West London Orbital Rail Project

Dawn Butler Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for the West London orbital.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg, and to speak on an issue that is of particular relevance to Members from west London: the proposed development of the west London orbital rail line. This valuable strategic rail project will connect Hounslow in the west to Hendon in the north-west, avoiding the need to go into central London.

Back in the 1830s, during Britain’s first railway boom, parliamentary Committees signed off thousands of miles of new rail tracks in short order. I am not proposing that we do that today, but I hope to show why the proposal has broad and deep support from councils led by different political parties, a broad range of civic society organisations, the business community, MPs, the Greater London Assembly and the Mayor of London. The Government also supported it in the Budget two weeks ago.

[Dawn Butler (Brent East) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I am so excited, because Neasden in my patch in Brent will be connected to the WLO. Does she agree that it will make London more economically sustainable, and will bring housing and jobs? What is not to love?

[Ruth Cadbury]

Exactly—and what is more, it will make it so much easier to get to Wembley stadium in my hon. Friend’s patch.

I thank the West London Alliance of local authorities, which has done so much to work up and promote the scheme, and to bring business and local government leaders together—some are in the Public Gallery watching the debate. But let me first set out some background about the scheme. The West London orbital route would start—or finish, depending on where you are—in my constituency at Hounslow station, passing through Isleworth, Syon Lane and Brentford stations. There would be a new station at Lionel Road, by Brentford football club’s ground, and it would then go through Acton and Old Oak Common, allowing an easy connection to High Speed 2 and the Elizabeth line, before continuing via Harlesden, Neasden, Brent Cross and finishing in Hendon. The route would connect west London with north-west London, significantly cutting journey times.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justin Madders]

As a Brentford supporter, she might be a little over-optimistic in that regard, although I recognise the irony of my making such a comment. Nevertheless, I am sure that we would all benefit from regular trips to Wembley.

[Dawn Butler]

Lots of things happen at Wembley stadium, and we welcome people coming to it.

I thank the Minister for his comments. The reality is that after years of under-investment by the previous Government, we now have a Government who have recognised that situation and are investing in London. Will he join me in welcoming the devolution of powers to London? Those powers will enable the unlocking of schemes such as the WLO, which will bring about £300 million of investment into our economy.

[Justin Madders]

It is clear that the direction of travel under this Government is to empower local areas to control their own destinies; we think that is really important. We hope to see the mayoral model being replicated around the country, but there is already proof of concept in London. I will say a little more about the fiscal devolution proposals in a minute.

As Members will know, transport is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London: it is for them to determine and prioritise which projects they want to support. Nevertheless, we work closely with Transport for London to understand the long-term needs of London’s transport infrastructure and where there are opportunities to enhance the network, including through major projects such as the one we are discussing today.

The Government have already provided significant support to Transport for London, including more than £6.5 billion in revenue funding and capital funding between 2020 and 2024. At the 2025 spending review, the Government also confirmed nearly £2.2 billion in capital funding for Transport for London over the four years from 2026-27 to 2029-30, to support major rolling stock, signalling and road renewal projects.