Western Rail Access to Heathrow

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

Connect is scrapped and runs through to at least all stations Slough possibly Reading.

How about Hex becoming part of Crossrail 4 trians an hour fast Eastbourne Terrace LHR?

The trouble is that there is no body with the authority to say right this is the plan.
  

Yes there is someone with the authority to make that plan. 

Crossrail already replaces HConnect, this has always been part of the deal.  NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s  London and SE RUS^▸ (Route Utilisation Strategy) further does propose HEx becoming part of Crossrail, as part of its GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) capacity strategy. 

All it takes is DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to agree that BAA/HAL can be bought out of their existing deal.  That won't be easy, but it is the plan.

Paul

[paul7575]

There are a couple of options, divert a Maidenhead (or if it happens Reading) Crossrail service via Heathrow, the HEX could be extended to Reading a Padd - Heathow - Reading shuttle.

On an aside the passive provision for an ac / dc interface at Reading is being actively looked at (again) so the Western access could be Reading via Staines ^500m don't buy much new railway nowadays

I think ultimately they'll need both, ie there needs to be a junction immediately west of T5 with trains going both to Staines and to the GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) (by one of the routes you posted earlier from the CP5^▸ (Control Period 5 - the five year period between 2014 and 2019) proposals). I'm not sure the 'Airtracl' level of infrastructure is needed at Staines, it seems to me that when it comes to suburban EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) a reversal during a station call is no big deal, and if Staines station was rebuilt to provide a third platform on the up side, trains to/from the Virginia Water direction could reverse at Staines in the middle road without much conflict at all...

Paul 

[IndustryInsider]

Should we even look further out of the bag - at where people want to go from Heathrow, and forward much of the 15 years of the next franchise?   Where do people who fly into Heathrow want to go?   Let's see ... Southampton for a cruise.   So - Heathrow - Reading - Winchester - Southmapton - Bournemouth hourly.   The North and Cambridge - so Heathrow - Reading - Oxford - Bicester - Bletchley - Bedford - [Sandy, Cambridge, Norwich] hourly.  And Heathrow - Reading - Leamington Spa - Coventry - Birmingham - Stoke - Manchester hourly.  

There's an awful lot of potential destinations, but bear in mind that the Heathrow Tunnels are not passed for anything other than overhead electric trains though.

[ChrisB]

Crossrail already replaces HConnect, this has always been part of the deal.  NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s  London and SE RUS^▸ (Route Utilisation Strategy) further does propose HEx becoming part of Crossrail, as part of its GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) capacity strategy.

I knew I had read that somewhere. HEX's life as a standalone entity has a limited life. I believe their contract with NR for services has a date limit of something like 2018.

All it takes is DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to agree that BAA/HAL can be bought out of their existing deal.  That won't be easy, but it is the plan.

See above - I understand that their contract is time-limited.

Not sure if the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) are speculating - or whether they got more info, but they seem to think there will be direct services from the west....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18817874#TWEET172297

[mjones]

Scrapping HEX as a separate service would make much better use of track and platform capacity. As currently planned Crossrail will leave a lot of local trains still terminating from the West while adding a whole lot more terminating from the East, which rather seems to undermine the purpose of creating a new through route at vast expense! There may be some concern about increased journey time if non-stop HEX services are replaced with stopping Crossrail ones, but for such a relatively short trip the greatly increased frequency, leading to reduced waiting times, and reduced need for interchange should more than compensate in terms of what transport modellers call 'Generalised Time'.

[grahame]

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/5/Catchment%20area%20analysis%20working%20paper%20-%20FINAL.pdf

Ah yes - thanks

Page 36 - Heathrow Catchment (2010) - significant hottest spots outside the London area are Swindon, Bristol, Birmingham, Nottingham, Cambridge, Southampton, Portsmouth and  Bournemouth.

Page 55 - Foreign residents often travel for quite a long time from Heathrow; contrast to shorter journeys to LHR for UK^▸ (United Kingdom) residents on page 54.

I'm thinking that 4 an hour from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) to LHR - electric trains on to Bournmeouth, Birmingham, Cambridge and Bristol might do rather nicely in the (far?) future.  Journey times on areas where there are clear passenger flows already would be cut anyway, and I think that newcomers to the UK would much prefer a slighly slower train than having to change?

Once you get to Reading, you're probably NOT looking at new trains to Bournemouth nor Birmingham.   Think about what already reverses there TWICE an hour, and look at carrying one on to Paddington

[stebbo]

The bigger issue here is surely whether the Government wishes (has the balls?) to look at airport capacity in the South East. If you were to build a new London airport in the Thames then why build a new link to Heathrow?

To my mind - as I've just written to my MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) - the logical answer is to expand Heathrow so, yes, build the western link. But the Government needs to get a grip on the airport issue first.

[paul7575]

For all the other options they talk about, Heathrow itself isn't ever likely to close is it? 

I can foresee a situation where Heathrow is just dealing with cross Atlantic & South American traffic, and 'some other place' is taking over most routes to the east.

Aren't there are also far too many freight shipping businesses around Heathrow to move them all somewhere else?

Paul

[Electric train]

I agree I cannot see the day when Heathrow is cleared for housing, the Heathrow economic foot print is to large for any Government to risk.

My thoughts on a service from the west would be HEX extended to Reading - Paddington - Heathrow - Reading "fast" possibly every 3 per hour with a Maidenhead (or Reading) Crossrail via Heathrow 2 per hour.  It has to born in mind that BAA own the infrastructure from Airport Junction and set the fares so for anyone wanting to get off of a Crossrail service at Heathrow they would have to pay the "BAA surcharge"

The other thing to take into the equation is "Airtrack lite" this would take up capacity in Heathrow (the project does have legs, the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Route are doing feasibility studies), Airtrack lite I recall from an earlier post / thread has been included in the GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise (I could be wrong)

[paul7575]

The other thing to take into the equation is "Airtrack lite" this would take up capacity in Heathrow (the project does have legs, the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Route are doing feasibility studies), Airtrack lite I recall from an earlier post / thread has been included in the GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise (I could be wrong)

It was, and I think there was a a few people wondering why that was at the time the consultation came out. 

It does makes sense to mention it if at some time in the next franchise it was up and running in conjunction with Western Access.  You could see two types of services over Airtrack lite; maybe from Crossrail as far as Staines and terminating there, and other overlapping services from the SWT^▸ (South West Trains) network such as Reading that ran only to Heathrow.

Things in neighbouring areas seem to be mentioned in ITTs^▸ (Invitation to Tender) even if they are nothing much to do with the franchise in question's future operations. I assume it is if they might impact on future fares revenue, even if only slightly.

Paul

[Electric train]

Crossrail to Staines is unlikely the Crossrail trains are single traction, therefore Airtrack lite which is W'loo - Heathrow will have to be dual traction with an ac / dc interface between Staines and T5.  Although there is a GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects) 2 study into converting some dc lines to ac any conversion is not likely to happen until CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024) (i.e. at least 10 years time)

[paul7575]

Forgot that they weren't going to allow OHLE across Staines Moor. I had an idea that for Crosrrail perhaps Staines could be the end of the wires, and trains off the SW could change during a Staines call.  But having to use dual voltage on Crossrail is probably a step too far...

Paul

[Electric train]

But having to use dual voltage on Crossrail is probably a step too far...

Paul

Yep to the extent that at Abbey Wood it will be a segregated railway, the only connection between the North Kent Lines and Crossrail is a non-electrified engineers standage line

[stebbo]

I can foresee a situation where Heathrow is just dealing with cross Atlantic & South American traffic, and 'some other place' is taking over most routes to the east.

But doesn't this cause a problem with connecting flights into Europe/the rest of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) as you have to duplicate them from "somewhere else"? I recently travelled out from Heathrow from one terminal and returned to another - that's irritating enough.

[Btline]

Brum airport can double its flights - it will become a new terminal for Heathrow, with HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) providing regular 30 minute long services between them.

Gatwick can have a 2nd runway.
There is room for 3 more runways at Stansted (although ancient Woodland would have to be axed to make way)

Of course, what we need to do is build Boris Island with 4 runways so planes can take off and land every minute over water 24 hrs a day without keeping half of London awake. With that capacity you could close Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Standsted, Southend and Kent and still have room for more!

The third runway will affect thousands of people in North West London who's homes will be blighted by constant noise and fumes all day forever! This is unacceptable, even without the homes/schools/churches that will have to be bulldozed to make way.

..."Airtrack lite" this would take up capacity in Heathrow ...

Actually, in a wonderful piece of forward planning, space for two terminal platforms exists at Terminal 5 station for Airtrack. Airtrack Lite must happen, there is no reason for it not to. I can't believe they're doing studies, it's a no brainer!

And for goodness sake, will someone announce the extension of Crossrail to Reading and Gravesend before I scream!!!