LHR T5 update mid May 2023 - Transit / TTS update
May 19, 2023, 5:11 am
#16
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I don’t know if this looks worse than I was expecting. If the buses are also running from A10 as an alternative, they don’t seem to be well advertised.
May 19, 2023, 5:35 am
#18
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You can still use the passageway, but perhaps a little anti-social if there are queues since the lift then spends a bit of extra time going down to the lower level and back just for one or two passengers. At the moment the lifts are working flat out.
May 19, 2023, 5:35 am
#19
Join Date: Aug 2019
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One thing to highlight re: escalators being used as fixed stairways, it depends on the fault. Some faults mean it isn't safe to use an escalator even as a fixed stairway (maybe a problem with the breaks etc) - also can't be used if being worked on at the time.
May 19, 2023, 7:01 am
#21
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This has all been a revelation to me. I like to think I know T5 like the back of my hand. But I have to admit I’ve never once taken the escalator down to the transit or the tunnel. Always assumed the lift was quicker. And I’ve never once not gotten into the first available lift. So I can only guess that under normal circumstances, most people are taking the escalators. Is this faster than the lift to the transit? No way is it faster to -4 than via lift.
May 19, 2023, 7:20 am
#22
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the two escalators only go to -2. the lifts you can go to -2 and -4. the lifts are generally quicker - unless you try and bomb down the left hand side of the escalator like you are on the tube, but that normally doesn't work at T5 as fewer people are aware of the escalator etiquette and apparently you can't shoulder barge them out of the way here!
in terms of the number split i suspect most head for the escalators normally as they look more inviting and are closer to the main walkway.
in terms of the number split i suspect most head for the escalators normally as they look more inviting and are closer to the main walkway.
Last edited by KARFA; May 19, 2023 at 8:09 am
May 19, 2023, 7:29 am
#23
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A lot of people dislike using lifts, and indeed when I was there on Monday there was someone who was struggling with this (and yes, they are about to zoom 6 miles into the skies in a metal tube....). But yes, because you can't normally walk down the escalators then it's slower. HAL do try to encourage lift use anyway so all the signage focuses on the lifts and KARFA's photo shows that like with HEX they try to de-emphasize the escalator option. But there again a lot of people take the escalators from HEX, because they can't see how high up is the departure level.
May 19, 2023, 9:15 am
#24
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the two escalators only go to -2. the lifts you can go to -2 and -4. the lifts are generally quicker - unless you try and bomb down the left hand side of the escalator like you are on the tube, but that normally doesn't work at T5 as fewer people are aware of the escalator etiquette and apparently you can't shoulder barge them out of the way here!
And as for the H&S arguments, I reckon I have fallen up escalators many more times than I have fallen down them. No idea why.
May 19, 2023, 9:24 am
#25
Join Date: Jan 2022
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the two escalators only go to -2. the lifts you can go to -2 and -4. the lifts are generally quicker - unless you try and bomb down the left hand side of the escalator like you are on the tube, but that normally doesn't work at T5 as fewer people are aware of the escalator etiquette and apparently you can't shoulder barge them out of the way here!
in terms of the number split i suspect most head for the escalators normally as they look more inviting and are closer to the main walkway.
in terms of the number split i suspect most head for the escalators normally as they look more inviting and are closer to the main walkway.
May 19, 2023, 9:38 am
#26
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Switzerland
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Most people (unless it's just a handful that wait for me to arrive) stand on the right, and put their large carry-ons on the left when going on the escalators to/from Galleries South.
May 19, 2023, 10:01 am
#27
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Glasgow, UK
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My original plan had been to head directly to the B lounge. Headed to GC South instead which was at capacity so I and several others ended up being redirected to GF which was a nice touch and quite unexpected.