Thames Valley Business supports Heathrow Expansion - Support conditional on new rail links

Dear Everyone

The last few days have been busy finalising our response to the government’s consultation on the expansion planned at Heathrow.
This is a controversial subject, so we have approached it with care, consulting not only our members, but also the business and other communities across the Thames Valley.

We are well aware that there are people who think that Heathrow is big enough as it is, and that any expansion will put further pressure on an already overstretched environment.

More people, and more planes, they argue, mean additional greenhouse gases, and more noise for those unfortunate enough to live under the flight path.But, as always, there are complex issues here.

First, Heathrow Airport is of vital importance to the Thames Valley. Many, if not most, of our businesses, depend on it. There are also at least 75,000 people who earn their living, directly or indirectly, from the airport – and that figure is probably an under-estimate.

Also it is far from clear that the planned expansion will mean more noise. Today’s aircraft, particularly the Airbus super jumbo and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, are quiet, and there is a big difference between planes that have been built in the last ten years than those older than this.

Since Heathrow is a major international airport, and slots at it are scarce, we have told the government it should ration slots to airlines that operate modern aircraft. This would exclude some ancient 747s operated by many African and some American airlines.
It’s also a fact that the present runway operation, operating at 98 per cent capacity, is a recipe for environmental pollution, not to mention the aggravation of delays caused.
A colleague who flies in from New York quiet frequently has sat in his aircraft seat frustrated as his plane has landed on time – and then taken almost an hour to taxi the half mile or so to the gate – because there have been none available. And with runways fully in use, planes have to queue for a long time before taking off, and, even worse, are often held in stacks before final approach.These delays not only are frustrating, but they waste precious fuel, and contribute greatly to greenhouse gas emissions.
That is why our support for the Heathrow consultation is conditional on the government insisting that transport links to the Thames Valley from Heathrow must be improved.

When the Thames Valley forms such a key part of the British economy, providing one of only three growth areas in the nation’s economy, it is a major omission that there is no direct rail connection from the west. It is even more of an omission when you realise that, passengers apart, there are some 80,000 people from the Thames Valley who commute to jobs at the airport each day, or owe their livelihoods to it in some way.Our demands are simple. We want the Heathrow Express extended from T5 to provide services from there over a new line to Slough on the Great Western main line and to Staines on the South West Trains network.This would be of immense benefit to the Thames Valley. It would reduce substantially the pressure on the M4. It would greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It would cut the pressure on Heathrow car parks and make life easier for everyone.We will throughout this year be intensifying our campaign to get these sensible schemes approved.