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Shutterstock.com/Jacqueline Abromeit
On the fly
In pressing ahead with High Speed Two’s connectivity with Heathrow Airport, is
the government’s rail team out of sync with its aviation team, which is looking at
alternatives to Heathrow Paul Clifton investigates
The idea of a new hub airport
east of London is to be given
serious thought. Whether
you choose the all-new
Boris Island concept or the
Norman Foster-led idea of
an airport on the Isle of Grain, passengers
would be connected to the capital primarily
by high speed rail.
This would be Britain’s primary airport,
capable of carrying 150 million passengers a
year, making it the world’s largest. So if this
really is an option, it is inconceivable that
this would not be a core part of our national
transport strategy. Isn’t it
In giving the green light to High
Speed Two (HS2), with an interchange for
Heathrow at Old Oak Common, there is
an assumption that Heathrow will remain
the principle UK airport for generations to
come.
Perhaps – probably, even – it will be. But
the aviation industry is united in the view
that Heathrow cannot compete with rivals
such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt
without expansion. David Cameron is
expected to announce a formal consultation
on a new airport to the east of London
within weeks. Boris Johnson, the mayor of
London, believes it could be built in 10 to 12
years. In other words, quicker than HS2.
‘You can’t have two hubs,’ says Colin
Matthews, chief executive of BAA,
which operates Heathrow. ‘It is either
Heathrow or it is another. It is a huge issue
economically; it is a huge issue politically.’
Page 26 MARCH 2012