The
west-facing


rail
connection
from
the
Great
Western
Main
Line
to
Heathrow
Airport
is
the
latest
casualty
following
the
announcement
of
a
£22
billion
‘black
hole’
in
national
budgets
by
chancellor
Rachel
Reeves
on
29
July.

Railway
budgets
already
axed
in
a
bid
to
save
more
than
£2
billion
of
‘unfunded
pledges’
in
Transport
alone
include
the
Restoring
Your
Railway
fund.
This
decision
has
dismayed
a
number
of
local
councils
who
were
backing
plans
to
reopen
lines
like
the
Portishead
branch
in
Bristol
and
new
stations
in
many
places,
including
Haxby
in
North
Yorkshire,
Aldridge
in
the
West
Midlands
and
Devizes
in
Wiltshire.

But
the
plan
to
give
Heathrow
a
westerly
railway
connection,
which
was
first
unveiled
12
years
ago,
still
has
‘wide
cross-party
and
local
support’,
according
to
Slough’s
Labour
MP
Tanmanjeet
Singh
Dhesi.
Mr
Dhesi
was
shadow
rail
minister
between
April
2020
and
September
2023
while
Labour
was
in
opposition,
before
he
was
replaced
by
Stephen
Morgan.

The
link
would
have
started
from
a
junction
near
Iver
and
have
been
6.5km
long,
allowing
trains
from
places
like
Oxford,
Bristol
and
Cardiff
to
serve
the
airport
directly.

Mr
Dhesi
has
not
abandoned
his
support
for
the
line,
and
has
set
up
an
All-Party
Parliamentary
Group
for
the
Western
Rail
Link.

During
a
Commons
debate
about
the
project
on
30
April
this
year,
he
said:
‘The
scheme,
which
has
been
identified
as
a
nationally
significant
infrastructure
project
by
the
National
Infrastructure
Commission,
promises
to
decrease
train
travel
times,
offer
a
consistent
service
of
trains
in
each
direction,
vastly
improve
connections
and
bring
destinations
within
the
“golden
hour”
for
foreign
direct
investors.’

In
the
wake
of
the
election,
he
added:
‘Since
the
Conservative
government
promised
to
build
it
over
a
decade
ago,
this
nationally
significant
infrastructure
project
has
been
beset
by
delays
and
funding
challenges,
yet
receives
wide
cross-party
and
local
support
from
businesses
and
residents.

‘With
a
new
Labour
government,
I
know
it
is
steadfast
in
its
commitment
to
economic
growth,
and
enhancing
our
infrastructure
and
rail
connectivity,
alongside
tackling
the
climate
crisis.

‘I
look
forward
to
future
discussions
on
how
we
can
improve
all
transport
services
for
my
Slough
constituents.’