When travelling from a train station in Wales (specifically Neath) it used to be simplest and cheapest to get a single rail ticket right through to Heathrow, that included the train journey to Reading and then the Rail-Air Link bus from Reading station to Heathrow, stopping at all terminals. I can't make that trip come up on Loco2.com. Has it gone back to having to buy separate tickets for the train and the bus now? If so, that's a nuisance because you have to specify what time bus you want whereas before it was only the train time that had to be specified for an advance purchase ticket, and as long as you had allowed plenty of time overall it didn't matter if the train was late, as it often was.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34004 posts
£58.70 Super Off Peak through fare changing to the bus at Reading, use the http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
I bet if I looked on the GWR website it would be similar.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5466 posts
For some years it has been cheaper in general to buy the Railair ticket separately but there are exceptions. You do not have to specify a time for the bus only the day. It is cheaper if you book between 2 and 3 months in advance. Best value is a return - which of course may not suit your plans.
Posted by
OP
English but living in Melbourne, Australia
432 posts
Thanks, Nigel & Marco. It seems that Loco2.com is unable to book the through journey (perhaps because the Rail-Air link is privately run?). But Marco is right: it is cheaper to buy the tickets separately, and that's what I'll do now I know that I don't need to specify the exact bus but just the date. (Not getting a return as my arrival in the UK is not via Heathrow.)