Heathrow Southern Railway Limited (HSRL) – the independent venture set up to transform the rail network serving Britain’s busiest airport – held its Westminster launch event at the Houses of Parliament on 12 June 2018.
Hosted by Jonathan Lord MP (Conservative, Woking) and supported by investor and partner AECOM, the reception heard speakers from across the political spectrum including:
- the Rt. Hon. John McDonnell MP (Labour, Hayes & Harlington and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer);
- Baroness Jenny Randerson (Liberal Democrat Principal Spokesperson on Transport); and
- Lilian Greenwood MP (Labour, Nottingham South and Chair of the House of Commons Transport Committee).
Guests included MPs and Peers, local authority representatives and leading figures from the rail and aviation industries.
In his speech, HSRL Chief Executive Graham Cross said:
“A scheme initially conceived as an airport railway puts six thousand seats per hour into the network, opening up business and housing developments across a vast swathe of the country.
That’s the vision we have for 2027. A modern, high capacity railway making a major contribution to the sustainability of the Airport and the wider economic development of the region. Reducing congestion on road and rail, and making a big contribution to improving air quality.
For further information visit www.heathrowrail.comor contact Mark Walker on 01733 767244 or 07742 925753.
Notes for editors:
- HSRL intends to create fast, easy and relaxing rail access to Heathrow Airport by building 8 miles of rail infrastructure from the west end of the existing Terminal 5 station, enabling trains to run from Woking, Guildford and Basingstoke to Heathrow Airport and on to Old Oak Common (for HS2) and London Paddington (for the Elizabeth Line).
- Heathrow Southern Railway will also enable electric trains to operate between Heathrow Airport and London’s Waterloo terminus via Clapham Junction, Putney, Hounslow, Twickenham, Richmond, Staines and other intermediate stations. Waterloo East and Clapham Junction will make Heathrow accessible from Kent and Sussex with just one change of train.
- The best rail journey times projected by HSRL are 16 minutes from Woking to Heathrow, 26 minutes from Guildford to Heathrow and 6 minutes from Staines to Heathrow.
- HSRL forecasts that the new railway will remove 86 million car kilometres from the road network each year.
- HSRL forecasts that the new rail link will be used by 33,000 passengers per day and could be open as early as 2025.
- Photographs attached show the event and should be credited, if used, to Fallon Photography.
