Heathrow Airport: Sadiq Khan backs proposed new rail link

[whole diary]

[CyclingSid]

I feel we have been down this route before?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66716733 [Helps if I include the link!]

Presumably there are still some magic money trees about. Heaven forbid that anybody would connect this to ULEZ money.

[Marlburian]

"The line has been proposed by Heathrow Southern Railway Ltd (HSR) which has said it could open in 2027/28."

Bets on that, anyone?

[broadgage]

I have very mixed feelings about this proposal.

I am in general pro-rail. Electric trains are far preferable to fossil fuel burning cars, and this advantage will increase as more of our electricity is produced renewably.

On the other hand, better access to an airport will presumably encourage more flying which is virtually 100% fossil fuel powered, and likely to remain so.
Is this proposed railway to be conductor rail powered ? Presumably yes as the surrounding network is. Expect some years of inquiries, reviews, and studies by the health and safety industry as they seek to prevent it, or render it unaffordable.

[Electric train]

"The line has been proposed by Heathrow Southern Railway Ltd (HSR) which has said it could open in 2027/28."

Bets on that, anyone?

I agree a bit optimistic, 2030 would even be a challenge.  Most of the infrastructure is in place, just a relitvly short section of tunnel from T5 to the abandoned old Stains / West Drayton line which will need renewing.  There would need to be an AC^▸ (Alternating Current, or can mean Air Conditioning, depending on context. The second meaning is often used in a railway context and more generally) to DC^▸ (Direct Current) traction power change over in that area.

And then there is the matter of rolling stock

[broadgage]

If this goes ahead, about which I am rather doubt full, would battery power be worth considering for the branch ? No worries regarding elfansafety approval for new conductor rail installations, and simpler than dual voltage stock. Charging would be easy when running on the already electrified portions of the route.

[stuving]

I feel we have been down this route before?

Quite. HSR appeared in 2017, with a proposal not very different to Airtrack.

I don't think there ever was a thread on this forum about the original Airtrack proposal and its consultation and TWA^▸ (Transport and Works Act 1992) application and public enquiry (2008-2011). In 2011 the Government declared they would not fund it at all, and BAA first "deferred" their application and then the next year dropped it altogether. They gave as reasons the objections raised to the effect on some level crossings, and difficulty finding all the money themselves.

The technical issues, such as what kind of electricity was possible where, were all worked out at that stage, as was the route and issues such as the SSSI on Staines Moor. The most difficult bit to build was the recreation of the western chord which bypasses Staines East Junction - across what is now the car park of Elmsleigh Shopping Centre, and requiring the demolition of the access bridge over the A308. When WRAtH^▸ (Western Rail Access to Heathrow) came along that created a conflict for access to T5 from the west, but what the status of that is now in unclear - if Airtrack can rise from the dead ...

I still think (as I did at the time) that it would be easier, and make more sense, to start with just the line from T5 to a new bay at Staines Station, and extend Heathrow trains (presumably Crossrail) to it. That provides connectivity, even with the need to change trains and (to go west) platforms. If the demand is there, linking to the lines eastwards is relatively easy. I suspect the chord would never be justified except as a bribe by BAA, though of course if Heathrow expansion ever becomes a real project BAA will need some of those.

[Ralph Ayres]

The Mayor of London's "backing" seems to be little more than responding cautiously to a question from one of his main political opponents Caroline Pidgeon in a way that wouldn't allow her to score political points.  There's certainly no public money or any practical support offered.

For the various reasons noted by others, I think this is about as likely to happen as Go-op are to run trains any time soon, and like broadgage I'm at best ambivalent about its desirability anyway.  I'm surprised to see that there are some experienced and I'd say well-respected former railway managers on the board, but discussing projects like this may well be a pleasant way to spend retirement or at least the twilight years of a career while getting some extra income so long as they're not expected to fund it.