R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive
R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive
R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive
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London<br />
We shall complete<br />
the construction of<br />
the new station<br />
serving Luton Airport<br />
later this year<br />
102<br />
8.4 continued 8.5<br />
We expect to have a two-trains-per-hour service running<br />
by 2002. We believe that sufficient capacity exists on the<br />
GWML to achieve this,though it may be necessary to<br />
substitute some existing services.On this basis, we are<br />
encouraging our customers to launch an interim service<br />
between Heathrow and Paddington calling at Hayes and<br />
Harlington and Ealing Broadway for summer 2000.<br />
<strong>The</strong> St Pancras scheme involves electrification,<br />
resignalling and upgrading of the line between Acton and<br />
West Hampstead and an enhanced junction at Acton Wells.<br />
However, the increasing success of operators on the GWML<br />
means that they now require additional paths and,in<br />
consequence, it is likely that more infrastructure<br />
enhancements will be needed before even more Heathrow<br />
trains could be introduced.<strong>The</strong> work necessary to meet the<br />
further needs for the airport and our other customers is<br />
detailed in the GWML route strategy (Route 3).<br />
Longer-term developments<br />
<strong>The</strong> proposed new southern link to Heathrow would run<br />
from a point near Staines via the proposed Heathrow<br />
Terminal 5 to connect with BAA’s existing route.This<br />
potentially provides new connections from Guildford,<br />
Woking,Clapham Junction and Waterloo to Heathrow and<br />
enables new through train services via Heathrow to Watford<br />
Junction for example.<br />
No further work is currently being carried out on the<br />
plan to link Terminal 5 to the Great Western Main Line of<br />
the airport,as there appears to be no economic case for<br />
such a development.However, there is a proposal for a<br />
freight link,and we are keeping open the option of looking<br />
again at a passenger service if the freight development goes<br />
ahead.<br />
An integral part of our long-term proposals is the<br />
provision of additional facilities for our customers including<br />
remote check-in and luggage-handling for airline travellers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first facility of this kind will be introduced at Paddington<br />
later this year, and we intend to work with partners to<br />
provide this facility for travellers at a number of key<br />
interchange hubs,including London Waterloo, Clapham<br />
Junction, Woking and Watford Junction.<br />
Luton Airport<br />
We shall complete the construction of the new station<br />
serving Luton Airport later this year. It will be ser ved by<br />
Thameslink services and the considerably improved rail<br />
access will enable rail to compete more effectively for the<br />
growing scheduled flight market at this airport (see Route 5).<br />
Gatwick Airport<br />
A package of measures is necessary to ensure that rail<br />
maintains and increases its mar ket share at Gatwick. We are<br />
working with train operators to ensure that new fleets of<br />
trains can fulfil the step-change improvement in quality on<br />
this well-established rail service.<br />
We will work closely with BAA and customers to<br />
enhance the quality of the interchange between rail and air.<br />
We are also examining how the very congested<br />
Brighton Main Line can be upgraded to accommodate the<br />
rapid growth in demand for train-service enhancements<br />
along this route serving the airport.Further details are<br />
included in Route 19.<br />
Stansted Airport<br />
Train operators serving Stansted Airport have seen a ver y<br />
rapid growth in passengers tr avelling to the airport.<strong>The</strong><br />
West Anglia Route that serves the airport is currently highly<br />
congested and so we propose significant investment to<br />
increase capacity.This comprises a package of platform<br />
lengthening at key stations;additional tracks between<br />
Cheshunt and Broxbourne and between Brimsdown and<br />
Northumberland Park;and upgraded signalling.This will<br />
enable services to Stansted to increase to four per hour<br />
(see Route 15).