As a south-west Londoner who can fairly frequently be found at Heathrow Airport (or at least dreaming about being there), I can confirm that a speedy service, directly linking the almighty aviation hub with the south west of the city is something that’s been perched at the very top of my wish list for quite some time now. And it seems as though my prayers may finally have been answered in the form of the Heathrow Southern Railway.
London Heathrow Airport is currently in the early stages of a rather hefty expansion. Over the next ten years, the airport (which just so happens to be the biggest and busiest in the country) is set to receive a third runway. And when said runway is up and running, Heathrow is expecting to welcome approximately 66 million more passengers a year. So now is probably a pretty good time to start thinking about how they’re all going to get there.
Heathrow Southern Railway
The Heathrow Southern Railway was first proposed back in 2017. One part of the railway route is set to run between Heathrow Terminal 5 and London Waterloo, calling at the likes of Richmond, Twickenham, Hounslow, Putney, and Clapham Junction on route. It’s likely that there will be other branches on the line that will call at various towns across Surrey and Hampshire, but no definitive routes have yet been confirmed.
Heathrow Southern Railway would primarily make use of existing infrastructure, only requiring around 8 miles of new track to be built. The developers have said that the railway line will be privately funded, and if all goes to plan, it could be up and running by the early 2030s.
Spelthorne Borough Council has recently said that it will support the plans on two conditions: the route must definitely make a stop at Staines, and there must be no damage to Staines Moor. The local park is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and the council has supposedly said that independent studies must prove that the work will not negatively affect the moor prior to any final approvals being given.
The proposed plans currently say that the route will ‘run mainly in tunnel and be electrified to minimise environmental impact’. The current railway line between Staines and Windsor is set to be used, and then the route will continue into a new tunnel that will run underneath Staines Moor to avoid harming the landscape.
You can keep up to date with the progress of the Heathrow Southern Railway plans here.