Heathrow Western Link ‘paused’

THE DEVELOPMENT process for the Western Rail Link to Heathrow (WRLtH) was brought to a ‘controlled pause’, by Network Rail at its January board meeting. The original £1bn project was to connect Heathrow to the Great Western Main Line near Langley via a 6.5km line. Most of the section will be in a tunnel and will allow passengers to reach the airport directly from the west.

The plan was first to apply for a Development Consent Order, but this had been delayed on several occasions, so the timescale of construction – starting in 2022 and completing in 2028 – now seems most unlikely, given that last year Network Rail confirmed the DCO submission had been put back to winter 2021-22. People working on the project will be redeployed for now, but it is hoped the project can be resurrected quickly once the DCO is received.