Private investors back £370m first stage of Windsor railway plan

PLANS for Britain’s first self-funded rail link in more than a century have been submitted to the Department for Transport.

According to its promoters, the Windsor Link Railway will use a funding model last seen during the Victorian heyday of the railway industry, when private investors paid for a project and reaped the profits.

The proposals entail connecting the South Western rail link running out of Waterloo to the Great Western line from Paddington to South Wales.

Under the plans, the first phase of the scheme, costing £370 million, would result in a new rail tunnel and station being built in Windsor. This would create a new link between Staines and Slough, with the added benefit of increasing service frequency to and from London.

The second phase, costing around £900million, would link Heathrow to both lines, making it possible to take a train from the airport to stations in the west and the south.

Ithe first trains could be running by 2024, with the open access line being made available to existing operators and other companies who believe they could run a profitable service.

The scheme was drawn up by George Bathurst, an engineer. He has secured the backing of Meridiam, a Paris-based infrastructure investment company which has a stake in France’s TGV and has also helped finance an array of projects around the world, including the Nottingham tram scheme.

“We have all the funding we need. This will not just be funded by ticket revenue but will also have property revenue as well,” said Mr Bathurst. “The new line through Windsor will open up one million square feet of property opportunities. There are multiple examples around the country, such as near Norwich, where there are opportunities for new market towns and economic regeneration, but it needs a railway to work.”

The Windsor Link Railway is among the first proposals to emerge since March, when Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, asked private consortia to come forward with plans to add capacity to the network.

Improving rail links between Heathrow and the rest of the country has been on the priority list of successive governments.

Pressure on public finance has meant a number of schemes have been scrapped by the Government.

“The public sector does not have a monopoly on good ideas,” Mr Grayling

‘The new line through Windsor will open up one million square feet of property opportunities’

said when he launched an appeal for “market-led” rail proposals.

“We want to provide a sustainable future for the rail sector and open up the development and delivery of rail infrastructure to take full advantage of new and innovative solutions and relieve the burden on taxpayers and farepayers.”

Network Rail is also looking for third-party funding, and private investment is already being used for the redevelopment of Coventry.

“We welcome the Government’s call for market-led proposals, which have the potential to increase the capacity of the railway and reduce the burden on taxpayers,” said a Network Rail spokesman.