Roland Perry wrote:
In message -septem
ber.org, at 19:45:36 on Mon, 1 Jun 2015, Recliner remarked:
24 March 2011

Airport operator BAA chief executive Colin Matthews this week
threw his weight behind plans to run Heathrow Express services
through Crossrail’s central London tunnels.

He said he was backing the idea of extending the dedicated
Heathrow services east from their current Paddington terminus
and into the tunnels being constructed for Crossrail, "with
maximum enthusiasm".

The plan was outlined by Network Rail in its London and the
South East route utilisation study late last year.
Network Rail believes this would also remove the need for many
passengers travelling between Heathrow and central London to
change trains at Paddington.

BAA had previously campaigned against calls to dovetail
Heathrow Express with Crossrail. It objected to the
legislation that authorised the line, fearing that the
Department for Transport could take over the Express service.

However, Matthews told a Westminster Energy, Environment &
Transport Forum event last week that BAA now backs the idea.

"The opportunity of Heathrow Express going forward with
Crossrail, to make sure you can get from Heathrow not just to
Paddington but to other destinations in London, is going to be
great," he said.

Having read the 2011 RUS, it does not propose that Heathrow Express
trains would run onto Crossrail. In fact it proposes the opposite, that
Crossrail would replace HEx, running up to 10tph on the Relief Lines to
Heathrow T4 or T5, skip-stopping to reduce journey times.

Ah, that makes a lot more sense. I can definitely see that happening.

Unless Colin Matthews had read the wrong RUS, it sounds as if the
Heathrow "Crossrail" trains will be operated by HAL.

Huh? I suppose HAL may have a financial stake in the Crossrail trains that
serve it, just as it does with HCon, but it certainly won't be operating
them.

As the then CEO of HAL, I imagine Colin Matthews was very interested in
having a good, direct connection between all his terminals and Canary Wharf
(which was contributing to Crossrail), but I don't suppose he much cared
who operated the trains or their exact stopping pattern. He also probably
knew he'd be long gone from HAL by then, as indeed he is. Who knows, by
2023 he may be back as boss of Network Rail?