The connection would have to go through a tunnel to make sure a protected wildlife site isn’t damaged
A new railway connection from London into Surrey to link up commuter towns with Heathrow Airport has received the backing of a council, as long as certain conditions are agreed. Spelthorne Borough Council, a Surrey district just south of Heathrow over the border, has confirmed it will support a new rail link from Staines to Heathrow with conditions.
The council is insisting trains must stop at Staines Station and it also says any work that happens cannot damage the protected wildlife site Staines Moor. The Heathrow Southern Rail (HSR) project would establish a direct railway route into the airport.
Advocates argue it could reduce congestion, improve access to employment at Heathrow and strengthen the local economy. Nevertheless, councillors agreed to support the scheme only if three conditions are satisfied, which include trains must stop at Staines, so local residents gain direct access to Heathrow.
The council states Independent studies must show there will be no damage to Staines Moor, which is a protected wildlife site, and no increase in flood risk and it also wants to check and agree to the final details of the plan before giving full approval.
The planned route would utilise the existing railway line between Staines and Windsor, before entering a new tunnel beneath Staines Moor. This approach aims to preserve the landscape. The alternative Southern Light Rail (SLR) scheme was rejected after councillors determined it would present greater threats to privacy, the landscape and the environment, reports Surrey Live.
Cllr Chris Bateson, who oversaw the council’s assessment of the proposals, said: “We’ve looked at both proposals in detail. A direct rail link from Staines to Heathrow could reduce congestion and support our local economy. But we must protect Staines Moor and make sure residents benefit.”
Cllr Howard Williams, who chairs the council’s Business, Infrastructure and Growth Committee, added: “Our support relies on clear guarantees. The environment can’t pay the price for progress. We will keep working with HSR to make sure residents’ interests come first.”
However, some councillors voiced worries that the benefits might not be evenly distributed across the borough, particularly in Stanwell, where a large number of residents are employed at the airport.
Other proposed new Heathrow rail links – including ‘hole in the wall’
The Heathrow Southern Rail (HSR) project is not the only potential new rail connection for Heathrow Airport. The London Assembly transport committee debated in April the need for improved links to and from the airport – especially to the south and west – to cope with increased passenger numbers when the third runway is built.
Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of transport strategy and policy, told the committee in April: “Rail connections into central London are great, but the lack of them in any other direction is definitely a problem.” She added: “Any expansion of that nature… means we would definitely need to be looking at significant investment, particularly in rail.”
Anthony Smith, who chairs the Heathrow Area Transport Forum, told the meeting the Terminal 5 building was designed to accommodate new rail links. He said: “There’s a quite extraordinary sort of hole in the wall at Terminal 5. You go through this door and there’s this huge, cavernous box ready to go, and provision was made for the future of extending those services.”
In terms of providing a rail link to the south, he said there were two options, one of which would involve extending the Elizabeth line down to Staines, “which would be an absolute game-changer”. The other possibility would see the South Western Railway linked up with Terminal 5, providing “a huge range of travel options, which go way beyond the airport”.
Mr Smith added: “We are waiting for the funding, we’re waiting for what might happen with the future expansion of the airport or not, but I think the current rate of passenger growth argues very strongly for getting thinking about these schemes going now, because even if we all rushed out today and started digging, it would be about seven years before anything actually ran.”
Marcus Jones, Network Rail’s western route director, told the committee that there was a strong business case connecting Heathrow to Langley, dubbed the Western Rail Link, calling it a “good option for us in the future”.
Sophie Chapman, the airport’s surface access director, said ministers “have made it clear that there is no Government money for either of those schemes”.
She added: “We support both the schemes. We need to do our work on expanding Heathrow [first], to understand what we need to achieve in terms of mode share [of passengers travelling to the airport].”
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