are allowed aren't they?"
Do you mean NHT by chance?
Quote: "FDF looks forward to LHR - Exeter - not only will t not happen in his lifetime it will never happen at all
Currently it takes 2 to 2.5 hours from Paddington by train - when Crossrail is in and the Reading direct link plus the 125 replacements will probably be somewhat faster
who is going to slog out to LHR, have to go through security, and then wait 45 -60 mins for a flight which will probably be nearly 60 mins from gate to gate where you are out miles out of Exeter?"
You are almost certainly right, Heathrow Harry, but bear in mind that the crossrail will not go to/from Reading, so another change at Maidenhead will be needed after a stretch on a local train.
It would make sense for Reading to be the western end of crossrail, why do planners ignore the huge Reading interchange? Yet another example of an allergy to common sense?
If long distance trains are eventually routed through LHR-5 and LHR-1/2/3 (on a Langley-LHR-5 spur and then on Heathrow Express tracks to airport junction), and the Great Western is electrified as far west as Exeter it could become a very fast journey.
The former is unlikely, and the inability to change (to/from a long distance train) at Hayes will probably remain. The latter is only planned as far as Newbury, and it's doubtful that bi-mode trains would be used.
For connecting pax using rail, it's a lot of lugging baggage around: change at Reading for local train, then onto crossrail at Maidenhead, then again at Heathrow. Might be easier to check in bags at EXT through to final destination and vice versa. BTW EXT is only about 3 mi. from Exeter.
But, as mentioned earlier, it won't happen.
Last edited by Fairdealfrank; 21st Jun 2013 at 18:38.