A peak Crossrail fare from central London to the airport will be £12.10, £7 more than the Underground, but a big saving on the £27 standard buy on board Heathrow Express rate. Passengers travelling from London zone 2 on Crossrail will pay £9.60 single. Heathrow Express currently also offers online single fares of £22 off-peak and £25 peak.

Crossrail, which will be officially known as the Elizabeth Line, will take 10 minutes longer than the Heathrow Express’s 15-minute journey but roughly half the travel time on the tube from central London.

Crossrail services will run to Paddington Station, which the Heathrow Express serves. Crossrail will replace the existing Heathrow Connect trains that currently offer a stopping service to the airport from Paddington.

Heathrow Express director Fraser Brown said the train would “continue to be the fastest route”.

He added: “The Elizabeth Line will replace the Heathrow Connect stopping service in May while Heathrow Express will continue to offer air passengers designated luggage space, spacious seating, the option to upgrade to Business First, complimentary wi-fi throughout the journey, power points and BBC News bulletins to keep customers up to date.

“In addition, customers can choose to either turn-up-and-go with Heathrow Express or book great value online fares from £5.50 in advance, while children aged 15 and under travel for free.”

Crossrail will open fully in December, linking Reading in the west with Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in Kent via two new tunnels under central London. Another benefit is that it will speed World Travel Market delegates direct from Heathrow to the ExCel centre in London’s Docklands in about 45 minutes.