Transport Committee letter to Heathrow on surface access transport

The London Assembly Transport Committee has written to Heathrow Airport to request more details about the surface access transport implications of its expansion plans.

The letter follows a meeting of the Committee in May, at which Heathrow Airport representatives were unable to answer some questions as plans for a third runway were still under development.

Since the meeting, Heathrow's proposals have been published. Among the further details now requested by the Committee are:

• The results of the modelling Heathrow undertook to understand the impact of a third runway on surface access.
• Heathrow’s revised mode-share targets, including confirmation whether the pledge that road traffic will not increase is still in place. 
• Details of the rail scheme that Heathrow is exploring, which combines the objectives of the Western Rail Link to Heathrow and Southern Rail Access to Heathrow. 
• Heathrow’s predictions of how many airport passengers and staff would use a new rail link to the west/south of the airport, as a percentage of total rail passengers.