Brentford connection
Plans to turn a lightly used stretch of railway in London’s western suburbs into a link to the Elizabeth Line are making strong progress. RAY PHILPOTT reports
RAY PHILPOTT talks to those determined to put passenger services back on Brentford branch. Is D-Train the answer?
Five years ago, the idea of restoring regular passenger services to the short, freight-only Brentford branch line in west London would have seemed fanciful.
Today, the drive to reinstate passenger trains, led by the London Borough of Hounslow, is rapidly gaining momentum after Network Rail officially confirmed that the concept is technically viable.
In its GRIP 2 feasibility study report, Network Rail stated it has “identified a number of feasible options” for running passenger services on the three-mile branch from the Great Western Main Line at Southall to Brentford Golden Mile, a new purpose-built station near the A4.
Additionally, an economic analysis carried out by consultant WSP shows that providing even a very basic passenger service generates a high benefit:cost ratio (BCR) of between 2.4 and 3, due in no small part to the arrival of Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line services at Southall from 2019.
The various options are now being analysed by NR, which will recommend the best way forward under a circa-£1 million GRIP 3 assessment due to be completed in December.
Assuming the project successfully progresses to the outline and detailed design stages (GRIP 4 and 5) next year, a three-trains-perhour, clock-face passenger service could begin from 2021, subject to funding and programme.
Having begun seriously exploring the concept of restoring passenger services in 2013, Hounslow commissioned Network Rail to carry out the feasibility study, and made reinstating passenger services part of its formal policy in 2015.
But what’s the attraction of running passenger trains on a short line carrying 14 to 22 freight movements a week serving the
West London Waste facility and an aggregates depot, but which hasn’t had a regular rail service since 1942?
Network Rail sees it as a significant transport initiative.
“The restoration of passenger services to the Brentford Branch Line is strategically important for easing congestion on the A4 Great West Road by improving rail links in the Brentford area,” says Rob Carter, NR’s Western Route Senior Development Manager.
“It will also provide the opportunity to connect Brentford into the Elizabeth Line network, with an interchange at Southall.”
For Hounslow Council, restoring passenger services will unlock the full development potential of the immediate area, which has high road vehicle-usage and is poorly served by public transport.
The council also supports broader plans to reinvigorate the west of the borough, involving the creation of up to 20,000 new jobs and building 2,500 homes. It argues that a Crossrail-linked service will help to sustain and retain existing businesses, encourage more companies to move in, generate more jobs, and enable more homes to be built by opening up new commuting opportunities.
The link to the Elizabeth Line will certainly benefit the borough’s largest employer, Sky, which recently constructed a new hi-tech ‘Sky Media Campus’ next to the line’s terminus. Sky employs 10,000 people in the area, with capacity for another 2,000, who depend on company shuttle buses running to and from local underground and national rail stations.
“We’ve challenged Network Rail to get trains up and running as quickly as possible,” says Hounslow’s Head of Transport Planning Mark Frost.
“This is an opportunity to link the borough with the Elizabeth Line in a really costeffective way by using an existing alignment - we’re not looking at a billion-pound railway here.”
So, what are the options? Today, the branch is single track throughout, joining the Great Western Main Line via a west-facing junction. Signalling is operated by a Train Staff and Ticket System and controlled by Thames Valley Signalling Centre, with a maximum line speed of 25mph.
The 2016 feasibility report identifies three distinct areas of the line: passenger access and track alignments at Southall; the main, central running section; and the new Golden Mile station. Each section has operational options that can be combined to create an overall solution.
At Southall, passengers traditionally boarded trains on the branch platform on the southern side of the station. This could be reinstated relatively quickly and costeffectively, accessed by an interchange footbridge that is part of Crossrail’s Southall station redevelopment.
The issue here is that it’s directly linked to the main line. Freight and faster passenger trains would therefore have to share the track at the junction, which may occasionally cause delays. Additionally, redevelopment also means the usable area of the platform has been shortened, although it could still handle three-car trains with changes to the position of the signalling head.
Alternatively, an independent, new island platform (platform A-B), with its own dedicated track and signalling linking it to the branch, could be built with either single- or double-track access. Although more expensive to build, this separates freight and passenger trains at the branch access point and could be built with minimal disruption to freight movements.
Leaving Southall, the current single line could be retained throughout, although the report proposes either building a new passing loop or doubling most of the line from Southall to where it passes under the M4. The road bridge is only wide enough to accommodate one line, creating a pinch-point, so from there the route remains single-track.
The feasibility report also recommends
This is an opportunity to link the borough with the Elizabeth Line in a really cost-effective way by using an existing alignment - we’re not looking at a billion-pound railway here. Mark Frost, Head of Transport Planning, London Borough of Hounslow