HS4Air

HS4Air
Map of the proposed HS4Air line in Southern England
Overview
Type high speed railway
System National Rail
Locale South East England
Termini Denham
Ashford International
Stations 4[1]
Website expedition.uk.com
Operation
Planned opening Late 2020s (Late 2020s)[2]
Owner Network Rail
Technical
Line length 87 miles (140 km)
Number of tracks Double track
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Loading gauge GC
Electrification 25 kV AC overhead

HS4Air is a proposed 140km high-speed railway line in the United Kingdom, put forward in 2018 by a British engineering consultancy, Expedition Engineering.[3]

The proposed line would connect the planned High Speed 2 line to the High Speed 1 line via a high-speed route running south of London, and would form a direct rail link between Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Background

The first high-speed railway line to be built in the United Kingdom was High Speed 1 (HS1), the route connecting London to the Channel Tunnel, which opened 2003−2007.[4] A second high-speed line named High Speed 2 (HS2), which will initially run between London and Birmingham, is planned to open in 2026.[5]

A proposal to build a direct connection between HS1 and HS2 in central London was dropped from HS2 construction plans in 2014 due to cost and the impact on the London suburb of Camden.[6][7] The HS2 plans also included a connection to Heathrow Airport at Heathrow Hub railway station, but that link was dropped in 2015.[8]

A number of other schemes have been considered to create a rail link Heathrow and Gatwick airports, collectively dubbed "Heathwick".[9]

Planned route

The proposed line would leave the HS2 line at a junction near Denham in Buckinghamshire, and then run on a route curving south-east of London, partly parallel to the M25 motorway, with stations at Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. It would then head eastwards across Kent using the existing upgraded South Eastern main line via Tonbridge to join HS1 at a junction at Ashford International. The link between HS1 and HS2 would allow high-speed trains to travel directly between regional cities in Great Britain and destinations in Continental Europe.[10]

A fifth of the line is to be in tunnel in order to mitigate the environmental impact on sensitive rural areas such as the North Downs.[10] It is also proposed to construct a link with the Great Western Main Line.[11][12][3] It would cost £10 billion to build and around 40% of the route would reuse existing tracks; the proposals include upgrades at Ashford International and Tonbridge stations.[1]

The scheme envisages a 15-minute transfer time between Heathrow and Gatwick, allowing the two airports to operate jointly as an airline hub. Fast connections between the airports and Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff are also proposed, and the proponents of the scheme claim that it will alleviate pressure on transport within London by reducing the need for air passengers to travel through the city.[11][13]

The scheme has also been linked to proposals to re-open Manston Airport in Kent, which could be connected to the line via Canterbury West.[2]

Government approval

The scheme is currently at the proposal stage and has not been approved by government. Expedition Engineering's plans are due to be submitted to the Department for Transport by the end of July 2018, as part of the Government's plans to encourage private investment. The DfT will respond in the autumn.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Chessum, Victoria (23 July 2018). "HS4Air reveals two Kent stations will be upgraded as part of huge plans to connect with Heathrow and Gatwick". KentLive. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 Couchman, Adele (12 March 2018). "Bosses prepared to connect Manston in multi-billion pound high speed rail link". KentLive. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  3. 1 2 Tute, Ryan (7 March 2018). "Firm pitches "an M25 for high-speed trains" to pass through Heathrow and Gatwick". Infrastructure Intelligence. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. ↑ The completion and sale of High Speed 1: Department for Transport. National Audit Office/The Stationery Office. 2012. ISBN 9780102975482. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  5. ↑ High Speed 2: a review of early programme preparation, Department for Transport. National Audit Office/The Stationery Office. 2013. pp. 14–15. ISBN 9780102981421. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "HS2 boss calls for rail link threatening Camden markets to be axed". Ham & High. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Government to scrap HS2 link with HS1". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "Heathrow HS2 spur plans dropped". BBC News. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ministers mull airports rail link". BBC News. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 "HS4Air". Expedition Engineering. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  11. 1 2 Chessum, Victoria (8 March 2018). "New High Speed rail line will connect Kent with major airports in under an hour". kentlive.news. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "From Kent to Gatwick in 25 minutes..." kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Nolan, Tara. "HS4Air: The UK needs a strategic plan for its transport infrastructure". Global Railway Review.
  14. ↑ Paton, Graeme (20 July 2018). "M25-style railway takes you from Gatwick to Heathrow in 15 mins". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  15. ↑ Grafton-Green, Patrick (21 July 2018). "New M25-style railway takes you from Gatwick to Heathrow in 15 minutes". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
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