HEATHROW

[Fairdealfrank]

Quote: “Arriving at Euston reliably from outside London requires much more padding to your time allowance than going to Heathrow does.

One of the things noticed when Eurostar moved over from Waterloo to St Pancras was how additionally inconvenient it now was for those from SW London, Surrey, etc, to get to it, compared to hopping across platforms at Waterloo. BA experienced a significant increase in Paris traffic from Heathrow after this happened.”

Indeed, one can be as little as 12 mi. outside London and still need a time allowance of 2 hours to Euston, Kings Cross/St Pancras, etc., not to mention carting luggage on buses, trains, tubes, etc.. Much easier, convenient, and often cheaper to fly from LHR.

Quote: “A brief look at Google Earth shows that it's not just the unimagineable cost of compensating these communities, which are much bigger than Sipson and Harmondsworth, but also draining the reservoirs which are elevated compared to the surrounding areas. The reservoir capacity would have to be replaced - where? Just not practical.

Same thing applies to the open land west of the M25 - not to mention turning Windsor into the runway overrrun area!”

Had said that if the money is available for compensating the 20,000 residents of both Bedfont and Stanwell, it’s better spent on a second rwy north of LHR and extending across the M25. This area is north of the reservoirs. Additional LHR rwys do not necessarily need to be 2.5 mi. long.

This idea is different from the plan to have four new 1.8 mi. long rwys west of the present airport, demolishing reservoirs, and abandoning both the existing 2.5 mi. long rwys.

Quote: “Its also suggested that the Heathrow Express will be retired from Platforms 6 & 7 at Paddington when its present contract expires which would free up 2 fast line platforms for extra long distance trains going West past Reading; it's proposed Crossrail will provide the new LHR service on the slow lines.”

What a waste of an opportunity to open up a huge rail catchment area for LHR by providing a one-stop change over the massive Reading rail hub.

It’s a classic lack of joined-up thinking: another spur off the mainline, allowing some long distance trains to stop at LHR 1-2-3 and LHR-5 is needed (not a “Heathrow hub“ (sic) at Iver!), and Crossrail should obviously extend to Reading.

Quote: “However there is a good case for improving LHR's rail connection to LGW via Staines; the original Airtrack plan included a T5 - Guildford route which opened up an improved link to LGW. Unfortunately in 2011 BAA threw this baby out with the bath water and withdrew the proposal; though hopefully when Crossrail takes over the present HEx route, they will extend it to Staines as an incremental step towards a semi-fast LHR - LGW rail link.”

No there isn‘t, National Express buses link the two airports several times/hour. Even with bad traffic it would still be quicker than LHR-LGW via Guildford by train on local lines (as this would always be a slow and arduous journey!).

Staines to LGW by train involves a change at Clapham Junction. The
Airtrack proposal was never intended to go to LGW and was scuppered because there are too many level crossings west of Staines. Upping the frequencies without addressing this would lead to unacceptable traffic congestion in places like Egham. Two trains/hour each to Reading and Guildford were proposed in addition to the existing services.
　

Quote: “Long haul loco is tricky as legacy loco is already there in that space, cross subsidised by the front cabins.”

A very good way of putting it!

Quote: “I'm sure they are, and very commendable too. Of course that doesn't extend to actually contributing to the cost (à la BAA/Airtrack).

But are you seriously suggesting that an appreciable part of the demand will be pax arriving at LHR and continuing their journey from Gatwick ?

I'm losing track here - have we stopped at Heathwickholt, or have we already progressed to Heathwickholtsted ?”

Exactly, it is the stuff of fantasy. We’re back in the Thames estuary. Am losing the will to live.

“Heathwickholtsted-borisle” anyone?

Quote: “There I was thinking the £6 Billion ThamesLink project will connect Luton & LGW, whilst the £15 Billion Crossrail project will connect LCY and LHR !! Perhaps you should visit Farringdon which is being built as an underground interchange station between these two lines.

If Boris gets his way on Crossrail 2 then the Crossrail 1 re-build of Tottenham Court road is already making passive provision for it, as a Crossrail 1/2 interchange. It's also worth remembering that Crossrail 1 will run through Liverpool Street station, home of the Stansted Express.”


If Crossrail had been designed properly, it would be Reading-Southend (on existing track west of Maidenhead and east of Shenfield), and SEN would also be on the network.