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    Alternative to Heathrow expansion Archived Message

    Posted by Tomski on March 6, 2020, 2:40 pm

    Just read this particle in the NCE rag they send me on occasions. As a resident of West London I am of course very happy if Heathrow expansion is zilched by the PTB. Increased traffic, noise/exhaust pollution etc. Rail option to the rescue. Slightly worrying fact is that the quoted Alistair Lenczner has worked on the 'Boris island' project in the estuary. Not sending link since it may not work ... most likely. Does it make sense? ... maybe.

    A high speed rail network properly linked in to airports would allow the UK to operate more international flights without the need for major airport expansions, according to Expedition Engineering director Alistair Lenczner.

    Lenczner – who was previously part of the design team who worked on the Inner Thames Estuary Airport proposal, also known as Boris Island – believes that improving rail connections to UK airports is critical. He told NCE that it is now the only realistic way to free up international flight slots, after the Court of Appeal deemed Heathrow’s expansion plan as “unlawful” on environmental grounds.

    By creating a high speed rail network for airports, Lenczner argues that flight slots currently allocated to domestic flights can be freed up for international use.

    In particular, Lenczner believes that Expedition Engineering’s HS4Air proposal to connect Heathrow and Gatwick to HS2 and HS1 should now be seriously considered. The proposal was previously submitted to the DfT under the government’s call for market led proposals but has so far not been taken forward.

    “Now that Heathrow’s plan to build a third runway has been declared unlawful is likely to have a significant impact on how the UK plan its future infrastructure. The decision suggests that the UK needs to look at more radical ways to allow it to maintain international connectivity while taking into account the Paris climate agreement,” Lenczner told NCE.

    “Expedition Engineering’s HS4Air proposal to provide direct high speed train connections to both Heathrow and Gatwick Airports from across the entire country is the sort of infrastructure planning that now needs to be seriously considered.

    “If HS4Air were built then there would be no need to have domestic flights into Heathrow or Gatwick from the north of England or even Scotland as both airports would be readily accessible by fast direct trains. Landing slots currently used by domestic flights could then be made available for international flights.”

    Lenczner claims that HS4Air would also allow both Heathrow and Gatwick to achieve the National Policy Statement target for 60% of passengers to use environmentally friendly transport modes for surface access to/from airports.

    Lenczner also sees HS4Air as the start of a complete change of mindset when it comes to airport connectivity. In fact, Lenczner believes that the UK could eventually be serviced by as few as five or six regional airport hubs, if adequate rail connections were put in place.

    He suggests that providing rail links to ensure 90% of the population are within 90 minutes of an airport would allow the UK to reduce the number of airports to five or six international hubs, dramatically improving the environmental impact on the country.

    “Thinking about aviation across the entire UK, radical ideas should be considered to rationalise the number of airports the country needs to provide international connectivity,” Lenczner said. “If all UK airports were to be provided with fast direct rail connections from across the respective regions, then the number of UK airports needed could be reduced from over 20 to perhaps five or six hub airports.”

    Under Lenczner’s vision, Heathrow and or Gatwick would serve the South East, Manchester would serve the North, while Birmingham Airport could service the Midlands. Edinburgh airport would serve Scotland, but would require much quicker links to Glasgow, and Northern Ireland would be served by a hub in Belfast.

    The most ambitious part of Lenczner’s vision would be the creation of an airport within the Severn Estuary to serve Wales and the South West. He suggests the airport could be connected into the existing rail network by upgrading the main line from London to Cardiff to a high speed line.

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