The Anonymous Widower

Riding Rail Air Between Reading Station And Heathrow Terminal 5

Today, I rode on a Rail Air coach between Reading station And Heathrow Terminal 5.

I took these pictures as I walked through Reading station and from the coach.

These are my thoughts on various topics.

Catching The Coach At Reading

Consider.

• The route to Rail Air from the trains at Reading station is well signed.
• The entrance to the Rail Air terminal at Reading station is behind the M & S Simply Food store.
• I estimate that the time between arriving at Reading station and the coach leaving was only a few minutes.
• Rail Air coaches run every twenty minutes.
• My coach had about ten passengers.
• My single fare was £17.30 with my Senior Railcard.

It was all a rather painless process.

On The Coach

Consider.

• The coach was more-or-less what you would expect on a quality route.
• The view was good.
• I had a table, with four seats.
• The table had contactless charging and drink holders.
• There was no charging for my phone and camera, which use USB or 13 amp plugs.
• The seat was reasonably comfortable.
• There was a toilet.
• There was typical storage for heavy luggage underneath the seats.

I would have thought if Wrightbus fit USB ports on their buses, that they are needed.

The Route

This Google Map shows Reading and Heathrow

Note.

1. Reading is at the Western end of the map.
2. Heathrow is at the Eastern end of the map.
3. The red arrow indicates Winniersh Triangle station on the Eastern side of Reading.
4. The coaches stop at Reading Cemetery and Winnersh Triangle station.
5. Most of the route between Winnersh Triangle and Heathrow Airport is on the M4 Motorway or dual-carriageway roads.
6. The distance appears to be just under 27 miles and is scheduled to take forty minutes.
7. Click the map to show to a larger scale.

It looks to me that it is an ideal route for a coach.

On The Journey

Consider.

• Once clear of Reading and past the stop at Winnersh  Triangle, the coach held a good speed all the way to Heathrow, as the motoway was not busy.
• In the UK coaches under twelve metres long, can run at 70 mph and I estimated that this coach was probably at 60 mph.
• The stops were called out like stations on a train.
• Strangely, the roadholding was not as good as that of the Wrightbus hydrogen bus, that I took to Gatwick, a couple of weeks ago.
• The big problem though was the noise of the diesel engine, which was very loud compared to the noise of the fuel cell and electric transmission of the Wrightbus hydrogen bus.

I suspect that transforming the hydrogen bus into a coach, could result in a very high quality coach, with the performance and range of a diesel coach, without the noise, pollution, vibration and carbon emissions.

March 4, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Coaches, Heathrow Airport, Hydrogen-Powered Coaches, Irizar, M4 Motorway, Marks and Spencer, Rail Air, Reading Station, Winnersh Triangle Station, Wrightbus