corporate-wage-slave

I have sneaked a few photos from areas where I believe it to be allowed, so yes I will do that, after I get round to finishing the LGW transfer thread! It's always been a Saturday night activity, but usually after rugby my brain is too whacked to concentrate! There is young KARFA's diagram in the meantime. On the Dashboard there is already a guide to B and C gate connections, but most people need the A gate I guess.

layz

That bit made me wonder too. Even if they expect C to be the maximum extent anyone would be willing to walk they'd still need the tunnels to D in case the transit broke down.

Unless as C was built after A and B they decided that it would be more user friendly to bring the walkway up to the transit level and then descends again towards D, this would also mean fewer lifts and escalators.

I believe T2 has been built with the space in place to already accommodate either an extension of the T5 TTS or its own one when T2C is built.

Nowt young about same-age-as-me KARFA

KARFA

Young at heart

matinicus rock

Thank you!!! ^^^

penguin60

Possible I guess, although what seemed to be lifts at the eastern end of the 'departures' platform would seem to scupper that - plus the idea of carts driving through the platform on their way to t5d seems unwise.

The other oddity is that from A to B and part to C, there are th secure connecting doors/passageways between departure (South) and arrival (North) sides, presumable for emergency/fire use. Once you come up to the same level as the TTS, obviously that option disappears as the TTS is in the way. I wonder what solution they have now - can't imagine an emergency door onto the TTS walkway being considered enough.

Out of interest, what happens for the 'arrival' walkway, given that presumably starts from the central platform at t5c? Is that a ramp or is the walkway one level down? Off to check c-w-s notes......

penguin60

At the risk of quoting myself - so for arrivals, B and C are similar - the arrivals passageway is underneath the TRS, down an escalator.

It is only for the departures side that they have a ramp and the weird automatic door where there's too small a gap as it's coming up alongside the TTS.....

Maybe there is a tunnel continuing at the -4 level, just closed off..... Still mystified by the design here.

layz

Hopefully Genius1 or xxxxx happen to be reading this. They seem to know a lot about the inner workings of LHR.

Perhaps the tunnel does continue under the terminal but is currently sealed off and the ramp up to 5C is a tunnel within a tunnel (a bit like the Strand Underpass is built within some old tramway tunnels), but doing this seems more effort than it's worth even though they probably knew T5D would be a long time coming.

Calchas

My guess is they saved some short term cash by not digging the tunnel any further!

layz

HAL have been known for some short term thinking before (opening the T5C TTS with only one platform initially is a good example) but as far as I know they still build with future expansion in mind i.e. they did leave space for a second platform in C (which has now been completed), there's supposedly space for a T5C lounge too. It seems odd that they'd make extending the departure tunnel to a future T5D more complex than necessary.

Calchas

If we have a look at this: http://www.heathrowairport.com/stati...l_document.pdf
Page 328, it suggests a contingency passenger walkway along an extended TTS (from T5C to T3) is not required.

The plan is contingent upon an extended T5D already outfitted but maybe they do think that is far enough for a person to walk?

layz

Thanks, you've now filled up my day reading that to see if there's anything else interesting I can learn.

I would have expected the tunnel to at least reach T5D as although I doubt many would walk from A to D there needs to be a way to get there should the TTS fail.

I would have read this as the tunnel would not been built from T5D to T3 presumably they'd just use buses if the link between these two terminals broke down, but I doubt they'd want to use buses between T5C and D which are officially the same terminal.

Is HAL still considering extending to T3 as the ultimate plan is to demolish it (after T2 is extended)?

EDIT: looking at the image attached to this proposal is interesting as it shows the TTS also integrated with T6 (this is the old Labour approved 3rd runway plan, the terminal layout under the new plan, if approved, is different) and T4 as well as T3 and T2.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/keg3l9ribw...41.58.png?dl=0

Calchas

That is the best I could find.

Maybe this can fill the rest of your day if there's any time left over.
http://www.heathrowairport.com/about...vestment-plans

penguin60

That feels the most likely situation - maybe the ramp (which also kinks to the right/south, to move to be under the platform rather than under the TTS itself) had to be built anyway so someone had the good idea of using it....

So maybe there is a tunnel if you went straight on, rather than being forced off to the right? Pure speculation but....

penguin60

Fascinating doc, thanks, that will keep me amused on the next sector (!).

I see there would be a stop at Pier 7 before T3 - does this mean that Pier 7 could potentially be shared between T3 and T5 (in the way that the T1 Europier had a split T1 and T2 personality many moons ago).

BTW I can see some operational challenges in running a single joined-up TTS system, which has the dual aims of shuttling between A-B-C-D and to from T3 and the rest. You can imagine congestion from people either waiting at A for a "through train" or being told to go to D and waiting there for a through train, in conflict with the herds.

penguin60

Well, I can see it makes sense not to offer a walkway between T3 and T5, given the distance.

The other factor/distance is that the walkway under T5 isn't just there for TTS-dislikers, it's the "way back" without changing sides (twice) if you need to get to a lower numbered (lettered) terminal - eg you have to get from T5D to T5C of whatever (eg if your flight at D get cancelled or you went too far). This doesn't apply between T3 and T5 I guess......