This post tells you how to use the passageway when you start from Terminal T5 A - the main building - and want to go to T5B or T5C satellite terminals. I will show the whole walk to T5C here, T5B is midway through our trek below the Heathrow apron.
You start by going to the main lifts for T5B and T5C transits, in the centre of T5A departure area level 2. This is between gates A14 and A15, by World Duty Free and opposite the Gucci and Prada stores.
The sign outside the lift isn't very informative, but rest assured, these are the lifts:
And inside the lift the sign has recently changed to be clearer, so press -4.
Most people will want to use the transit, and will press -2. Tip: if the lift looks like getting crowded, stay near the entrance since the other passengers will be getting out the other door at the transit level. The lift then brings you down one level to a very different world to the noise and people above. This is the view as you leave the lift, and in fact once you are in the passageway the signs are completely clear and I can't see how anyone can get lost.
As you follow the sign there is a sharp turn left, again signposted, and this is the start of the passageway, with the first of the four moving walkways towards T5B. Note that the passageways are not consistent, some areas are wider than others, and this is a narrow one, with the static path on the right. If a buggy is going through this section you will have to stand fairly close to the edge to provide space.
From the transit platform
There is also a separate direct access to the passageway from the transit platform. This may be a way to hedge your bets - if the transit looks delayed or there are too many passengers, you can continue on to the passageway with very little time lost to the timings mentioned above. Walk right to the end of the platform. The end wall has a set of doors in it, you need the right set, marked Emergency Exit. This brings you to a fairly short staircase. Follow this down and turn at the bottom, and you're in the main passageway close to the area in the next photo.
Continuing down the passageway to T5B and T5C
The next photo continues our journey down the passageway and illustrates the changing layout. The turn off for T5B is in the distance.
Arriving at T5B
And then finally here is the area showing the access up to T5B. The best way is the lift, which is clearly signed by that bright yellow sign, with the lifts located at the back of the picture, between the column and the escalator. If you take that lift, select level 2, clearly labelled and it brings you to the main departure area of T5B right by gate B36, opposite Boots. See photo in the next post. The lower part of the sign indicates that leftwards continues on to T5C. [Note: there appears to be a logic bug with the lifts. There are 3 lifts, and 2 of them won't come down to -4, but will go to -2. If the lifts don't appear to be working, there is a clear staircase by these lifts. Just walk up a short distance to level -2 and all the lifts work from that level; again more detail in the next post].
And so we continue to T5C. Are we nearly there yet? Well at the start of the T5B to T5C section up comes this sign. The timings are wrong, it take under 5 minutes from this point to get to T5C, but it's the thought that counts.
There are then 2 moving walkways to T5C, and it certainly feels shorter than the first section. But one key difference is that it's quite noticeably uphill, indeed the passageway goes from being notionally level -4 to level -2, the same as the transit. Which then brings us to what may be a somewhat disconcerting sight from a distance, a closed door:
The blue and white sign explains that if a buggy is coming through you need to wait for it to pass and the traffic light turns to green. It's clearer in real life that my photo, you can see the reflected green streaks on the roof. As you approach, the door automatically swings open. The reason for this is that this is very narrow as it runs close to the transit tracks and there isn't much space for the buggy, so for safety there is this automated traffic light and door system.
As you go through the door you end up on the exit platform for the transit, this is the other side of the same door, and on the opposite side to the transit entrances is the lift that takes both you and any transit passengers up to the departure level 2 in T5C. You end up by gate C53.
