The principal physical infrastructure will consist of a new twin track railway from the western face of the T5 station box at Heathrow to a point where it connects to the existing network on the Windsor Line between Staines and Wraysbury, plus the reinstatement of a twin track chord adjacent to the Elmsleigh surface car park in Staines.

Details of the key elements are:

• The Staines Chord - Providing a west-facing direct link between the two existing lines (to Windsor and Virginia Water) in Staines town centre.  The new double track chord line enables trains to run directly to/from the airport and Reading and Guildford via Virginia Water.  The previously-existing infrastructure was removed in the 1970's for the construction of the Elmsleigh surface car park.
• New alignment across Staines Moor and Stanwell Moor - linking the Windsor Line with Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. The new alignment diverges from the existing Windsor line about 1 km north-west of Staines High Street and then turns north close to the M25.  It then runs alongside the Wraysbury River and M25, descending in to a tunnel and passing under the A3113 Airport Way adjacent to M25 Junction 14.  The double tracks then curve round to the east to reach Terminal 5 station in tunnel.
• New station facilities at Terminal 5 - The station box at Terminal 5 has been built to accommodate four tracks and four platforms for heavy rail and two for London Underground and BAA has safeguarded the route out of the airport to the west.  The Heathrow Airtrack project will provide the fit-out of the passenger and rail facilities to enable two platforms to be accessed from the Staines direction.

In late 2006, BAA Ltd announced that it would provide the funding for HAL (Heathrow Airport Ltd) to promote a Transport Works Act Order for the scheme.   Since then, a specific and detailed scheme proposal - "Heathrow Airtrack" - has been developed.   In July 2009, HAL submitted an application to the Secretary of State for Transport for an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992, seeking powers to construct, maintain and operate the railway and to acquire the necessary land and associated planning consents.   This substantially reflects the scheme concept championed by the AirTrack Forum, but now includes some important revisions.   

The original scheme concept evaluated by the AirTrack Forum included a new station near Staines High Street, but this was removed from the BAA/HAL Heathrow Airtrack proposals following extensive public consultation undertaken by BAA during 2008.  The new station is therefore not included in the Transport Works Act Order application made to the Secretary of State for Transport.

In addition to the key elements noted above, the detailed Heathrow Airtrack scheme now includes proposals for a depot at Feltham, to house the new fleet of trains required to run Heathrow Airtrack services; together with substantial redevelopment of the existing Staines Station, including the creation of a bay platform to accommodate Heathrow Express services (see proposed services). 

Please note that the AirTrack Forum has no responsibility for the content of the HAL application to the Secretary of State. Full details of the Heathrow Airtrack proposals can be found via BAA's Heathrow Airtrack web page. 

Click here for the BAA Heathrow Airtrack web page.