Heathrow £500m Rail Link Could Boost South West Economy (September 2011)

Heathrow £500m Rail Link Could Boost South West Economy (September 2011)

A potential welcome boost to the westcountry economy was announced earlier this month by Insider Media Limited when they reported on comments made by Philip Morton of DTZ (see article below). The possibility of a direct rail link between Bristol and Heathrow would provide obvious benefits in terms of savings in cost and time (by avoiding the need for passengers to travel in and out of London as is presently the case) and would almost certainly provide a boost to the South West regional economy and encourage an increase in inward investment – good news all round!

Roger Mundy, Beardsley Theobalds

Investment into the South West economy could be boosted if the reported £500m Heathrow Airport link-up goes ahead. That’s according to Philip Morton, director of DTZ in Bristol.

U.K. Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond is said to be drawing up plans for a £500m rail scheme that would connect the South West and Wales with Heathrow Airport.

Morton said: "News that Bristol could benefit from a direct rail link to Heathrow Airport will provide a welcome boost to the South West regional economy.

"The scheme could also open up opportunities for inward investment to Bristol and allow access to international markets".

The proposed link-up also means that passengers travelling to Heathrow would not need to change at Paddington to gain rail access to the airport, saving time.

Morton said: "As well as removing the need for passengers to travel into London before heading out to the airport the scheme would cut 30 minutes off journey time and connect the South West to the proposed HS2 high speed rail link".

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the U.K. transport secretary Hammond was considering building a new railway station at Heathrow. The paper said the airport hub could also take trains direct from Cardiff and Bristol and that it could be open by 2012.

The government has already confirmed that a £1bn electrification of the Great Western Mainline between London and Cardiff – and via Bristol – is to go ahead.

Electrification will speed up the journey between Bristol and London by 12 minutes. The proposed scheme work would see all of the line from London Paddington to Cardiff electrified, taking in Bristol Parkway station, along with the track through Bath to Bristol Temple Meads.

Last year the South West Regional Development Agency estimated that electrification of the London to Swansea rail route could deliver a £120m boost every year to the regional economy, though the latest plan is to electrify the route only as far as Cardiff.

The new electrified lines will also allow for a High Speed Rail system to be introduced at some point in the future running from London to South West England and South Wales as part of a U.K.-wide HSR network.