Heathrow Express vs ThamesLink Railway
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heathrow Express
Plan and book your journey quickly and easily with live train times and instant ticket access. Manage your account details, payment options, and preferences for a personalized travel experience.
- Personalized travel information
- Quick ticket booking
- Live train times
- Mobile ticket wallet integration
- Account management
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The new improved Heathrow Express app has some great features and benefits to help make planning and booking your trip quick and easy. Personalized experience – Create an account and login to activate all the features of the app. Including presenting your travel day information with your tickets along with live train times on your home screen. Quick booking – Need a ticket in a hurry? Book a ticket in seconds. Once you are logged in you will have the option to activate this new feature, allowing you to book at ticket on the day of travel in just a few clicks. Live train times – In addition to the scheduled times and service information, you will now be able to see live train times on the day you travel, making your trip planning even easier. Accessing tickets – Your tickets can easily be accessed and managed in one place on the app, allowing you to view upcoming tickets for travel and manage past tickets. Plus, you can still add your Heathrow Express tickets to your mobile wallet. Manage your account – With all your details in one place, including payment options, personal details, language and currency settings it’s easy to create and manage your experience how you want it.
ThamesLink Railway
Plan your journeys across Great Britain with real-time train information and ticket booking. Enjoy transparent pricing with no booking fees and flexible travel options. Get live service updates and assistance for a stress-free travel experience.
- Zero booking fees on GB tickets
- Flexible travel with keyGo
- Live service updates and alerts
- Auto Delay Repay for compensation
- On-the-go passenger assistance
- Digital railcards for fare savings
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Download the official ThamesLink app to check train times and book tickets for any route in Great Britain. Experience stress-free travel with our transparent pricing and reliable service. With the ThamesLink app you can: ENJOY ZERO BOOKING FEES: Buy any GB tickets directly through our app and pay no additional booking fees. FLEXIBLE TRAVEL OPTIONS: Sign up for keyGo and travel seamlessly with Smartcards. Tap & go without pre-buying tickets. Track your journeys and manage your account easily. LIVE SERVICE UPDATES: Receive real-time updates on your regular services. Stay informed with personalised alerts from network experts. MAKE A CLAIM: Set-up your Auto Delay Repay feature and easily claim compensation for delayed journeys. ON-THE-GO ASSISTANCE: Request Passenger Assistance anytime you need it. Travel with confidence knowing support is just a tap away. DIGITAL RAILCARDS: Save at least 1/3 on train fares with digital railcards. Easily renew online and never worry about losing your physical card.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Heathrow Express at 7.2K against ThamesLink Railway's 28. ThamesLink Railway's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Heathrow Express holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heathrow Express has 7.2K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Heathrow Express's written reviews are positive against 22% of ThamesLink Railway's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 21, 2026.
| Parameter | Heathrow Express | ThamesLink Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (7.2K ratings) — better | 4.6 (28 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 30.3% of reviews — better | 22.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7.2K — better | 28 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 89 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Heathrow Express | The Go-Ahead Group plc |
Customer experience
Heathrow Express
ThamesLink Railway
Bugs and requests
Heathrow Express
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashing on ticket viewing
- Incorrect ticket dates/directions
- Payment processing failures
- Account creation issues
- Ticket information not syncing properly
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to add/manage tickets in app
- Improved ticket downloading/syncing
- More payment options
- Better account management features
- Live service updates and notifications
ThamesLink Railway
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Heathrow Express
No in-app purchases
ThamesLink Railway
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Heathrow Express free?
Is ThamesLink Railway free?
Which has better reviews, Heathrow Express or ThamesLink Railway?
Do Heathrow Express or ThamesLink Railway have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heathrow Express or ThamesLink Railway?
Other comparisons
