Possible relocation of Heathrow Express/Connect depot

[Steve14]

Ok so I just read on my town's online newspaper that the title of this thread is what is being sought based on the HS2 fiasco and moving it to Langley (station just before Slough from Paddington).

My guess is that the reason for HS2 to get the depot relocated is so a station can be placed there which means it can run trains through the freight/turnaround line in order to cut across and cause a dent in the Chilterns and Bucks scenery.

Personally I think having a depot in Langley makes no sense because it means that empty stocks have gotta travel 15 miles east and hold up traffic in order to commence its duties. On top of that, there's no plans to link the west drayton end of GWML to Heathrow which means the train has to stop at Hayes and then go to Heathrow like that; again disruptions.

 

[NotATrainspott]

The HS2 plans co-exist with the Crossrail depot being built at Old Oak Common, but in order for the site to reach its full development potential it will be necessary to move it. If the Crossrail-WCML link is not yet properly confirmed the only other place to put it would be on the GWML, and Langley would be one of the first areas with free land available for such a depot. The Western Rail Access to Heathrow link will connect back to the GWML near Langley as well, so it would make sense to put a depot there so that there would be a direct link between Heathrow and the depot.

 

[Max]

I will say little, but in a nutshell none of the sites east of Langley (of which a number were examined) stacked up either in railway operational terms or in planning terms.

 

[Harlan Cage]

You will need a lot of space for this depot which will take away a lot of Greenbelt land.

 

[pdeaves]

Personally I think having a depot in Langley makes no sense because it means that empty stocks have gotta travel 15 miles east

By the time it's built, HEx may no longer have rights into Paddington...

On top of that, there's no plans to link the west drayton end of GWML to Heathrow which means the train has to stop at Hayes and then go to Heathrow like that; again disruptions.

WRLtH (formerly known as WRAtH) gives a Reading-facing link.

 

[swt_passenger]

Ok so I just read on my town's online newspaper that the title of this thread is what is being sought based on the HS2 fiasco

Your point being?

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

You will need a lot of space for this depot which will take away a lot of Greenbelt land.

It's only Heathrow Express, won't be a massive setup. The Heathrow Connect aspects of the current depot will disappear into Crossrail.

But more importantly, wasn't Hex originally going to a part of North Pole depot? I think that's what the references to NPE (North Pole East?) are in the picture of the petition extract above.

 

[Max]

It's only Heathrow Express, won't be a massive setup. The Heathrow Connect aspects of the current depot will disappear into Crossrail.

But more importantly, wasn't Hex originally going to a part of North Pole depot? I think that's what the references to NPE (North Pole East?) are in the picture of the petition extract above.

North Pole East is allocated as a major housing/mixed use development site in the Kensington and Chelsea Local Plan and is unlikely to be used as a railway depot again. I doubt the Council will give that up without a fight, and it was one of the main barriers to delivery of a new depot on the site.

 

[Harlan Cage]

HEX should be merged in with CrossRail. In San Francisco the BART runs from the airport to the city and beyond without the need for eye watering fares and basically one service

HC

 

[NotATrainspott]

There's an event on the 17th of June about the plans.

So it seems that it is actually the case that this move is just for the Heathrow Express service, rather than being anything more. In any case, I would think that there wouldn't be much of a reason why Crossrail couldn't relocate its depot there as well, given that it is for the reasons discussed here one of the least bad sites available for GWML train services focussed on London.

 

[Bletchleyite]

HEX should be merged in with CrossRail. In San Francisco the BART runs from the airport to the city and beyond without the need for eye watering fares and basically one service

With Crossrail being a far more convenient connection into the City (and the rest of London) at a far more reasonable fare, HEx may well die of natural causes anyway.

 

[59CosG95]

With Crossrail being a far more convenient connection into the City (and the rest of London) at a far more reasonable fare, HEx may well die of natural causes anyway.

May do well to cast the 332s up to West Yorks/Manchester.

 

[D365]

May do well to cast the 332s up to West Yorks/Manchester.

Once again, the Class 332 (and 360/2) fleets are owned by Heathrow, so it's up to them whether they sell, lease or how they otherwise make use of the units if HEx ends up being withdrawn.

Also they've got an odd mix of 4 and 5-car units so I'm not sure what would happen there.