Western Rail Access To Heathrow (WRATH) - merged topics

[whole diary]

[Windsorian]

@ John R

Fully agree; think it unlikely passengers from East of Paddington will want to change trains to HEx, particularly if the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) skip / stop station proposal is adopted for Crossrail trains West of Paddington.

Already some Gatwick Express trains have been extended to Brighton, the days of half empty airport trains being allowed valuable track space when mainline passengers have to stand - appears to be over. No doubt the competitors for the new GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) franchise will be viewing the 4tph HEx fast slots with envy.

[grahame]

Fully agree; think it unlikely passengers from East of Paddington will want to change trains to HEx, particularly if the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) skip / stop station proposal is adopted for Crossrail trains West of Paddington.

Already some Gatwick Express trains have been extended to Brighton...

Silly question - what about "AIRPORT express" - [Reading], Heathrow, Ealing Broadway, Kensington Olympia, Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Gatwick, [Brighton]?

[John R]

Sounds like an excellent idea.

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

Would it be possible for Grahame's suggestion of an AIRPORT express service to run now from Heathrow to Gatwick? I understand that improvements are being done now (or shortly) to improve capacity at Gatwick so that the current hourly Reading/Gatwick service via the North Downs Line can be improved to half-hourly frequency and a through service (hourly) from Oxford to Gatwick would also be attractive with the Reading underpass being brought back into use. At present many Oxford area resident6s use the frequent coach service from Oxford to Heathrow and Gatwick, some simply because they do not like to change at Reading.

[Windsorian]

Silly question - what about "AIRPORT express" - [Reading], Heathrow, Ealing Broadway, Kensington Olympia, Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Gatwick, [Brighton]?

Looks like a Heathwick type proposal but would have the advantage of not requiring Paddington platforms; the problem is it would miss out Twyford, Maidenhead & Slough which are part of the WRAtH^▸ (Western Rail Access to Heathrow) proposal for linking Reading to Heathrow.

Would it be possible for Grahame's suggestion of an AIRPORT express service to run now from Heathrow to Gatwick?

The Airports Commission have suggested a Heathrow southern route be investigated again, taking over from where the Airtrack proposal left off. One of the Airtrack routes was a semi-fast service from T5 to Guildford; this could be extended over an improved North Downs line to Gatwick.

[wabbit]

It would be good to see Airtrack resurrected again, but any new proposal will have to deal with the level crossing issue that got so many local residents riled up. A timely dovetail with the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) crossing closure program might kill two birds with the same stone?

[Windsorian]

...Airtrack resurrected ...... the level crossing issue

The NR^» (Network Rail - home page) crossing closure program has mainly been isolated crossings in rural areas; the problem with Airtrack was the level crossings are in heavily trafficked urban areas.

The July 2012 L&SE RUS^▸ (Route Utilisation Strategy) (Option J3) proposed as an interim measure extending the existing HEx line from T5 to a re-built Staines station , allowing time for a measured review of the level crossing problem. Also it is questionable if Reading needs a semi-fast Airtrack service via Staines to T5, when WRAP (WRAtH^▸ (Western Rail Access to Heathrow)) will provide a similar service via the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line).

[stuving]

The Airtrack TWA was really about extending the line from T5 to Staines - reinstating it, if you prefer - in the sense that that was the only unavoidable bit of major works. I was always baffled that it need to have all this detailed consideration of how many trains run over a level crossing miles away. TWAs don't usually say much if anything about services - look at the one for Reading, it has not a word.

So why not just do that bit, and have all the arguments about the value of protecting Staines Moor from having a railway squeezed in alongside the M25, and extend trains to Staines ASAP. In terms of journey opportunities or travel times to the Airport that give 80-90% of the benefits of the whole Airtrack scheme. Any ideas about direct trains further, and putting in (or, again, reinstating) the Chord, need to be justified against changing at Staines.

How many trains run through Wokingham is an entirely separate issue. No-one really expected Airtrack to be a stand-alone branded service anyway, and if it ran as part of an SWT^▸ (South West Trains) franchise that would set the service level. (Though I do wonder whether DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) could or would set a maximum number of trains to protect road users at the crossing.)

The other big issue that would need to be dealt with at this first stage is rail traffic (i.e. passengers) through Heathrow. The various parties have different interests in this, most obviously HAL who would like to prevent it altogether. Transport systems types would love an interchange at the airport, though I suspect the T5 "box" may not be big enough to hold all their aspirations at once.

[Windsorian]

@ stuving

Fully agree T5 - Staines is a stand alone project, with no road level crossings along its route. Also it does not require a dedicated fleet of trains with a special maintenance depot at Feltham, which accounted for much of the cost. My own opinion is BAA threw the baby out with the bath water, when they cancelled the whole Airtrack project.

[ChrisB]

From NR^» (Network Rail - home page) website - link in the article below

A new direct rail link connecting the west to Heathrow will improve passenger journeys to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)^s busiest airport and help to increase economic productivity across the Thames Valley.
 
We are developing plans for a new rail tunnel leaving the Great Western main line between Langley and Iver to London Heathrow, allowing passengers to travel to the airport from Reading via Slough without going into Paddington station.

The investment will help:

For passengers
^Reduce journey times via rail between Reading and Heathrow Airport
^Provide direct trains between Reading and Heathrow
^Improve access to Heathrow from the South coast, South West, South Wales and West Midlands
^Reduce congestion at Paddington station

Wider benefits
^Provide over ^800 million worth of UK economic activity, including additional economic benefits for the region
^Create potential for 42,000 new jobs
^Make CO2 savings equating to 1 million road passenger journeys
^Give 20% of the UK population access to Heathrow via one interchange
^Help to provide much needed congestion relief for the M4, M25 and M3 motorways

Public consultation

We are holding a programme of events in the local community and are keen to hear your thoughts on the plans.

Come and talk to our project teams at our fully staffed events at the following locations:

Iver Parish Council Pavilion: Jubilee Pavilion, Iver Recreation Ground, Iver SL0 9PW
 Tuesday 10 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Wednesday 11 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Thursday 12 February: 6pm ^ 8pm

Richings Park Sports Club: Wellesley Avenue, Richings Park, Iver, SL0 9BN
 Friday 13 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Saturday 14 February: 12pm ^ 4pm
 Thursday 26 February: 4pm ^ 8pm
 Friday 27 February: 12pm ^ 6pm
 Saturday 28 February: 12pm ^ 4pm

Colnbrook Village Hall: Vicarage Way, Slough, Buckinghamshire SL3 0RF
 Monday 23 February: 3pm ^ 7pm
 Tuesday 24 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Wednesday 25 February: 2pm ^ 6pm

You will also be able to pick up one of our information leaflets at our exhibits in the following stations:

Heathrow Terminal 5 train station
 Monday 16 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

 Heathrow Terminal 1, 2, 3 train station
 Tuesday 17 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

 Reading Station
 Wednesday 18 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm
 Thursday 19 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

 Slough Station
 Friday 20 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm
 Saturday 21 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

We hope to see you at one of our events. You will also soon be able to leave comments on the proposals on our consultation site. A link to the site will be made available here prior to the time of the first consultation event.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the event you can email our project team at westernheathrowlink@networkrail.co.uk

1.Early 2015: Informal public consultation
2.Summer 2015: Formal public consultation
3.Early 2016: Submission of application
4.Spring / Summer 2017: Work to start on site
5.End of 2021: Work complete / trains running

[BerkshireBugsy]

On my our local radio station (which I call dross FM due to choice of music and inane talk) there was a news article which refered to the proposed rail link from Heathrow to Reading - but I can't find anything new about this ? Have I missed something ?

[ChrisB]

You certainly have!.....
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/western-rail-link-to-heathrow/improving-rail-links-to-heathrow/

Improving rail links to Heathrow

A new direct rail link connecting the west to Heathrow will improve journeys to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)^s busiest airport and help increase economic productivity across the Thames valley

We are developing plans for a new rail tunnel leaving the Great Western main line between Langley and Iver to London Heathrow, allowing passengers to travel to the airport from Reading via Slough without going into Paddington station.

Benefits
For passengers
^Reduce rail journey times between Reading and Heathrow.
^Direct trains between Reading and Heathrow.
^Improved access to Heathrow from the south coast, south west, south Wales and west midlands.
^Reduced congestion at Paddington station.

Wider benefits
^Over ^800 million of UK economic activity, including additional economic benefits for the region.
^Create potential for 42,000 new jobs.
^Make CO2 savings equating to 1 million road passenger journeys.
^Give 20 per cent of the UK population access to Heathrow via one interchange.
^Help to provide much needed congestion relief for the M4, M25 and M3.

Public consultation

We are holding a programme of events in the local community and are keen to hear your thoughts on the plans.

Come and talk to our project teams at our fully staffed events at the following locations:

Iver Parish Council Pavillion:Jubilee Pavilion, Iver Recreation Ground, Iver SL0 9PW
 Tuesday 10 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Wednesday 11 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Thursday 12 February: 6pm ^ 8pm

Richings Park Sports Club: Wellesley Avenue, Richings Park, Iver, SL0 9BN
 Friday 13 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Saturday 14 February: 12pm ^ 4pm
 Thursday 26 February: 4pm ^ 8pm
 Friday 27 February: 12pm ^ 6pm
 Saturday 28 February: 12pm ^ 4pm

Colnbrook Village Hall: Vicarage Way, Slough, Buckinghamshire SL3 0RF
 Monday 23 February: 3pm ^ 7pm
 Tuesday 24 February: 2pm ^ 6pm
 Wednesday 25 February: 2pm ^ 6pm

You will also be able to pick up one of our information leaflets at our exhibits in the following stations:

Heathrow Terminal 5 train station
 Monday 16 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

 Heathrow Terminal 1, 2, 3 train station
 Tuesday 17 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

 Reading Station
 Wednesday 18 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm
 Thursday 19 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

 Slough Station
 Friday 20 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm
 Saturday 21 February: 8am ^ 10am and 4pm ^ 6pm

We hope to see you at one of our events. You will also soon be able to leave comments on the proposals on our consultation site. A link to the site will be made available prior to the time of the first consultation event.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about the event you can email our project team at westernheathrowlink@networkrail.co.uk 

 Heathrow Timeline
1.Early 2015: Informal public consultation
2.Summer 2015: Formal public consultation
3.Early 2016: Submission of application
4.Spring / Summer 2017: Work to start on site
5.End of 2021: Work complete / trains running

[BerkshireBugsy]

Many thanks - I heard mention of this before and know it has been discussed here in the coffee shop but I was curious why it made the radio new today.

Thanks for the link

[stuving]

1.Early 2015: Informal public consultation

According to this from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page), something in support of the first stage consultation was launched today.

I can't locate this on Network rails's site. However, as of 9:16 today the piece is headed:

6 February 2014 Last updated at 11:24

so may it's meant to be prophetic.

[stuving]

see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=15298.msg170684#msg170684