Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefit to the South West of the proposed Western Rail Access to Heathrow.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
A new Western Rail Link to Heathrow would substantially reduce rail journey times to Heathrow for passengers from the Thames Valley, South Coast, South West, South Wales and West Midlands, eliminating the need to change at London Paddington and encouraging modal shift.
In addition to benefits for airport passengers and workers, the proposed link would provide a real boost to the economy, generating economic growth and new jobs across the Thames Valley and surrounding areas.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on bringing forward a new southern rail access link to Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 25 October 2016, this Government announced that a Northwest Runaway at Heathrow Airport, combined with a package of supporting measures, was its preferred scheme to deliver additional airport capacity in the South East of England. The supporting measures would include improved rail access to the airport and we are actively looking at what we could do to accelerate these.
The next step for the proposed Southern Rail Access is a GRIP 1-2 study to permit informed option appraisal. This is being considered alongside the detailed development of Western Rail Access plans for the airport, in order to ensure that we provide maximum benefit for airport and non-airport passengers and exploit the new journey opportunities this may provide.
Asked by: Tania Mathias (Conservative - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce which elements of surface access to the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport will be funded from the public purse.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government has been clear that the promoter, Heathrow Airport Limited, will meet the costs of the surface access improvements necessary to allow expansion of the airport.
Where a surface access scheme has a wider range of beneficiaries, and are not specific to the addition of a new runway, the Government will consider, along with other relevant stakeholders, the need for public funding on a case-by-case basis.
For schemes such as the Western Rail Link and Southern Rail Access, such considerations would take place at an appropriate time in that project’s development process.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential (a) economic merits and (b) benefits to passengers of a western rail link to Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Network Rail’s own data details that a Western Rail Link to Heathrow will involve over £800 million of UK economic activity, including additional economic benefits for the region.
Passengers will benefit from new journey opportunities, improving access to Heathrow from the South Coast, South West, South Wales and West Midlands via a simple change of train at Reading. This will spare passengers the frustration of passing Heathrow on the way to Paddington, before having to turn around and do the last part of the journey in reverse – significantly reducing rail journey times between Reading and Heathrow.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Oral Statement on Airport Capacity of 25 October 2016, Official Report, column 179, whether any public transport upgrades or public infrastructure will be required to facilitate the proposed additional runway at Heathrow.
Answered by John Hayes
Heathrow Airport will benefit from Government’s huge committed transport investment programme which will see the delivery of Crossrail, HS2, improvements to the M4 and M25, as well as increased capacity on the Piccadilly Line.
Heathrow Airport Limited will finance the surface access infrastructure required for airport expansion, including re-alignment of the M25, the A4 and A3044, as well as airport and terminal access roads. In addition, it will contribute to the costs of building the proposed new Western Rail Link and Southern Rail Access. This reflects the ambition to have no more people arriving at the airport by private transport than they do today.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to upgrade the (a) rail and (b) underground connectivity to (i) Heathrow and (ii) Gatwick Airport.
Answered by John Hayes
Current investment plans include a number of improvements to rail and underground services to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
The Elizabeth line will significantly improve links between Heathrow and a number of central London destinations. From May 2018, four trains an hour will run between Paddington and Heathrow Airport replacing the existing 2 train per hour Heathrow Connect service. From December 2019, Elizabeth line trains will run from the airport directly to central London destinations including Bond Street, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf.
London Underground is planning new trains and signalling for the Piccadilly line, which serves Heathrow. Work on signalling will begin as early as 2019 and the first new trains will be in service from the early 2020s. The new trains will provide 60% more capacity (the equivalent of up to 21,000 customers per hour).
Network Rail is developing a rail link from the Great Western Main Line to London Heathrow Terminal 5. This proposed Western Rail Link to Heathrow will allow passengers to travel directly to the airport from Reading and Slough. Network Rail is expected to seek planning powers for this scheme in 2017.
Gatwick airport is benefiting from the investment that is underway through the Thameslink programme which is delivering more frequent services and state of the art new trains on the line between Brighton, Gatwick Airport and London, the first of which entered service earlier this year. By 2018, these trains will start operating on two new direct services connecting Gatwick to Peterborough and Cambridge.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to reduce traffic congestion in Berkshire.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
On 29 January the Government announced a £10.2m expansion of the Growth Deal with the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). We understand the LEP intends to use around £7.5m of that additional funding for 4 new local transport schemes, taking the total funding for local transport improvements as part of the Growth Deal to over £100m, supporting delivery of 20 transport projects across Berkshire.
This funding is in addition to £36.9m integrated transport block funding for the six Berkshire local authorities covering the period 2015/16 to 2020/21, and £2.1m local pinch point funding for the Stafferton Way Link Road in Maidenhead.
The Government launched the Roads Investment Strategy on 1 December 2014. The M4 Junctions 3-12 smart motorway project to upgrade the M4 from east of Heathrow to west of Reading continues to be progressed. The Highways Agency intends to submit a Development Consent Order (DCO) application for the scheme at the end of March. Subject to consent and the final business case, construction could start in late 2016.
The Highways Agency is due to complete the £2.5 million pinch point scheme to relieve traffic congestion at the M4/A329 (M) junction in June, and will deliver a scheme to improve the operation of the A404 Bisham roundabout in 2015/16.
The Government is also investing heavily in improvement of the rail network in Berkshire, including the Crossrail, Great Western electrification and Waterloo-Windsor lines train lengthening projects, which may have the impact of relieving traffic congestion in the county by offering improved alternatives to travel by car.