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LHR → London · head to head

RailAir RA1orRailAir RA2 and South Western Railway to Southampton?

The short answer

For one traveler the RailAir RA1 is cheaper by £24.30. That does not change up to 8 travelers.

The RailAir RA1 is quicker: 40 min against 1 h 44. The RailAir RA2 and South Western Railway to Southampton varies between 100 and 125 minutes.

RailAir RA1: 04:10–00:15. RailAir RA2 and South Western Railway to Southampton: 04:50–22:20.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in GBP. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
TravelersRailAir RA1RailAir RA2 and South Western Railway to SouthamptonDifference
1£24£48.30£24.30
2£48£96.60£48.60
3£72£144.90£72.90
4£96£193.20£97.20
5£120£241.50£121.50
6£144£289.80£145.80
7£168£338.10£170.10
8£192£386.40£194.40

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
RA1 · RailAirRailAir RA1
From
Terminal 3 (Stands 7/8), Terminal 2 (Stands 11/12) and Terminal 5
To
Reading railway station, calling at Winnersh Triangle
Luggage
2 bags up to 30 kg each plus hand luggage per person, included; extra bags £5.00 each.
Runs
04:10–00:15
Journey
24–45 min

Reading to Heathrow is billed "in 40 minutes" on RailAir's own site and "under 45 minutes" to Terminal 5 specifically — book the extra few minutes for T5.

It does not run around the clock: the last coach from Terminal 3 is 00:15 and the first is 04:10, a gap of almost four hours.

RailAir RA1: price for every party size

Check times and fares with RailAir
RA2SWR · RailAir and South Western RailwayRailAir RA2 and South Western Railway to Southampton
From
Terminal 3 (Stands 7/8), Terminal 2 (Stands 11/12) or Terminal 5, on the RailAir RA2 coach
To
Southampton Central, changing at Woking
Luggage
The RA2 coach takes 2 bags of up to 30 kg and hand luggage per person; extra bags are £5 each. The train has racks.
Runs
04:50–22:20
Journey
100–125 min

The through ticket is only valid via Woking: a ticket by any other route costs more.

The train from Woking runs hourly, so a missed connection costs close to an hour.

RailAir RA2 and South Western Railway to Southampton: price for every party size

Check times and fares with National Rail

This compares two of 12 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

The other comparisons at Heathrow