Heathrow will get a direct link to the government’s high speed rail network, transport secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed.
The Heathrow spur is expected to follow the M25 corridor south from the main London-Birmingham line, before accessing the airport.
The new high speed rail network linking London to the West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds will also include a direct link to the European high speed rail network, via the UK’s only existing high speed rail line (HS1) between London and the Channel Tunnel.
Anne Godfrey, CEO of the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC), welcomed the government’s announcement.
“I think it’s excellent news for business travellers,” she said. “It’s great that we’ll have high speed to Birmingham, Manchester and beyond, but it’s even better that it will improve the UK’s infrastructure by joining rail with air.”
The direct link to Heathrow will not replace the need for expansion at Heathrow, however, warned Godfrey.
“If the last couple of days have shown us anything, we can not be overly dependent on one large hub. We need additional capacity in the southeast,” she said.
Hammond has also published details of the route for the first phase of the project – a new line between London and Birmingham, which will start to be built in 2015.
Upon completion in 2026, travel between London and the West Midlands will be reduced to around half an hour.
Hammond said: "High speed rail is so important because it has the potential to transform the way Britain works and competes in the 21st century.
“Political and business leaders from across the country are clear that a rail network of this kind has huge potential to reshape our economic geography for the better.”
The Heathrow link, which in its statement the Department for Transport said could provide “an attractive alternative for many short-haul air journeys”, would be built at the same time as the Leeds-Manchester section of HS2. A timescale for the project was not given.
Consultation on the proposed London-Birmingham route and the government's broader strategy on high speed rail is due to begin in February.