Rail links to all major airports around the capital urgently need improving, according to business group London First. It calls on Government to back Crossrail 2 to allow better access to Stansted, for new western and southern rail routes to Heathrow and for the Brighton mainline to be upgraded to benefit Gatwick passengers.

 

City airport would benefit from a station on the Elizabeth line and faster rail services should be considered between London and Luton, it adds.

 

London First’s transport director Richard Dilks says that businesses welcome the Government’s reaffirmed commitment to push ahead with expansion at Heathrow. “But with any new runway over a decade away efforts must now be redoubled to make the most of existing capacity at all of London’s airports,” he adds.

 

As well as more investment in rail connectivity the report calls for Government to publish its long awaited aviation strategy for Britain.

 

Crossrail 2 promises to provide an additional two rail tracks between Tottenham Hale and Broxbourne, but in the shorter term there is a need to reduce journey times between Stansted airport and Liverpool Street station, the report adds. The fastest journeys could improve by eight minutes by enhancing line speeds on two sections of the route.

 

Over at Heathrow the group is urging Network Rail to commit to delivery of the Western rail access scheme in its next control period. The scheme would see a tunnel built from the Great Western Mainline to Terminal 5 to provide access for trains heading to the west of England. 

 

Heathrow’s Southern access corridor – proposed to serve Waterloo station and routes to the south of London – is at an earlier stage and should be developed further, the study adds.

 

Significant investment is also championed for the Brighton Mainline into London serving Gatwick over the next decade to provide additional capacity.

 

♦ Also this week, a report for the Gatwick Growth Board calls for two new platforms at East Croydon and new flyover bridges at nearby Windmill Bridge junction to untangle services and increase capacity on the Brighton mainline.

 

Unblocking these two pinch points could allow up to eight more trains every hour, the report by Arup claims. 

 

Growth Board co-chair and former Transport Minister Steve Norris said: “The £6Bn Thameslink improvements go live next year and will dramatically improve the vital rail corridor connecting Croydon, Gatwick and the south coast. But the full benefits of this scheme will not be realised until the bottlenecks at Croydon are removed.”

Elsewhere planning permission has been granted for Luton Airport to build a £200M driverless light rail link from Parkway station to the terminal building to replace a bus shuttle service. The 2.2km line is expected to be ready in 2021.

Luton Airport chief executive Nick Barton said: “The new rail link is a major milestone in the airport’s transformation. Passengers will soon enjoy a seamless transfer between Luton Airport Parkway and the terminal.”
 

(Photo: Heathrow Airports Limited)