Written evidence submitted by Heathrow Southern Railway Ltd

Introduction

Heathrow Southern Railway (HSR) is a privately financed proposal to build a rail connection from Heathrow Airport to the existing national rail network at Staines and Virginia Water. The project comprises eight miles of new electric railway, mostly in tunnel, at a cost of c£1.5bn, with minimal environmental impact.

HSR would enable operation of two new profitable rail routes:

 Basingstoke/ – Woking – Heathrow – Old Oak Common – Paddington  Waterloo – Clapham Junction – Richmond/Hounslow – Staines – Heathrow

The project is fully aligned with the need for infrastructure investment to be consistent with a sustainable, zero-carbon future, while at the same time supporting economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. It is clearly aligned with the need to “Build Back Better” for a sustainable future.

Connectivity for Heathrow

It is clear that there has been a long-standing need to deliver major, environmentally sustainable improvements to access to Heathrow from South West and South , and , areas which are overwhelmingly dependent on road access to the airport at the present time. HSR will increase rail’s modal share of total journeys to and from the airport by c4%, directly reducing congestion on the road network around Heathrow, particularly on the South Western section of the M25, one of the most congested sections of motorway in Europe. Furthermore, rail access to Heathrow will be quicker and more reliable than travelling by road, and cheaper than car park charges or taxi fares.

HSR Ltd’s scheme is forecast to remove around 3 million car journeys from the road network each year, around half of which are taken from the M3/M25/M4. We estimate this will avoid the release of 2 tons of NOx and 8,600 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

While we judge it is unlikely that Heathrow Airport will be expanded by building a third runway, it is clear that the airport will remain Britain’s principal international gateway for travel across the world, and improved, sustainable access to Heathrow will be vital for delivery of economic growth. Easy access to the areas served is also vitally important for inward investment, not least for relatively deprived London Boroughs such as Hounslow, Wandsworth and Lambeth and cities such as . Fast, convenient links to and from Heathrow are potentially transformational.

HSR is not in any way dependent on expansion at Heathrow Wide ranging benefits.

Services via Staines

Operation of the train services to Waterloo would be fully integrated with the existing services on the Waterloo – Richmond/Hounslow routes, providing direct services from key stations such as Clapham Junction, Putney, Hounslow, Richmond and Staines to Heathrow. We envisage four trains an hour, two via Hounslow and two via Richmond; the suggested service pattern would not increase the number of trains at the busy level crossings between Barnes and Richmond.

HSR will therefore provide major local transport benefits for South West London, opening up greatly improved access to airport employment for Boroughs such as Hounslow, Wandsworth and Lambeth, also providing easy access to South London through interchange at Clapham junction. These benefits are exemplified by Hounslow: seven stations in the borough would have direct trains to Heathrow.

Services via Woking

We envisage four trains an hour from Woking to Paddington via Heathrow and Old Oak Common, with two starting from Basingstoke and two from Guildford. In addition to providing a direct, fast link to Heathrow, this service would also provide an easy connection to High Speed 2 at Old Oak Common. HSR will also provide a direct link to the Old Oak and Park Royal Development area, enhancing the potential of this major regeneration project.

In addition, through operation to Paddington would provide an alternative London terminal to Waterloo and a connection to the Elizabeth Line, reducing commuter journey times for a significant number of passengers and relieving congestion at Waterloo and its Underground lines. It would additionally provide resilience in the event of disruption on the Woking – Waterloo route.

The Paddington services would subsume the existing Heathrow Express service. This makes much more effective use of these “train paths” to and from Paddington and also provides a financially stable basis for continued operation of a fast Heathrow – Paddington service after the opening of the Elizabeth line, which will certainly attract much of the existing business from Heathrow Express.

Stakeholder engagement

The HSR project is entirely consistent with current and future plans for the national rail network, and has been discussed in detail with Network Rail, including with the Chief Executive. Operation of the new infrastructure would be fully integrated with the existing network. We have also had detailed discussions with Heathrow Airport Ltd, the owner of the existing rail infrastructure at the airport

In addition, these proposals have been fully discussed with the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for London, Surrey County Council and many other stakeholders.

National Infrastructure projects.

HSR itself would be a national asset, providing an environmentally sustainable, essential southern link to Britain’s most important airport as well as a new regional route to central London. In addition, HSR provides an important interchange connection to HS2 at Old Oak Common, significantly increasing the benefits of that key project for communities south and west of London, notably in Surrey and Hampshire.

Current status

HSR Ltd was formed as a company in April 2016, and formal proposals were presented to DfT in September 2016. Despite constructive discussions with officials and Ministers, progress has been very slow, inevitably delayed by BREXIT, issues around Heathrow expansion, and more recently the coronavirus pandemic. The project was discussed in the House of Commons on 22 July 2020 as part of an Adjournment Debate on the economic benefits of a southern rail link to Heathrow secured by Guildford MP Angela Richardson.

The Need for Reform

HSR was conceived as a project that could be wholly designed, financed, built and operated by the private sector whilst being fully integrated with the existing national rail network. Despite an invitation from the Government in March 2018 for market-led proposals for Southern Access to Heathrow to be submitted, the Department for Transport has yet to produce a process and timescale for evaluating such ideas and selecting a partner organisation. With public money likely to be in short supply following the pandemic, devising a robust pathway for bringing private sector investment and expertise into the rapid development of new public transport infrastructure seems to us to be a priority for reform.

Summary

The economic, environmental and financial case for HSR is very strong, and, applying DfT’s standard criteria, the project delivers very high value for money. HSR will deliver significant modal shift, faster, cheaper and more convenient journeys and contribute towards the net carbon emission target.

We believe it would now be timely to take this proposal forward, potentially opening the new link in 2027.

September 2020