Link for Heathrow?
Network Rail backs alternative southern rail link to Heathrow Airport as an option for further development.
AN alternative southern rail link to Heathrow Airport via Bedfont has been formally recommended by Network Rail as an option for further development.
The London Borough of Hounslow is proposing a doubletrack alignment into the station box at Terminal 5, with a new intermediate station at Bedfont.
It spurs off the Reading-Waterloo line west of Feltham via a triangular, grade-separated junction, providing access east from central and south London (via Clapham Junction) and west from destinations in Surrey and beyond, including Guildford, Weybridge and Basingstoke.
The track essentially runs on viaducts to Bedfont station and down through a tunnel north of the A30 before looping into the existing airport station, taking six minutes to traverse from the London junction and 15 seconds more from the Surrey direction. Stopping at Bedfont adds two minutes.
Hounslow Council is promoting the link and station to improve surface access for air passengers, and to improve opportunities for workers and others to use the airport’s transport hub. It says opening up major public transport and interchange opportunities locally unlocks substantial economic development opportunities, creating jobs and housing.
Network Rail’s economic analysis of the new link, published this month, states: “There is a high value for money case for Hounslow’s proposed alignment, and we recommend Hounslow’s proposal continues to be considered alongside other Southern Rail Access to Heathrow (SRAtH) options for the next stage of development.”
It also highlights that the link offers a higher overall benefit:cost ratio (BCR) than the other options evaluated so far, in either a two- or three-runway scenario at Heathrow.
A Network Rail engineering review completed in December 2016 confirmed the overall technical viability of the alignment, subject to consideration of a 25kV overhead power supply to Feltham and Ashford.
The £900 million-plus Hounslow link and five others reviewed by Network Rail will now be assessed by the Department for Transport (DfT), for potential funding and progression to stages 1 and 2 of the GRIP process.
NR’s response follows an earlier positive feasibility study by
consultant WSP-PB, commissioned by the council in 2015. However, Hounslow alignment wasn’t included in Network Rail’s 2015 SRAtH Feasibility Study as WSP-PB’s work was still ongoing, prompting the council to commission Network Rail for an additional report into its proposal.
Mark Frost, Hounslow’s Head of Traffic & Transport Environment, said: “Our proposal is now on a level playing field with others, and validated as a good idea that works and arguably the strongest option. We’re really pleased with Network Rail’s decision to take it forward.
“Our primary ambition is to build a station at Bedfont. Even with the two-minute stop, the report gives us the strongest average BCR of 2.5 against the best rival score of 2.1 based on stopping services and a two-runway Heathrow. Even with the third runway we still have the best BCR.
“Bedfont station adds two minutes to potential journey times, but given demand for housing and employment, the wider economic benefits more than compensate and construction could be substantially funded by any development.”
Assuming four trains per hour in each direction, stopping services from Guildford and Waterloo would typically take 52 minutes and from Weybridge 35 minutes, with London semi-fasts taking 37 minutes to Heathrow.
Frost said that in practice there are no extra train paths available on the Reading line, so trains serving the link will essentially be rerouted from non-core and non-standard services.
“South London and Surrey will benefit significantly from new services direct to Heathrow Airport and its transport interchange,” he said.
“Realistically, this will be at the expense of some direct services between Surrey and London.”