News – Page 18 – The Windsor Link Railway

Property Prices to rise 25% on new rail route
Property Prices to rise 25% on new rail route

News

Property Prices to rise 25% on new rail route

admin2012-10-26T18:09:27+00:00October 26th, 2012|Tags: demand forecasting, house prices, Windsor|

According to GVA, one of the UK's largest independent property consultants, property prices along the Crossrail route will increase by 25%. That's great news for towns such as Maidenhead and Slough. It's also great news for Windsor as it demonstrates the value that can be created by better transport infrastructure, not just for jobs but also for house owners. The Windsor Link Railway would have an even greater effect on house prices in Windsor with the triple benefits of faster links to south London, [...]

Transport Minister confirms WLR satisfies HLOS
Transport Minister confirms WLR satisfies HLOS

News, Technical

Transport Minister confirms WLR satisfies HLOS

admin2017-06-03T11:54:43+00:00August 30th, 2012|Tags: MPs, policy|

The Transport Minister, Theresa Villiers, has now confirmed that the WLR 'as a way to meet the HLOS requirements which I have outlined'. "The High Level Output Specification (HLOS) for rail that we published on 17 July asked the rail industry to develop plans to build a new rail link from the Great Western Mail Line to Heathrow to enhance rail access to the airport from the Thames Valley and the west. The HLOS amounts to an invitation to the rail industry, overseen by [...]

RBWM publishes Local Transport Plan

admin2012-08-10T15:33:43+00:00August 10th, 2012|Tags: Maidenhead, policy, RBWM, Windsor|

At the full council meeting last week the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead approved its new Local Transport Plan. This is a very thick document but the relevant section, on page 73, lists three options for a new rail link connecting Heathrow to the borough. One of these is Slough's WRAtH scheme; the second is the Airtrack scheme, now promoted by Wandsworth and other London boroughs as Airtrack Lite; and the third is the Windsor Link Railway (phase 2), for a more general [...]

Rail Regulator confirms WLR ‘in the mix’

admin2012-07-17T14:46:20+00:00July 17th, 2012|Tags: ORR, policy|

The Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) has today confirmed that the Windsor Link Railway proposal should be considered in developing a potential solution to satisfy the recently announced requirement for a connection from Heathrow to the west. Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Transport said in her High Level Output Statement (HLOS) ... to develop plans to build a new rail link from the Great Western Main Line to London Heathrow Airport to enhance rail access from the Thames Valley and the West [...]

£500m put aside for Heathrow link

admin2017-06-03T11:56:44+00:00July 13th, 2012|Tags: Heathrow, policy|

The government has announced that £500 million has been put aside for a western rail link to Heathrow. The sum has been added to the High Level Output Specification (HLOS) for the rail industry. This isn't, however, quite the support for the WRAtH solution that Slough BC is claiming. As WLR revealed previously, the government and the HLOS supports the principle of a link not the precise route. This means that the money can be spent either on Slough's proposal (missing out Windsor and [...]

DfT confirms WLR phase 1 in-line with policy

admin2017-06-03T13:04:51+00:00May 24th, 2012|Tags: policy|

The Department for Transport has now responded to Network Rail's request for guidance on the Windsor Link Railway. It confirmed that phase 1 of the proposal (connecting Slough to Staines via Windsor) is in-line with policy. They said, assuming WLR requires no taxpayer funding, "We have no objection whatsoever to you continuing to work with the relevant parties to take forward the proposal." Also in-line with established practice for a scheme promoter, the DfT confirmed the WLR remains responsible for developing its business case [...]

Air-Lite gets more support

admin2017-06-03T13:05:59+00:00May 15th, 2012|Tags: policy|

Well done to Wandsworth Council for getting more support for their Air-Lite scheme. The news today is that they have secured the support of both Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham. WLR would expect them soon to get the support of Wokingham, Bracknell and Surrey councils. That would mean that of all the boroughs in the East Berkshire LEP, only Slough would be backing the more expensive, competing link direct to Slough from Heathrow. Network Rail have said that there would only be one western [...]

WLR answers questions from Thamesweb

admin2017-06-03T13:07:34+00:00May 13th, 2012|Tags: Windsor|

Thamesweb is a very useful and informative local website with a lively discussion forum. They've asked a lot of questions, so here are some of the answers. Thamesweb (admin): You asked to see more detail on the scheme in the Windsor area.; This doesn't yet exist because the Windsor Link Railway is providing the opportunity to improve the riverside area; it is not dictating how that should be done. Once we have investment we will be able to present more detailed plans and do [...]

Transport hub ideas dovetail with WLR proposals

admin2012-05-12T18:04:56+00:00May 12th, 2012|Tags: Windsor|

Last week's Royal Borough Observer not only reported the news that over 100 local companies had backed the WLR , it also revealed ideas from the West Windsor Residents Association for a new transport hub. This would be on land currently occupied by construction workers' caravans during improvements to the dual carriageway. WLR has proposed something very similar but rather than using a Green Belt site just off the Jubilee River, it has proposed the site of the current tip, just north of the [...]

Council starts scrutiny of WLR Proposals

admin2012-05-12T17:06:03+00:00May 12th, 2012|Tags: policy, Windsor|

The Windsor Link Railway is on the agenda for two council meetings in coming weeks. On Wednesday this week (16 May) at 7 pm in the Guildhall the Aviation Forum will hear about the project from the perspective of linking Heathrow to Windsor and the surrounding region. On Monday 21 May there is a special meeting of the Planning and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel . This will look at the opportunities that the Windsor Link Railway will create for improving the riverside area [...]