Windsor Link Railway
Encyclopedia
The Windsor Link Railway is a proposed new railway in Windsor, Berkshire
, connecting the Great Western
and South West Trains
franchise areas and potentially linking both to London Heathrow Airport.
The project is promoted by Windsor Link Railway Limited, led by businessman George Bathurst. The promoter's aim is for the railway to be a Big Society
entirely privately initiated and financed. The cost is estimated as £200 million for the Staines to Slough section of the railway only, excluding the proposed work on roads and buildings.
The focus is on a short tunnel through central Windsor itself and a proof-of-concept on this is currently being supported by a major rail infrastructure company.
to Staines
, via Chalvey
, Windsor
, Datchet
, Wraysbury
and Sunnymeads
.
A new all-in-one station in the Windsor Goswells would replace the existing two nearby stations (Riverside and Central).
Phase 2 of the project involves linking to Heathrow. As the Airtrack scheme has been dropped by BAA, the proponents say a much cheaper method of connecting Heathrow to the north west, west and south would be via a bridge over the M25. This would also have benefits for the proposed intermodal freight depot at Colnbrook
, Berkshire
.
Eventually it is hoped that the improvement would include provision to Bedford
via Bletchley, Aylesbury
, High Wycombe
from Maidenhead
by reopening the link from Bourne End Station
. Other direct services to Heathrow would be enabled from Oxford
via the Oxford to Bicester Line
, developed by Chiltern Rail, and from Reading
.
To the south, a new service from Basingstoke
would go to Heathrow and Slough via Frimley
(where there would be a re-opened chord
), Camberley
, Ascot
and Virginia Water
. This would give residents a direct connection to Heathrow. By contrast only enabling Heathrow to be accessed from London Paddington station or via the Piccadilly Line
would not allow for rail competition and would not keep down passenger journey times.
(Member of Parliament
for Slough
, 1997– ) said, "Any proposal to bring better rail links is welcomed, although this plan looks a long way from being realised."
More recently, Transport Minister Theresa Villiers said, “The Government is keen to explore innovative ways of funding proposals for new train services and rail infrastructure which meet transport needs and deliver value for money.
“Ministers welcome the proposals for the Windsor Link Railway and look forward to further work on the business case to confirm whether the scheme is viable.”
The first section of line, between Staines and Slough, is estimated to cost around £200 million to build. According to the Department for Transport, the scheme would be approved, assuming it meets the appropriate criteria, via the Transport and Works Act
.
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, connecting the Great Western
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
and South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
franchise areas and potentially linking both to London Heathrow Airport.
The project is promoted by Windsor Link Railway Limited, led by businessman George Bathurst. The promoter's aim is for the railway to be a Big Society
Big Society
The Big Society was the flagship policy idea of the 2010 UK Conservative Party general election manifesto. It now forms part of the legislative programme of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement. The aim is "to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building...
entirely privately initiated and financed. The cost is estimated as £200 million for the Staines to Slough section of the railway only, excluding the proposed work on roads and buildings.
The focus is on a short tunnel through central Windsor itself and a proof-of-concept on this is currently being supported by a major rail infrastructure company.
Route
Phase 1 of the scheme would run from SloughSlough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
to Staines
Staines
Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and Greater London Urban Area, as well as the London Commuter Belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in...
, via Chalvey
Chalvey
Chalvey is a former village which is now a suburb of Slough in the unitary authority of Slough in Berkshire, England. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974....
, Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, Datchet
Datchet
Datchet is an English Thameside village and civil parish situated in the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974....
, Wraysbury
Wraysbury
Wraysbury, traditionally spelt Wyrardisbury, is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is located in the very east of the county, in the part that was in Buckinghamshire until 1974...
and Sunnymeads
Sunnymeads
Sunnymeads is a village which has now been swallowed by neighbouring village Wraysbury. Although the two are now considered as one, there are many indications that show that Sunnymeads was once an independent hamlet...
.
A new all-in-one station in the Windsor Goswells would replace the existing two nearby stations (Riverside and Central).
Phase 2 of the project involves linking to Heathrow. As the Airtrack scheme has been dropped by BAA, the proponents say a much cheaper method of connecting Heathrow to the north west, west and south would be via a bridge over the M25. This would also have benefits for the proposed intermodal freight depot at Colnbrook
Colnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Eventually it is hoped that the improvement would include provision to Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
via Bletchley, Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
from Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
by reopening the link from Bourne End Station
Bourne End railway station
Bourne End railway station serves Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated on the line between Maidenhead and Marlow 4½ miles north of Maidenhead....
. Other direct services to Heathrow would be enabled from Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
via the Oxford to Bicester Line
Oxford to Bicester Line
The Oxford to Bicester Line is a branch line linking Oxford and Bicester in Oxfordshire, England.-History:The line was opened in 1850 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway, which in 1879 became part of the London and North Western Railway...
, developed by Chiltern Rail, and from Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
.
To the south, a new service from Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
would go to Heathrow and Slough via Frimley
Frimley
Frimley is a small English town situated 2 miles south of Camberley, in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire. It is about 31 miles west south-west of Central London. It is part of the Borough of Surrey Heath...
(where there would be a re-opened chord
Chord (geometry)
A chord of a circle is a geometric line segment whose endpoints both lie on the circumference of the circle.A secant or a secant line is the line extension of a chord. More generally, a chord is a line segment joining two points on any curve, such as but not limited to an ellipse...
), Camberley
Camberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
, Ascot
Ascot, Berkshire
Ascot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...
and Virginia Water
Virginia Water
Virginia Water is an affluent village, a lake and, originally, a stream, the village being in the Runnymede Borough Council in Surrey and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot, England....
. This would give residents a direct connection to Heathrow. By contrast only enabling Heathrow to be accessed from London Paddington station or via the Piccadilly Line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
would not allow for rail competition and would not keep down passenger journey times.
Background
The project is promoted by the Windsor Link Railway Limited, led by businessman George Bathurst. When initially proposed, one resident described the proposal as a "fantasy". Some local politicians have supported the proposal: Councillor Mohammed Rasib, for Chalvey ward and leader of the opposition Conservative group, expressed strong support. Fiona MactaggartFiona Mactaggart
Fiona Margaret Mactaggart is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Slough since 1997.-Early life:...
(Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Slough
Slough (UK Parliament constituency)
Slough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, 1997– ) said, "Any proposal to bring better rail links is welcomed, although this plan looks a long way from being realised."
More recently, Transport Minister Theresa Villiers said, “The Government is keen to explore innovative ways of funding proposals for new train services and rail infrastructure which meet transport needs and deliver value for money.
“Ministers welcome the proposals for the Windsor Link Railway and look forward to further work on the business case to confirm whether the scheme is viable.”
The first section of line, between Staines and Slough, is estimated to cost around £200 million to build. According to the Department for Transport, the scheme would be approved, assuming it meets the appropriate criteria, via the Transport and Works Act
Transport and Works Act 1992
The Transport and Works Act 1992 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to provide a system by which the construction of rail transport, tramway, inland waterway and harbour infrastructure could proceed in the UK by order of the Minister of State for Transport rather than, as...
.