Great Western Coffee Shop

Caught this unit form Ealing to Hayes last night on a Connect service.

Only one genuine passenger to LHR plus I think an overcarry who was desparately looking out as it left Hayes.

Was suprised to find it branded in Heathrow Express colours! Minus internal TV screens. Whereas 204 still in Connect colours.

Also if it's branded Heathrow Express has it been ATP fitted?

It's used almost exclusively on the Heathrow Express shuttle service from Terminals 1/2 to Terminal 4, though if there's a shortage of availability on the Connect Class 360's then it can occasionally turn up on one of them.  It's fitted with ATP, as are the other 4 trains used on the Connect service - ATP is fitted to both main and relief lines as far as Airport Junction.

They must have to take some serious precauations to stop the driver on the T123 to T4 shuttle going absolutely stir-crazy! Bumbling between Paddington and Heathrow all day would be bad enough, but I can't imagine what it must be like to go back and forth on a journey of a couple of minutes underground for an entire shift. I wonder if they borrowed some rostering patterns from the Waterloo and City drivers on LUL...

There's usually an agreed number of trips that any driver can do on the trip like that....similar to the 2 or 3 round trips Reading / Basingstoke before they (usually) go off on a Gatwick run.

Thanks for the info Industry Insider that's one puzzle solved.

Should have realised the 360s would have ATP fitted. Didn't realise the Reliefs were fitted to Airport Jnction.

Heathrow Connect services PA currently announces this station as something like "Heathrow Terminals 1 and 3" or "Heathrow Central for Terminals 1 and 3". Can't remember which one they use but this is because Terminal 2 closed  a year or 2 ago, has been demolished, but will be rebuilt as a larger terminal. Terminal 1 will eventually close. Can't remember if T2 will expand into where T1 is now or if it just takes over the existing T1 piers and stands.

Yep, sorry, I meant Terminals 1 & 3.

Maximum amount of trips are blocks of 6 round trips which means that drivers get lots of breaks and as theres two drivers (one at each end) its seen as a good opportunity to read a book or should i say almost essential.

Interestingly 360205 has seats in a 2 2 configuration which gives the impression of having a lot more space compared to the other units

Thanks for that, HexDriver - I didn't realise they'd altered the seating as well.  Is there any reason why they chose to convert a Class 360 over using one of their Class 332's?  There's 14 of them, and by all accounts always seems to be a fair few sitting spare in the depot.

At the depot they always have at least one spare should something happen to a hex unit in service while the others are having their various exams done because the units are used a lot more intensively than say fgw units