RailAir - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

RailAir, Railair or Rail Air describes a number of airport bus

Airport bus

An airport bus, or airport shuttle bus or airport shuttle is a bus or coach used to transport people to/from, or within airports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding....

and coach services designed to connect the National Rail

National Rail

National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...

network to airports in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Services are currently concentrated on London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

, with one other from London Luton Airport

London Luton Airport

London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...

. Railair services are operated as public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

services by or on behalf of train operators, where the whole journey is paid for as a through ticket which combines the railway and bus journey, although journeys can be made using the bus only. As such, many are operated where the train and bus operator are owned by the same company.

National Bus Company era

Railair services originated as a partnership between the nationalised bus operator, the National Bus Company, and the nationalised rail operator, British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

, under the Railair Link brand name.

In Luton, the NBC subsidiary Luton and District operated a Railair Link branded shuttle bus between Luton railway station

Luton railway station

Luton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is near to the town centre, about three minutes' walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by First Capital Connect.-History:...

and Luton Airport, as the Luton Flyer. Luton Airport Parkway railway station

Luton Airport Parkway railway station

| Luton Airport Parkway railway station is the railway station for London Luton Airport in Bedfordshire, England. The station opened in 1999 and is located south-east of Luton and west of the airport....

has since been built closer to the airport.

From 1967, Thames Valley Traction

Thames Valley Traction

Thames Valley Traction Company Limited was a major bus company operating services to and from Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Newbury, High Wycombe and Oxford and surrounding areas for over 50 years during the 20th century...

, (later Alder Valley

Alder Valley

The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company, trading as Alder Valley, was a former bus operator in England.-The NBC era:The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company was formed by the merger of two National Bus Company subsidiaries, Aldershot and District Traction and Thames Valley Traction...

), operated a Railair Link coach between Heathrow and Reading in a yellow striped livery as the X25, and later in the NBC coach livery. A Railair Link service was also operated by coach operator Rickards from Heathrow to Woking.

Post deregulation

After bus deregulation

Bus deregulation

Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...

, the existing Reading and Woking to Heathrow Railair services passed to private companies.

Privatised Alder Valley, as the Bee Line bus company, owned by Q-drive, operated the Heathrow to Reading Railair service in bottle green liveried coaches as the Rail Air service with marketing for the onward rail links to South Wales and the West of England. When Beeline passed to First Group, the Railair service was operated ultimately by First Berkshire, which in 2003 relaunched the service with Scania Irizar

Scania AB

Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...

coaches. The serviced operates as the First Group branded service Rail Air.com.

The Woking to Heathrow service was operated by Speedlink Airport Services in a blue livery. This later passed to National Express, which operated it in a light blue version of their 2003 ‘smile’ livery, in conjunction with Stagecoach group’s South West Trains

South West Trains

South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...

subsidiary, also with branding promoting rail connections to the South West.

In 2006 privatised rail operator Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

, which is 49% owned by Stagecoach Group, introduced Virgin Trains liveried coaches for Railair links to Virgin trains services from Luton and Heathrow airports, as the Virgin ExpressCoach services, operated by Stagecoach bus subsidiary Stagecoach East. From June 1 2008, the Virgin service to Heathrow was withdrawn, with passengers directed to Green Line

Green Line Coaches

Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s...

route 724 as a replacement.

Current Services

Railair is used as a generic term for these services by the public and airline operators, such as British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

at Heathrow, and as a specific brand name of some of the services. Typically, these allow connection from London airports to the north and west of the UK via the rail network, without transferring to central London rail terminals.

With the exception of London Buses route 285

London Buses route 285

London Buses route 285 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...

, Railair services are direct express coach services, longer and in contrast to local airport bus

Airport bus

es from nearby stations, and offering through ticketing as opposed to bus only ticketed airport hub connected coach networks, such as National Express Airport branded services.

In 2008 National Express dropped the smile livery for a group wide re-branding, thus more normally National Express are running the route.

Brand	Number	Airport	Train Station	Rail operator	Bus operator
Feltham Railair	285	Heathrow London Heathrow Airport London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...	Feltham Feltham railway station Feltham railway station is in Feltham, in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was opened in 1848 by the Windsor Staines and South Western Railway . It is in Travelcard Zone 6. A regular bus service runs from Feltham to Heathrow Airport.-Facilities:A footbridge in the station with lifts connects the...	South West Trains South West Trains South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...	Transdev Transdev Transdev was a major international public transport group based in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France and operating in several countries. Originally created as Société centrale pour l'équipement du territoire in 1955 and developing transportation activities since 1973, Transdev was a subsidiary... for London Buses London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
Rail Air.com	X25	Heathrow London Heathrow Airport London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...	Reading Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...	First Great Western First Great Western First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....	First Berkshire & The Thames Valley First Berkshire & The Thames Valley First Berkshire & The Thames Valley is a bus operator serving Bracknell, Slough and Wokingham, in England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
train2plane		Luton London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...	Luton Airport Parkway Luton Airport Parkway railway station \| Luton Airport Parkway railway station is the railway station for London Luton Airport in Bedfordshire, England. The station opened in 1999 and is located south-east of Luton and west of the airport....	First Capital Connect First Capital Connect First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...	First Capital Connect First Capital Connect First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006... , a ftr route
Virgin ExpressCoach	VT99/VT98	Luton London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...	Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes Central railway station Milton Keynes Central railway station serves Central Milton Keynes and the surrounding area of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The station is located on the West Coast Main Line between the stations of Bletchley and Wolverton, both of which are also within Milton Keynes. The station is served by...	Virgin Trains Virgin Trains Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...	Stagecoach East Stagecoach East Stagecoach East is the divisional name for the bus operations of the Stagecoach Group in eastern England.From 1999 until August 2010 the division had two trading names:*Stagecoach in Bedford which covers Stagecoach services in Bedford & Bedfordshire...
Woking Railair	701	Heathrow London Heathrow Airport London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...	Woking Woking railway station Woking railway station is a railway station in England, serving the town of Woking, Surrey. It is a major stop on the South Western Main Line and is used by many commuters...	South West Trains South West Trains South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...	National Express Coaches
80 Dyce Airlink 80 Dyce Airlink 80 Dyce Airlink is a shuttle bus service operated by First Aberdeen and Central Coaches. Until 2011, the service was fully operated by First Aberdeen, but Central Coaches took over took over the services Mondays to Fridays. First Aberdeen operates the X80 on Saturdays.-80:The 80 is operated by...	80	Aberdeen Aberdeen Airport Aberdeen Airport is an international airport, located at Dyce, a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 2.76 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2010, a reduction of 7.4% compared with 2009, making it the 15th busiest airport in the UK...	Dyce Dyce railway station Dyce railway station is a railway station serving the town of Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, with some trains operating on the East Coast Main Line beginning or terminating at the station. This gives it direct services to...	First ScotRail First ScotRail ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...	First Aberdeen First Aberdeen First Aberdeen Ltd is the main bus company serving Aberdeen, Scotland and is part of FirstGroup. It was renamed First Aberdeen Ltd in 1998, having previously operated buses in Aberdeen as Aberdeen Corporation, Grampian Regional Transport and First Grampian.-Aberdeen Corporation:Aberdeen Corporation...

National Bus Company era

Post deregulation

Current Services

See also