Posted without comment:


Wandsworth reveals Waterloo-Heathrow direct rail plans


Wandsworth Council has today unveiled plans for a new direct rail
service from south London to Heathrow airport.

The proposal — which is based on BAA’s Airtrack scheme — would provide
four trains an hour from Waterloo to the airport’s Terminal 5 with
stops in Wandsworth at Clapham Junction and Putney.

The plans avoid routing extra trains through level crossings in
Mortlake and Egham. This was a key problem with the original scheme
which was scrapped by BAA in April.

Wandsworth’s new plan, called Airtrack-Lite, routes two trains an hour
from Waterloo via the Hounslow loop. Two existing services on the
Waterloo-Windsor line would split at Staines to provide a further
direct link to Terminal Five. Two services an hour would also come up
from Weybridge to Heathrow — again without adding extra frequencies
over level crossings at Egham.

The new scheme would require a new station at Staines and a new
stretch of track from there to Terminal 5. The rest of the route would
run along existing lines.

A map of the proposed route is available on the council’s website:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xjzzoa
or:
http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/downloa...e_rail_service

"Bruce" wrote:

Posted without comment:

Wandsworth reveals Waterloo-Heathrow direct rail plans

Wandsworth Council has today unveiled plans for a new direct rail
service from south London to Heathrow airport.
[...]
A map of the proposed route is available on the council's website:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xjzzoa

I'll leave it to others to question (/ demolish!) this particular proposal
(/ bit of blue sky thinking), but with regards to the underlying issue - the
lack of rail connectivity from Heathrow to the south really is a significant
missing piece in terms of public transport access to the airport. I'm sure
it'd result in fewer people getting to and from the airport by car/cab, with
the knock-on benefits in terms of a reduction in road traffic that'd bring
(indeed I'm sure there's some Airtrack related study or two to this end out
there somewhere... but I haven't looked for it, let alone read it!).

Yes, there is the 'back door' way in to LHR from Feltham station via the
bus, but it's really not quite the same thing as a proper rail link.

(I can't see why we couldn't just close a hospital on Teesside to pay for
it...)

On Oct 28, 2:54*pm, "Mizter T" wrote:
"Bruce" wrote:
Posted without comment:

Wandsworth reveals Waterloo-Heathrow direct rail plans

Wandsworth Council has today unveiled plans for a new direct rail
service from south London to Heathrow airport.
[...]
A map of the proposed route is available on the council's website:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xjzzoa

I'll leave it to others to question (/ demolish!) this particular proposal
(/ bit of blue sky thinking), but with regards to the underlying issue - the
lack of rail connectivity from Heathrow to the south really is a significant
missing piece in terms of public transport access to the airport. I'm sure
it'd result in fewer people getting to and from the airport by car/cab, with
the knock-on benefits in terms of a reduction in road traffic that'd bring
(indeed I'm sure there's some Airtrack related study or two to this end out
there somewhere... but I haven't looked for it, let alone read it!).

I guess if this proposal went ahead, once the tunnels are there,
there's the option for other routes to link in.

Would the plan give a through route up to the Heathrow express
tunnels? That'd give extra options for joined up transport links.

"Stuart Moore" wrote in message

On Oct 28, 2:54 pm, "Mizter T" wrote:
"Bruce" wrote:
Posted without comment:

Wandsworth reveals Waterloo-Heathrow direct rail plans

Wandsworth Council has today unveiled plans for a new direct rail
service from south London to Heathrow airport.
[...]
A map of the proposed route is available on the council's website:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xjzzoa

I'll leave it to others to question (/ demolish!) this particular
proposal (/ bit of blue sky thinking), but with regards to the
underlying issue - the lack of rail connectivity from Heathrow to
the south really is a significant missing piece in terms of public
transport access to the airport. I'm sure it'd result in fewer
people getting to and from the airport by car/cab, with the knock-on
benefits in terms of a reduction in road traffic that'd bring
(indeed I'm sure there's some Airtrack related study or two to this
end out there somewhere... but I haven't looked for it, let alone
read it!).

I guess if this proposal went ahead, once the tunnels are there,
there's the option for other routes to link in.

Would the plan give a through route up to the Heathrow express
tunnels? That'd give extra options for joined up transport links.

No, I don't think so. The two sets of lines and platforms are separate,
and parallel to each other (the Airtrack tunnels are south of the HEx
tunnels). Even if there is a connection, it's not meant to be used by
service trains. In any case, the services will be more reliable if kept
separate.

"Recliner" wrote in message
...

No, I don't think so. The two sets of lines and platforms are separate,
and parallel to each other (the Airtrack tunnels are south of the HEx
tunnels). Even if there is a connection, it's not meant to be used by
service trains. In any case, the services will be more reliable if kept
separate.

Despite the existing layout, the published Airtrack proposals always
anticipated HEx running through to Staines as well - it is exactly why
Staines station was to get an additional west facing bay platform...

Paul S

"Recliner" wrote in message
...
"Stuart Moore" wrote

Would the plan give a through route up to the Heathrow express
tunnels? That'd give extra options for joined up transport links.

No, I don't think so. The two sets of lines and platforms are separate,
and parallel to each other (the Airtrack tunnels are south of the HEx
tunnels). Even if there is a connection, it's not meant to be used by
service trains. In any case, the services will be more reliable if kept
separate.
The main disadvantage of Airtrack (either original or this) is that it only
gives through trains to T5, with a change there needed to access the Central
Area, and a further change to get to T4 (might as well get the bus from
Feltham). While there would be a slight reduction in reliability,
connectivity would be improved by linking Airtrack with HEx/HConn/Crossrail.

The other disadvantage of Airtrack-Lite is that journey times from
Waterloo/Clapham Junction would be very slow, and further changes would be
needed to get to the Reading line, or to Woking (for Main Line connections)
or Guildford.

Peter

On Oct 28, 4:12*pm, "Recliner" wrote:
"Stuart Moore" wrote in message











On Oct 28, 2:54 pm, "Mizter T" wrote:
"Bruce" wrote:
Posted without comment:

Wandsworth reveals Waterloo-Heathrow direct rail plans

Wandsworth Council has today unveiled plans for a new direct rail
service from south London to Heathrow airport.
[...]
A map of the proposed route is available on the council's website:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xjzzoa

I'll leave it to others to question (/ demolish!) this particular
proposal (/ bit of blue sky thinking), but with regards to the
underlying issue - the lack of rail connectivity from Heathrow to
the south really is a significant missing piece in terms of public
transport access to the airport. I'm sure it'd result in fewer
people getting to and from the airport by car/cab, with the knock-on
benefits in terms of a reduction in road traffic that'd bring
(indeed I'm sure there's some Airtrack related study or two to this
end out there somewhere... but I haven't looked for it, let alone
read it!).

I guess if this proposal went ahead, once the tunnels are there,
there's the option for other routes to link in.

Would the plan give a through route up to the Heathrow express
tunnels? That'd give extra options for joined up transport links.

No, I don't think so. The two sets of lines and platforms are separate,
and parallel to each other (the Airtrack tunnels are south of the HEx
tunnels). Even if there is a connection, it's not meant to be used by
service trains. In any case, the services will be more reliable if kept
separate.

I can't help thinking that providing through lines now is relatively
cheap as part of the main project, whereas adding them later when they
weren't originally planned is expensive. If it enabled another
connection that avoided central London, surely that's worth having.

I wonder how the ticket prices would be reckoned. Feltham and Heathrow
are in Zone 6, but Staines and Ashford (which the train passes through
are outside Zone 6.

Will it use the former international platforms at Waterloo? It's about
time these were put back to use for the purpose for which they were
intended, rather than children's theatre.

Whether it does or not, it would be a nicer way to get to LHR than the
X26 bus.

Alex

On Nov 2, 6:34*pm, Alex Macfie wrote:
Will it use the former international platforms at Waterloo? It's about
time these were put back to use for the purpose for which they were
intended, rather than children's theatre.

The international platforms were intended for an international rail
service that has since moved...

FWIW, Arup produced a report for the SRA in 2005 which outlined the
options (and associated difficulties) with regards to finding a future
use for Waterloo International - it didn't mention the theatrical
possibilities it must be said - the aforementioned report, all 82
pages of it, can be read he
http://preview.tinyurl.com/Waterloo-International-report


Whether it does or not, it would be a nicer way to get to LHR than the
X26 bus.