Plans For Mainline Station At Heathrow

Plans for a mainline railway station linking Heathrow airport to the rest of the national rail network, including a high-speed rail link to the Channel tunnel line, are to be outlined to Ruth Kelly, transport secretary, today.

The scheme is being promoted by Arup, the civil engineering consultant, which estimates the project would cost £4.5bn and could be completed by 2019.

The new Heathrow Hub station, which would make Heathrow the first stop on an extended high-speed rail network, would be built to the north of the airport.

Mark Bostock, a director of Arup, said: “Extending high-speed rail in Britain is an inevitability - a matter of when, not if. The rising cost of flying, and growing awareness of its environmental impact, has seen a surge in demand for our existing high-speed rail services, and this trend is set to continue. The finance model we are outlining today would offer business the early opportunity to invest in a growth market.”