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Surrey County Council

Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports Study

Report

Final | 14 October 2013

This report takes into account the particular

instructions and requirements of our client.

It is not intended for and should not be relied

upon by any third party and no responsibility

is undertaken to any third party.

Job number 227787-10

Ove Arup & Partners Ltd

13 Fitzroy Street

London

W1T 4BQ

United Kingdom

www.arup.com

| Final | 14 October 2013

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Surrey County Council Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports Study

Report



Page 1

Contents

Page

Glossary 1

Executive Summary 2

1 Introduction 7

1.1 Background 7

1.2 Approach 7

2 Objectives and Industry Timescales 9

2.1 Surface Access to Airports Objectives for Surrey 9

2.2 Industry Timescales 9

3 Surface Access Data Review and Analysis 13

3.1 Context and Location 13

3.2 Current Surface Access Supply in Surrey 13

3.3 Current Airport Demand in Surrey 14

3.4 Surface Access Mode Share 17

3.5 Airport Development Scenarios 20

3.6 Summary and Key Issues 22

4 Stakeholder Consultation 25

4.1 Stakeholder Engagement 25

4.2 Stakeholder Workshop 26

5 Option Development and Assessment 27

5.1 Option Development 27

5.2 Option Assessment 29

6 Surface Access to Airports Strategy for Surrey 36

6.1 Development of the Surface Access Strategy 36

6.2 Base (Committed) Scenario 36

6.3 Heathrow Expansion Scenario 49

6.4 Gatwick Expansion Scenario 53

6.5 New Airport Development Scenario 54

6.6 Marketing and Awareness 55

7 Surface Access to Airports Action Plan 56

7.1 Short-Medium Term Action Plan 57

7.2 Long Term Action Plan 58

7.3 Surface Access to Airports Strategy Priorities 58

7.4 Implementing the Strategy 59


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Tables

Table 1: On-Airport Employees from Surrey ................................................... 17

Table 2: Summary Table of Surface Access Issues by Towns in Surrey ........ 23

Table 3: Important Locations for Surface Access ............................................ 24

Table 4: List of Stakeholders Consulted ............................................................ 25

Table 5: Options Workshop Attendee List ........................................................ 26

Table 6: Long-list of Surface Access to Airports Options ................................ 29

Table 7: Option Scoring Framework ................................................................. 30

Table 8: Option Assessment Results .................................................................. 31

Table 9: Bus Services from Heathrow Airport to Surrey ................................ 39

Table 10: Demand for Bus / Coach Services to Heathrow Airport ................. 46

Table 11: Short-Medium Term Action Plan ..................................................... 57

Table 12: Long Term Action Plan ...................................................................... 58

Figures

Figure 1: Study Approach ..................................................................................... 8

Figure 2: Policy Objectives for Airports Surface Access ................................. 11

Figure 3: Timeline for Airport Plans and Projects ........................................... 12

Figure 4: Existing Transport Network and Key Surrey Towns ...................... 13

Figure 5: Fastest Weekday Journey Time to Heathrow Airport by Road in AM Peak ............................................................................................................... 14

Figure 6: Location and Passenger Demand Numbers ...................................... 15

Figure 7: Passenger Trip Purpose ...................................................................... 15

Figure 8: Total Passengers per Year from Surrey Districts Using Heathrow Airport .................................................................................................................. 16

Figure 9: Total Passengers per Year from Surrey Districts Using Gatwick Airport .................................................................................................................. 16

Figure 10: Airport Employees ............................................................................ 17

Figure 11: Passenger Mode Share at Heathrow ............................................... 18

Figure 12: Passenger Mode Share at Gatwick .................................................. 18

Figure 13: Heathrow Airport Employee Mode Share ...................................... 19

Figure 14: Gatwick Airport Employee Mode Share ......................................... 19

Figure 15: Airport Development Scenarios ....................................................... 21

Figure 16: Option Assessment Process .............................................................. 27

Figure 17: Option Development ......................................................................... 28

Figure 18: Southern Rail Access Options to Heathrow .................................... 32

Figure 19: Airtrack Lite ...................................................................................... 33

Figure 20: High Speed Rail Link to New Airport ............................................. 35

Figure 21: Gaps in the Bus Network .................................................................. 39

Figure 22: Improved Bus Connections to Heathrow Airport .......................... 40

Figure 23: Airport Hub and Spoke Service for Heathrow ............................... 41

Figure 24: Demand-Responsive Bus Service Areas in Surrey ......................... 43

Figure 25: Surface Access to Heathrow from East Surrey via Crossrail ....... 49


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Figure 26: Bus Priority Measures on Key Corridors ....................................... 50

Figure 27: Crossrail Extension to Staines.......................................................... 52

Figure 28: New Rail Link through Surrey ........................................................ 53

Figure 29: North Downs Line and East West Rail ........................................... 54


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Page 1

Glossary

Acronym Meaning Notes

ATC Air Traffic Control

BAA British Airport Authority

BD Boroughs and Districts (of Surrey)

BML Brighton Main Line

BOC Bus/Coach Operating Company

CP4/5/6 Control Period 4/5/6 5 year periods by which NR is regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation. CP4: 2009-2014; CP5: 2014-2019; CP6 2019-2024

CAA Civil Aviation Authority

DfT Department for Transport

HLOS High Level Output Specification The HLOS sets out information for the Office of Rail Regulation and for the rail industry about what the Secretary of State for Transport wants to be achieved by railway activities during a given railway Control Period

HS1 High Speed 1 High speed railway linking London to the Channel Tunnel via Kent

HS2 High Speed 2 Proposed high speed railway linking London and Birmingham

LARTS London Air Rail Transit System

LEP Local Enterprise Partnership

LGW London Gatwick Airport

LHR London Heathrow Airport

MPPA Million Passengers Per Year

NDL North Downs Line

NR Network Rail The organisation responsible for maintaining, renewing and enhancing the UK's railway infrastructure

ONS Office for National Statistics

Q5/6 Quinquennium 5/6 A 5 year (sometimes extended to 6 years) regulatory period. CP5: 2008/09-2013/14; CP6 2014/15-2019/20

PRT Personal Rapid Transit

SCC Surrey County Council

SWML South West Main Line

TfL Transport for London

TOC Train Operating Company


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Executive Summary

Background & Approach

Arup was appointed by Surrey County Council (SCC) in May 2013 to undertake the Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports study. The objective for the study is to identify proposals for strategic investment that the County Council, working with partners, can plan and deliver.

The scope of this study is limited to surface access to Heathrow and Gatwick airports only (referred to as ‘the airports’ in the report). For Gatwick Airport, the scope is limited to access via the North Downs Rail Line, for the purposes of this study; however the analysis covers the wider context of travel between Surrey and Gatwick Airport.

We have developed a high-level strategic approach to this study, proportionate to the scale of the study. The strategy does not develop detailed options; rather it identifies potential surface access interventions that SCC can either develop directly or can support third parties to develop.

The three development objectives for surface access in Surrey are:

1. Maintain Global Competitiveness

2. Drive Economic Growth

3. Reduce Impacts on the Environment

Surface Access Data Review and Analysis

From the data review and analysis, the overall key issues and challenges for surface access to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports from Surrey are considered to be:

The importance of the airports to the Surrey economy in terms of both passengers and employees, and the need to ensure that convenient and efficient access to the airports is provided from the County;

The high levels of congestion on the Surrey road network both now and in the future which impact on road-based modes of access to the airports (car, taxi, bus/coach). In particular, the unreliability of journey times which leads to lost time for individuals and business who have to leave longer times for peak period journeys to the airports;

The high car mode share to Heathrow Airport, reflecting relatively poor provision of public transport links. Whilst the RailAir bus service from Woking provides a viable public transport alternative, from most other districts there are few competitive public transport alternatives (in terms of direct links and journey times);

The high car mode share to Gatwick Airport, reflecting relatively good access by road. Rail and bus mode shares are slightly higher than for Heathrow Airport, reflecting in particular the provision of more direct links from the County. This indicates that further improvements to the public transport offer could capture additional trips, particularly for air passengers; and


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The need for good surface access links from districts with high numbers of passenger and employee trips to the airports, such as Spelthorne, Elmbridge and Runnymede for Heathrow and Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge for Gatwick. Also, Guildford is an important source of air passenger trips for both airports.

Stakeholder Consultation

A number of key stakeholders were consulted to obtain views on surface access issues and opportunities. Stakeholders were consulted on their views about objectives for surface access, key issues and challenges facing airport surface access in Surrey, future drivers of change, longer term aspirations for surface access in Surrey, risks and obstacles to surface access improvements in the County, and priorities for investment (by Surrey and other parties).

A stakeholder workshop was organised by SCC to obtain stakeholders views on the surface access options developed. The workshop was held at County Hall on 6 August 2013. The feedback from the workshop has been taken into account in the development of the options and surface access strategy presented in this report.

Option Development and Assessment

For each scenario, surface access options were developed for the transport modes under consideration. A long-list of surface access options was developed to address the surface access issues in Surrey. This includes current schemes developed by others and a number of potential options identified by Arup.

The long list of surface access options was assessed against the study objectives and scored according to how well it meets each one, using a simple traffic light (high, medium, low) scoring system. Each option in the long-list was scored according to this framework. On this basis of total scores, the options were placed in one of two categories: Pass or Fail. All options in the categories Pass were recommended for inclusion in the Surface Access to Airports strategy. Seven options scored low marks in the assessment and are therefore rejected from further analysis.

Surface Access to Airports Strategy for Surrey

The surface access strategies for each scenario are presented in the report. These strategies comprise the committed surface access improvements around the airports and the preferred options (those achieving a pass in the assessment) for the short, medium or long term timescales. These strategies combine to form the Surface Access to Airports Strategy for Surrey.

Options included range from those that are already being developed by the transport industry and just need support and input from Surrey County Council and its partners, to those that are new ideas and are not yet proven, which need further development to determine if they are viable schemes. In all cases, Surrey County Council and partners should be convinced that there is a robust business case for any option before they give their full support and certainly before any funding is committed.


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Surface Access to Airports Action Plan

The Action Plan presents the recommended actions for Surrey County Council, its partners, and other stakeholders in the short, medium, long term to deliver the surface access to airports strategy. The top priority actions are identified to enable the effort and resources to be focused on the most important issues.

The Short-Medium Term Action Plan (2013-2019) covers all modes of transport for both airports for the Base (Committed) Scenario and includes the following actions:

Support schemes which reduce car/taxi trips to/from the airports, particularly kiss and fly trips and return taxi trips;

Fill gaps in the bus network with additional Express Bus Services. Initial locations for Heathrow are identified as Weybridge and Epsom;

Develop an Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service concept. Initial hub locations for Heathrow are identified as Camberley, Woking, Guildford, and Walton-on-Thames. A pilot scheme is recommended to test the Hub and Spoke concept from Guildford to Heathrow Airport;

Develop a Demand Responsive Bus Network to serve dispersed or low levels of airport demand. Initial operating zones are identified as Camberley, Woking, Guildford, Weybridge, Epsom and Reigate;

Engage with the rail industry to ensure that the optimum train service pattern to Gatwick from Surrey on the North Downs Line is implemented after the opening of the new platform at Redhill;

Engage with the rail industry on lengthening of trains on the North Downs Line to provide additional capacity for air passengers to the extent this is required.

The Long Term Action Plan (2019 onwards) covers all modes of transport for both airports for the Heathrow and Gatwick Expansion Scenarios and includes the following actions:

Introduce a package of additional Express Bus services to cater for the additional demand generated by Heathrow Expansion;

Further develop the Airport Hub and Spoke concept to develop mixed use hubs to provide additional services for passengers and to provide revenue generation opportunities for SCC;

Engage with stakeholders to develop a southern rail access to Heathrow Airport that could facilitate the extension of Crossrail services into Surrey;

Engage with the rail industry and other relevant stakeholders from Berkshire, West Sussex and Kent to develop a major upgrade of the North Downs Line to include station upgrades and rolling stock improvements. This scheme could include acceleration of services on the line (including possible electrification) It may also include extension of services beyond Reading to the west and into Kent to the east;

Develop marketing and awareness campaigns and initiatives to support each option that is implemented in the surface access strategy;

Develop a concept for creating a new rail link broadly paralleling the M25 from Heathrow Airport into Surrey, potentially linking through to Gatwick Airport and beyond.


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Surface Access to Airports Strategy Priorities

The priority actions should be those which relate to those options which are closely aligned with the Surrey surface to airports development objectives and which have the potential to have a major impact on surface access to airports from Surrey, in the short-medium or long term. These priority options are considered to be:

Developing bus and coach surface access solutions with additional Express Bus services to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, with the development of a Hub and Spoke Network to provide the framework for additional services. A network of demand-responsive services should be developed to complement the additional services;

Engaging with the rail industry to ensure that medium term improvements to the North Downs Rail Line (new platform at Redhill and peak train lengthening) are optimised for surface access to Gatwick Airport;

Promoting a future direct rail access solution to Heathrow Airport from Surrey. This can be developed incrementally, for example by extending Crossrail services to Staines initially, then later extending services further into Surrey;

Promoting surface access by public transport through strong marketing and awareness campaigns.

In 2015, when the Airports Commission reports its recommendations, SCC should immediately engage with stakeholders on the long term options for the relevant expansion scenario, to ensure that infrastructure and services are in place to accommodate the increased demand at the expanded airport(s).

Implementing the Strategy

Once the Surface Access to Airports Strategy is approved and adopted by Surrey County Council, it should be implemented quickly to maintain the momentum gained during the development stage of the strategy. Early engagement and actions should include:

Detailed business case analysis of the bus and coach options to determine which type of service should serve the recommended locations identified in this study. SCC should work with bus operators and promoters of services, such as Simply Connect, as well as local businesses to ensure industry involvement and to develop commercially viable services;

Engagement with the DfT, Network Rail, First Great Western and Gatwick Airport Limited on potential short-medium term improvements to the North Downs Line to ensure these are included in the next franchise specification from July 2016, It would be beneficial to include other stakeholders from Berkshire, West Sussex and Kent;

Promotion and marketing of existing and new surface access options by SCC, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, such as the airports and transport operators.

There is excellent stakeholder interest and support from both within the County and stakeholders, and this should be harnessed by Surrey County Council and its


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partners to deliver a successful surface access strategy for Surrey that delivers the development objectives for the County.


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1 Introduction

1.1 Background

Arup was appointed by Surrey County Council (SCC) in May 2013 to undertake the Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports study. The objective for the study is to identify proposals for strategic investment that the County Council, working with partners, can plan and deliver.

This document is the Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports Report, the main deliverable from the study. The report is informed by Arup’s previous Data Review and Analysis Working Paper and Stakeholder Workshop Presentation, which are referenced in this report and should be consulted for further details on the issues and options considered in the study.

In line with SCC’s requirements the Strategy provides a framework through which SCC can:

develop future surface access to airports policy, service and infrastructure initiatives;

respond to consultations (e.g. aviation reviews);

lobby to influence national policy and planning related to surface access to airports; and

support wider Council growth initiatives.

In the Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports Report, the term ‘airports’ refers to Heathrow and Gatwick airports only, unless otherwise indicated.

1.2 Approach

We have developed a high-level strategic approach to this study, proportionate to the scale of the study. The strategy does not develop detailed options; rather it identifies potential surface access interventions that SCC can either develop directly or can support third parties to develop.

The scope of this study is limited to surface access to Heathrow and Gatwick airports only (referred to as ‘the airports’ in the report). For Gatwick Airport, the scope is limited to access via the North Downs Rail Line, for the purposes of this study; however the analysis covers the wider context of travel between Surrey and Gatwick Airport.

The approach will provide SCC with the surface access interventions and initiatives that can be developed to meet committed and potential future airport capacity scenarios. It is illustrated in Figure 1. The following sections of the report present the findings from each stage of the approach. The Strategy is then constructed from the preferred options identified.


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• Inception Meeting Inception

• Data review and analysis

• Working Paper

• Meeting / presentation to Steering Group

Data Review and Analysis

• Stakeholder 'surgery' and telephone discussions

Stakeholder Consultation

• Options identification and assessment

• Presentation

• Wider stakeholder workshop

Options Identification

and Assessment

• Final report Strategy

Development

Figure 1: Study Approach

(Bold = deliverable, italics = meeting)


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2 Objectives and Industry Timescales

2.1 Surface Access to Airports Objectives for Surrey

The initial task of the study was to identify the surface access to airports development objectives for Surrey. These were identified through review of relevant planning and policy documents and discussions with SCC. Documents reviewed include:

The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Aviation Policy Framework (2013)

Various reports and papers published by the Airports Commission (2013)

The DfT’s Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First (2012)

Surrey Transport Plan (2011)

Surrey Connects’ Forward through Smart Economic Growth (2011)

Local Enterprise Partnerships Growth Strategies (Enterprise M3 and Coast-to-Capital)

Key themes from these documents were identified to develop the objectives for surface access in Surrey, as shown in Figure 2, overleaf. The three development objectives for surface access in Surrey are:

Maintain Global Competitiveness

Drive Economic Growth

Reduce Impacts on the Environment

2.2 Industry Timescales

A key element in developing the surface access to airports strategy is understanding the aviation and rail industry timescales for development of initiatives.

In the aviation industry, the quinquennium regulatory period is a five year (sometimes extended to six years) regulatory period that applies to regulated airports. For airport regulation, quinquennia are the periods under the Airports Act for which the Competition Commission (CC) is required to report and recommend – and for which the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) subsequently sets – maximum amounts that should be capable of being levied by airports by way of airport charges. The current regulatory arrangements cover the years 2008/09 to 2013/14 including an additional year of extension, and are known as the fifth quinquennium (Q5 or Q5+1). The next period, Q6, runs from 2014/15 to 2019/20.

In the rail industry planning timescale, each Control Period, the period over which the Office of Rail Regulation sets regulatory targets, income and costs for Network Rail, lasts five years. Whilst this is good for the industry, so it can plan with some certainty of funding for that period, it means that new infrastructure schemes often have to be planned with more than five year lead times. Thus planning is already well underway for Control Period 6 starting in 2019.

A summary of the timescales in the industry is shown in Figure 3. The timeline shows the main plans and projects that are relevant to both Heathrow and Gatwick


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airports. This identifies the currently committed expansion schemes at each of the airports as well as planned surface access enhancements.


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Figure 2: Policy Objectives for Airports Surface Access


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Figure 3: Timeline for Airport Plans and Projects

Financial

Years2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 - 2033/34

Surrey CC

Rail CPs

CAA

Airports

Commission

Closure of Terminal 1

Q7 (2019-2024)

Control Period 4 (2009-

2014)

Surrey Rail Strategy (Implementation)

Control Period 6 (2019-2024)Q6 (2014-2019)

Interim Report

2015/16

Full Report

Q5 (2008-2014) Q6 (2014-2019)

Terminal 2

Redevelopment (Ph.1)Terminal 2 Redeveloment (Ph.2)

Heathrow

Aiport

Gatwick Aiport

North Terminal International Departure Lounge (Reconfiguration and Expansion)

South Terminal Check-In (Upgrade Check In and Bag Drop)

Heathrow Western Access

Crossrail 2 (Not Committed)

Surface Access

Schemes

M25 Managed Motorway

Scheme

Gatwick Airport Railway

Station Improvements

Crossrail / Thameslink / London Underground improvements / Victoria Station

improvements

Additonal Platform at Redhill Railway Station

Brighton Main Line

A23 Handcross to

Warninglid

M3 Managed Motorway

Scheme

M23 and M4 Managed Motorway Scheme

Heathrow and Gatwick Airports Expansion

Thames Hub Airport Expansion


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3 Surface Access Data Review and Analysis

The next task in the study was to look at the existing scale of operations for the airports and understanding the existing surface access transport facilities available between Surrey and the airports. The existing demand for surface access between Surrey and the airports was also studied.

This analysis informed the identification of the issues affecting the delivery of the surface access policy objectives for Surrey. Issues were identified by undertaking extensive stakeholder consultation, and desk research and analysis. This analysis is reported in detail in the Surrey Rail Strategy: Surface Access to Airports Study Data Review and Analysis Working Paper (August 2013) and is summarised below.

3.1 Context and Location

The existing transport network and key Surrey towns with their population are shown in Figure 4. The ONS Census Data (2011) indicates that the total population of Surrey County is 1,132 million.

Figure 4: Existing Transport Network and Key Surrey Towns

3.2 Current Surface Access Supply in Surrey

There are different modes of transport that air passengers and airport employees could use to get to/from the airports.

By road, Heathrow Airport is 15 miles west of central London and accessible from the M4 and M25. Gatwick is directly connected via a spur to the M23 at Junction 9, which in turn directly connects to the M25 at Junction 7.

The following public transport services currently operate to and from the airports:


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Rail services: Heathrow and Gatwick Express, Piccadilly Line, Heathrow Connect, Southern Trains, First Great Western (Reading – Gatwick Airport) and First Capital Connect; and

Bus and coach services: National Express coaches, charter coaches, RailAir coach services, and local buses.

Analysis was undertaken on access to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports in terms of journey times by car, bus/coach and rail – an example is shown in Figure 5.

For Heathrow, car is the quickest mode of access from all towns analysed. This reflects the relatively poor provision of public transport services to Heathrow from Surrey. Car journey times to Heathrow are however subject to great variation and unreliability due to the high levels of congestion in the area.

For Gatwick, car is generally the quickest mode of access from the towns analysed, with the exception of Redhill and Horley, which have direct and short rail journey times to the airport, and Guildford and Haslemere, which have long car journeys to the airport. For many other locations, public transport, particularly rail, is relatively competitive with the car, with direct services on the North Downs Line and single interchange access to Brighton Main Line services from the South West Main Line.

Figure 5: Fastest Weekday Journey Time to Heathrow Airport by Road in AM Peak

3.3 Current Airport Demand in Surrey

Heathrow Airport had 70.0m passengers in 2012; 44.1m (63%) of these were terminating passengers and the rest transited to other flights. Gatwick Airport had 33.7m terminal passengers in the same year with 31.0m (92%) terminating passengers.

Surrey had 4.0m airport passenger trips to the airports in 2012, with 1.9m (47%) passengers travelling to Heathrow Airport and 2.1m (53%) passengers travelling


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to Gatwick Airport. Figure 6 shows the airport locations and the number of air passengers.

Figure 6: Location and Passenger Demand Numbers

Figure 7: Passenger Trip Purpose

Leisure traffic represents the majority of the air traffic from both airports, as shown in Figure 7. Just over two thirds (70%) of Heathrow passengers travel for leisure. At Gatwick there are more leisure travellers, with 84% of passengers travelling for leisure.

Surrey passengers make on average about 3.5 air passenger trips per year to the airports, with 1.65 trips per year to Heathrow Airport and 1.88 trips to Gatwick. The higher trip rates tend to be nearer to each airport. For Heathrow Airport there are in Guildford, Elmbridge, and Runnymede districts. The higher trip rates for Gatwick Airport are in Mole Valley, Reigate, and Epsom and Ewell. Guildford has a high number of passenger trips to both airports, indicating its importance for surface access to the airports. The total passengers per year from Surrey districts

Heathrow Airport Gatwick Airport


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to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports are shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 respectively.

Figure 8: Total Passengers per Year from Surrey Districts Using Heathrow Airport

Figure 9: Total Passengers per Year from Surrey Districts Using Gatwick Airport

Over 70,000 people work at Heathrow Airport, of which 10,380 (14%) live in Surrey. Gatwick Airport has over 20,000 employees, of which 3,150 (15%) live in Surrey. About 80% of the airport employees who live in Surrey live within 20km of the airports. Figure 10 shows the total number of airport employees and the total number of employees who are living in Surrey.


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Figure 10: Airport Employees

The type of employees at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports are summarised in Table 1. More than half (55%) of the Heathrow employees who live in Surrey are air cabin crew, maintenance tradesmen and other skilled workers (apron, ramp, cargo, drivers, and baggage staff), 19% are passenger services, sales and clerical staff, and 6% are management professionals. 19% of the Gatwick employees who live in Surrey are management professionals, 25% are passenger services, sales and clerical staff, and 18% are air cabin crew.

Table 1: On-Airport Employees from Surrey

Heathrow Gatwick

Management professional 648 6% 615 19%

Passenger services, sales and clerical staff 1,941 19% 775 25%

Air cabin crew 2,823 27% 580 18%

Pilots/ATC/flight operations 662 6% 305 10%

Information Technology 97 1% 27 1%

Maintenance and other skilled workers 2,936 28% 246 8%

Catering, cleaning and house-keeping 177 2% 215 7%

Security, immigration, police and fire 1,096 11% 387 12%

Total on-airport jobs 10,380 100% 3,150 100%

3.4 Surface Access Mode Share

The analysis of the transport mode share to Heathrow Airport is presented in Figure 11. Car (47%) is the dominant mode for trips to Heathrow from Surrey, followed by taxi (38%). All other individual modes have a 5% share of trips or less. Bus/coach use is significant in Woking, Guildford and Waverley districts


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where access to the Woking RailAir services is convenient. Rail use is significant in Reigate and Tandridge reflecting relatively good access via the Brighton Main Line to Victoria and the Underground to Heathrow.

Figure 11: Passenger Mode Share at Heathrow

Transport mode share to Gatwick Airport is presented in Figure 12. Car (55%) is the dominant mode for trips to Gatwick from Surrey, followed by taxi (26%). Rail (11%) has a significant mode share. All other individual modes have a <5% share of trips. Rail use is significant in Elmbridge, Woking, Surrey Heath and Guildford, reflecting good access via interchange at Clapham Junction and also via the North Downs Line.

Figure 12: Passenger Mode Share at Gatwick


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About 14% (10,380) of the Heathrow Airport employees live in Surrey. The majority of them are from Spelthorne (38%), Runnymede (17%) and Surrey Heath (13%).

82% of the Heathrow employees who live in Surrey drive to work at the airport and most travel without passengers. 6% travel by bus whilst the proportion commuting by rail is 1%. The Heathrow Airport employee mode share is presented in Figure 13.

Figure 13: Heathrow Airport Employee Mode Share

The total estimated number of Gatwick employees who live in Surrey is 3,150 (15%) with the majority living in Reigate and Banstead (69%), Tandridge (9%) and Mole Valley (6%).

Of all the Gatwick employees who have been surveyed, just under two thirds of them drive to work at the airport and most travel without passengers. 8% travel by bus, whilst the proportion commuting by train is about 8%, although this will be skewed to areas close to the Brighton Main Line and North Downs Line. Figure 14 shows the Gatwick Airport employee mode share.

Figure 14: Gatwick Airport Employee Mode Share


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3.5 Airport Development Scenarios

In line with other studies being undertaken for SCC, the future airport development scenarios that are considered in this study are:

Base Case – comprising committed plans for the airports and wider surface access infrastructure and services;

Heathrow Airport Expansion – a third runway at London Heathrow Airport but no major expansion elsewhere;

Gatwick Airport Expansion – a second runway at London Gatwick Airport but no major expansion elsewhere; and

New Airport Development - a new airport development in the Thames estuary.

These scenarios are illustrated in Figure 15.


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Figure 15: Airport Development Scenarios

Legend -Local Airport -New Airport -Other Airports -Expansion

BHC: Berkeley Hanover Consulting Limited

LHR 2030 Capacity: 120 mppa (BHC)

Heathrow Airport

Gatwick Airport

Stansted Airport Luton

Airport

London City Airport

Gatwick Airport


Airport

London City Airport Heathrow Airport

Thames Hub Airport

Luton

Airport Stansted Airport

London City Airport

Heathrow Airport

Gatwick Airport

LHR 2030 Capacity: 0 mppa

LGW 2030 Capacity: 45 mppa (BHC) LGW 2030 Capacity: 80 mppa (BHC)

London Heathrow Expansion A third runway at London Heathrow

Airport but no major expansion elsewhere.

New Airport Development A new airport development on the edge of

the Thames estuary.

London Gatwick Expansion A second runway at London Gatwick

Airport but no major expansion elsewhere.

Base Scenario The Base Case comprises the

committed plans for the airports as per their current masterplans.

This also includes wider committed

infrastructure and service plans for road, bus/coach and rail.

LHR 2021/22 Capacity: 74.4 mppa

LGW 2021/22 Capacity: 40.2 mppa

Heathrow Airport

Gatwick Airport


Airport

London City Airport


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3.6 Summary and Key Issues

3.6.1 Summary

A summary of the surface access analysis for towns in Surrey is shown in Table 2. The table shows that journey times from Guildford, Redhill, Horley and Haslemere to Gatwick are quicker by rail than by car. For about half of the towns in Surrey, it takes up to 30 minutes longer to get to both airports by rail than by car. For many locations, car journey time to Heathrow is up to one hour quicker than by rail.

The table indicates the longer (> 60 minutes) journey times to the airports by bus and coach. For Gatwick Airport only Horley has a quicker bus/coach journey time compared to car.

For many districts with higher numbers of air passengers and employees there is no viable public transport alternative to the car (or taxi), which is reflected in the high car / taxi mode share figures shown earlier in the report.


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Car Rail Bus/coach Car Rail Bus/coach Rail vs car (peak) Bus/coach vs car (peak) Rail vs car (peak) Bus/coach vs car (peak)

Guildford 50 77 125 51 41 130 27 75 -10 79

Woking 38 60 60 54 64 125 22 22 10 71

Farnham 60 87 167 61 91 178 27 107 30 117

Camberley 47 102 135 69 110 205 55 88 41 136

Epsom 61 95 93 42 50 90 34 32 8 48

Redhill 68 92 122 23 7 26 24 54 -16 3

Staines 25 61 42 55 64 95 36 17 9 40

Horley 73 91 96 11 2 7 18 23 -9 -4

Caterham 72 102 148 29 43 61 30 76 14 32

Walton 44 86 70 55 61 131 42 26 6 76

Cobham & Stoke D'abernon 49 101 81 45 72 130 52 32 27 85

Haslemere 73 103 186 67 59 173 30 113 -8 106

Oxted 70 96 171 28 33 65 26 101 5 37

Public Transport vs Car Journey Time

Public transport journey time less than car journey time

Difference in journey time more than 60 minutes

Journey time (mins) by all modes


Public transport vs car journey time (mins)


Difference in journey time less than 30 minutes

Difference in journey time between 30 and 60 minutes

Table 2: Summary Table of Surface Access Issues by Towns in Surrey1

1 The journey times in Table 2 are based on the following assumptions. Please see Data Review and Analysis Working Paper for further details.

Car journey times have been calculated assuming a drop-off at terminals 1, 2 and 3. Routes to the airport have been selected based on the fastest journey time. Journey times are in-

vehicle only and do not take into account any other factors (including the time taken to park and get to terminal);

For rail journey times the fastest option within the defined departure window has been chosen; and

Bus/coach journey times are in vehicle only and do not take into account any other factors. All trips including those via RAILAIR National Express and local buses have been

measured to Heathrow Airport Central bus station.


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3.6.2 Important Locations for Surface Access

From the data review and analysis presented in the Working Paper, the important locations identified for surface access to the airports are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Important Locations for Surface Access

Passengers Employees

Heathrow

Elmbridge

Guildford

Runnymede

Spelthorne

Runnymede

Surrey Heath

Gatwick

Reigate & Banstead

Mole Valley

Guildford

Epsom & Ewell

Reigate & Banstead

Tandridge

Mole Valley

3.6.3 Key Issues

From the data review and analysis, the overall key issues and challenges for surface access to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports from Surrey are considered to be:

The importance of the airports to the Surrey economy in terms of both passengers and employees, and the need to ensure that convenient and efficient access to the airports is provided from the County;

The high levels of congestion on the Surrey road network both now and in the future which impact on road-based modes of access to the airports (car, taxi, bus/coach). In particular, the unreliability of journey times which leads to lost time for individuals and business who have to leave longer times for peak period journeys to the airports;

The high car mode share to Heathrow Airport, reflecting relatively poor provision of public transport links. Whilst the RailAir bus service from Woking provides a viable public transport alternative, from most other districts there are few competitive public transport alternatives (in terms of direct links and journey times);

The high car mode share to Gatwick Airport, reflecting relatively good access by road. Rail and bus mode shares are slightly higher than for Heathrow Airport, reflecting in particular the provision of more direct links from the County. This indicates that further improvements to the public transport offer could capture additional trips, particularly for air passengers; and

The need for good surface access links from districts with high numbers of passenger and employee trips to the airports, such as Spelthorne, Elmbridge and Runnymede for Heathrow and Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge for Gatwick. Also, Guildford is an important source of air passenger trips for both airports.


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4 Stakeholder Consultation

4.1 Stakeholder Engagement

A number of key stakeholders were consulted to obtain views on surface access issues and opportunities. A list of stakeholders consulted is presented in Table 4.

Table 4: List of Stakeholders Consulted

Stakeholders Description Format Meeting Date

Surrey County

Council

Relevant Members:

Iain Reeve

Lee McQuade

Lyndon Mendes

Paul Millin

Sue Janota

Kevin Lloyd

Meeting at County

Hall Various

Surrey Borough and

District Councils

Local planning and transport

officers:

J Slaughter (Wandsworth)

J Brooks (Spelthorne)

Meeting at County

Hall 12 July 2013

Airports

Heathrow Airport Ltd –

Ian Frost

Meeting at County

Hall 12 July 2013

Heathrow Airport Ltd –

Theo Panayi Telcon 17 July 2013

Business Community

Gatwick Diamond Initiative

– Rosemary French Telcon 22 July 2013

Surrey Connects / Transport for Surrey Partnership Board - Mark Pearson

Meeting at County Hall

12 July 2013

Local Enterprise

Partnerships

Coast to Capital LEP -

Spiros Tarazis Telcon 30 July 2013

Enterprise M3 LEP –

Kathy Slack Telcon 8 August 2013

Transport Operators

Simply Connect Demand

Responsive Bus -

Alex Johns / Neil Brown

Telcon 17 July 2013

National Express – Kevin

Gale Telcon

19 September

2013

Government

Agencies

Highways Agency –

Stephen Hall Telcon 24 July 2013

Stakeholders were consulted on their views about:

Objectives for surface access to Heathrow and Gatwick from Surrey;

Likely growth/expansion scenarios for the airports over the short/medium and long term;

Key issues and challenges facing airport surface access in Surrey;

Future drivers of change;

Longer term aspirations for surface access in Surrey;

Risks and obstacles to surface access improvements in the County; and

Priorities for investment (by Surrey and other parties).


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4.2 Stakeholder Workshop

A stakeholder workshop was organised by SCC to obtain stakeholders views on the surface access options developed. The workshop was held at County Hall on 6 August 2013.

The items on the agenda were as follows:

Welcome and introduction (SCC);

Presentation (Arup);

o Background analysis and key issues summary;

o Surface access options identification and assessment;

Questions;

Discussion and feedback (in groups);

Summing up (Arup and SCC).

Table 5 indicates the list of the stakeholders who attended the Options workshop.

Table 5: Options Workshop Attendee List

Name Organisation Name Organisation

Alex Forrest London Borough of Sutton John Phillips Tandridge District Council

Conor Frehill Elmbridge Borough Council John Slaughter Wandsworth Council

David Sleight Wokingham Borough

Council Kevin Lloyd Surrey County Council

David Wilby Wokingham Borough

Council Kevin Travers

Hampshire County Council/

Enterprise M3 Local

Enterprise Partnership

Dominic West Royal Borough of Kingston

upon Thames Laura Howard Guildford Borough Council

Hazel Sargent Reigate and Banstead

Borough Council Laurie James Surrey County Council

Iain Reeve Surrey County Council Lee McQuade Surrey County Council

Ian Frost Heathrow Airports Ltd Louise Punter Surrey Chambers of

Commerce

James Harris Southern Railway Lyndon Mendes Surrey County Council

Jamie Dallen West Sussex County Council Marco Taylor Transport for London

Jan Haunton Surrey County Council Mark Pearson Surrey Connects

John Brooks Spelthorne Borough Council Mark Turner Gatwick Airport Limited

Mike Greedy First Great Western Robert Patterson Arriva

Paul Best Network Rail Spiros Tarazis Coast to Capital Local

Enterprise Partnership

Peter Brooks South West Trains Stuart Jeffries Bracknell Forest Council

Peter Sims Runnymede District Council Julie King Royal Borough of Kingston

upon Thames

Arup team: Stefan Sanders, Stephen Bennett, Farnaz Jahanshahi

Following the presentation on surface access options identification and assessment, four discussion groups were created. Through these discussions, the workshop obtained ideas, feedback and views on options.

The feedback from the workshop has been taken into account in the development of the options and surface access strategy presented in the remaining chapters.


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Long list of options

•Service options

•Infrastructure options

•Policy options

Assessment of options

•Against study objectives

•High / medium / low scoring

List of preferred options

•Low scoring options rejected •Medium and high scoring options input to strategy •Short, medium and long term strategies identified

5 Option Development and Assessment

5.1 Option Development

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse surface access options to resolve issues and to improve surface access to Heathrow and Gatwick airports from Surrey.

Figure 16 shows the option development and assessment process. The long list of surface access options has been assessed against the study objectives and scored according to how well it meets each one, using a simple traffic light (high, medium, low) scoring system.

Figure 16: Option Assessment Process

5.1.1 Objectives for Option Development

In line with the study objectives, improvements to surface access should aim to achieve:

Global Competitiveness: More efficient, reliable and comfortable journeys;

Economic Growth: Improved access to employment opportunities; and

Environment: Reduced reliance on car travel and associated impacts.


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5.1.2 Option Development Framework

For each scenario, surface access options were developed for the transport modes illustrated in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Option Development

The types of options developed are:

Service options that provide new or improved public transport access to the airports;

Infrastructure schemes that enable improved surface access; and

Policy initiatives to be developed by Surrey (or possibly others) that support surface access to the airports from the County.

A long-list of surface access options was developed to address the surface access issues in Surrey identified in the Data Review and Analysis stage and those raised through the stakeholder consultation. This includes current schemes developed by others and a number of potential options identified by Arup.


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5.1.3 Long-list of Surface Access Options

A total of 20 options were identified and they are listed in Table 6. Options are grouped according to the option development framework illustrated in Section 5.1.2.

Table 6: Long-list of Surface Access to Airports Options

Base Case (Committed Growth at the Airports)

Heathrow Airport –

Car/Taxi

Reduce private car trips to airports

Reduce ‘kiss & fly’ and taxi trips to airports

Heathrow Airport –

Bus/Coach

Improve regular bus services

New airport hub and spoke bus service

Demand-responsive airport service

Heathrow Airport – Rail Western rail access to Reading

Gatwick Airport – Rail North Downs Line improvements

Base Case + London Gatwick Expansion

Rail North Downs Line electrification

North Downs Line regional links

Base Case + London Heathrow Expansion

Bus/Coach

Package of bus/coach measures (rather than individual services)

Bus priority on key corridors

Development at mixed use hubs

Rail

Southern rail access - new links Feltham-T4 and Clapham-T2

Southern rail access – AirTrack Lite

Southern rail access – link to Staines and extension of Crossrail

Ultra PRT to Staines

Staines Rapid Rail

New rail link through Surrey

Base Case + New Airport Development

Bus/Coach Long distance express bus/coach services

Rail Rail link to new airport development

5.2 Option Assessment

5.2.1 Option Assessment Methodology

Each option was assessed against three criteria:

Suitability - How does the option address SCC's objectives, does it support wider plans and strategies?

Feasibility - Is the option deliverable and by whom, what are the key risks and obstacles, can funding be obtained?


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Acceptability - Does the option have a good business case, does it have stakeholder support?

These criteria were expanded into a framework against which each option was scored (see Table 7). For each sub-criterion, options received a score of 0, 1 or 2. These scores were added together to generate an overall score. The timescale of the option was also noted: Short, Medium or Long.

Table 7: Option Scoring Framework

Criteria Low (0 marks) Medium (1 mark) High (2 marks)

Suitability

Global

competitiveness

not aligned with

objective

slightly aligned with

objective

fully aligned with

objective

Economic growth not aligned with

objective


objective

fully aligned with

objective

Environment not aligned with

objective


objective

fully aligned with

objective

Supports wider

plans/strategies

does not support

wider plans/strategies

supports 1 wider

plan/strategy

supports >1 wider

plan/strategy

Suitability of mode not the best mode

one of a no. of

alternative mode

options

clearly the best mode

Feasibility

Deliverability

option requires

entirely new

infrastructure

option adds to existing

services or

infrastructure

option modifies

existing services or

infrastructure

Delivery

organisation

SCC no role in

delivery

SCC can support

delivery by 3rd

party

SCC has influence

over delivery

Risk high risk/uncertainty

associated with option

medium

risk/uncertainty


low risk/uncertainty


Funding no funding source

identified

funding expected to

be made available

funding available

through conventional

sources

Acceptability

Business case poor business case

proven/expected

marginal business

case proven/expected

positive business case

proven/expected

Stakeholder support

not generally

supported by

stakeholders

support from

stakeholders

strong support from

multiple stakeholders

Timescale2

Short (2013-2014) Medium (2014-2019) Long (2019 onwards)

5.2.2 Option Assessment Results

Each option in the long-list was scored according to this framework. On this basis of total scores, the options were placed in one of two categories: Pass or Fail. These are shown in Table 8.

2 The timescale is based on Control Period.


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Table 8: Option Assessment Results

Base Case (Committed Growth at the Airports) Pass/Fail

Heathrow

Airport –

Car/Taxi

Reduce private car trips to airports Pass

Reduce ‘kiss & fly’ and taxi trips to airports Pass

Heathrow

Airport –

Bus/Coach

Improve regular bus services Pass

New airport hub and spoke service Pass

Demand-responsive airport service Pass

Heathrow

Airport – Rail Western rail access to Reading Fail

Gatwick Airport

– Rail North Downs Line improvements Pass

Base case + London Gatwick Expansion

Rail North Downs Line electrification Pass

North Downs Line regional links Pass

Base case + London Heathrow Expansion

Bus/Coach

Package of bus/coach measures (rather than individual services) Pass

Bus priority on key corridors Pass

Development at mixed use hubs Pass

Rail

Southern rail access - new links Feltham-T4 and Clapham-T2 Fail

Southern rail access – AirTrack Lite Fail

Southern rail access – link to Staines and extension of Crossrail Pass

Ultra PRT to Staines Fail

Staines Rapid Rail Fail

New rail link through Surrey linking Heathrow and Gatwick Pass

Base case + New Airport Development

Bus/Coach Long distance express bus/coach services Fail

Rail Rail link to new airport development Fail

5.2.3 Rejected Options

All options in the categories Pass were recommended for inclusion in the Surface Access to Airports strategy. Seven options scored low marks in the assessment and are therefore rejected from further analysis:

Western Rail Access to Reading

The Western Rail Access to Reading was identified in the DfT’s High Level Output Specification as a scheme for development in CP5 (2014-2019) for implementation in CP6 (2019-2024). A number of options have been proposed and these will be assessed by Network Rail as part of the scheme development to deliver a typical four trains per hour between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Reading.


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This scheme potentially has major benefits for the Thames Valley area. It will deliver direct rail services to Heathrow from Reading, via Maidenhead and Slough with journey times reduced by up to 45 minutes. However, our analysis indicates that there will not be significant benefits for surface access in Surrey. Whilst the scheme may reduce the rail journey time from Camberley to Heathrow Airport by approximately 10 minutes, no time savings are expected from other locations in Surrey.

Whilst SCC may wish to support this scheme in principle, as it does not significantly benefit surface access in the County it is not included in the surface access strategy.

Southern Rail Access – New Links Feltham-T4 and Clapham-T2

In the current Wandsworth Council study on southern rail access to Heathrow, options are being considered that provide a new rail link from Clapham Junction to Heathrow Terminal 2 and from Feltham to Heathrow Terminal 4, as shown in Figure 18.

Whilst these connections could benefit south west London, they will not provide significant benefit for Surrey as rail journeys via either route would require an interchange to get to Heathrow.

These options are therefore not considered further in the strategy. The third connection shown on the plan, a new link between Staines and Terminal 5, scored higher in the assessment and is taken forward into the strategy.

Figure 18: Southern Rail Access Options to Heathrow

Southern Rail Access – Air Track Lite

The AirTrack Lite scheme is a successor of the AirTrack scheme, a major scheme in development for several years promoted by BAA plc

3. It provided for services

from London Waterloo, Guildford, Woking and Reading to Heathrow with new infrastructure including a Staines Chord, a new station at Staines High Street, and a new link from Staines to Terminal 5 at Heathrow. This scheme was abandoned in 2011, with BAA citing lack of funding and other priorities at Heathrow, such as Crossrail and HS2, although the impact on local level crossing down-times was also a major issue.

3 Now known as Heathrow Airport Holdings.

New link between

Clapham & T2

New link between

Feltham & T4

New link between

Staines & T5


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Airtrack Lite is a variant of Airtrack, which would divert an existing four trains an

hour from London Waterloo to Terminal 5 with stops at Clapham Junction and

Putney with a new station at Staines and a new rail link to Terminal 5. The

scheme is illustrated in Figure 19.

Although some locations in Surrey would gain a direct service to Heathrow, such

as Staines, Egham, Virginia Water, Chertsey, Addlestone, and Weybridge, the

service pattern as proposed seems to have limited benefits for wider Surrey towns

such as Woking and Guildford, as interchange would be needed at Staines or

Weybridge.

The scheme is designed to avoid routeing extra trains through level crossings in

Mortlake and Egham, which was a key problem with the original Airtrack

scheme. However, the impact on level crossing down-times still remains a

concern for many stakeholders.

Given the above, and the fact that there are potentially better uses of the connection between Heathrow and Staines for Surrey, it is not recommend that SCC pursues this scheme in its surface access strategy. Both the original AirTrack scheme and the new AirTrack Lite proposal demonstrate the difficulty of providing an incremental rail solution between Surrey (and the south west of London) and Heathrow Airport on the existing rail network.

This is not to say that SCC should not engage with the Airtrack Lite scheme promoters, but it should not be proactive in promoting the scheme itself. If the promoters can demonstrate significant surface access benefits to Surrey, then this should be reviewed at the relevant time.

This also does not mean that the link between Heathrow and Staines is rejected. There are potentially better uses of this new link, such as extending Crossrail services to Staines, and this option is retained and explored further in the strategy.

Figure 19: Airtrack Lite


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Ultra PRT to Staines

Stakeholders have identified the potential for extending the existing Ultra Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system operating at Heathrow Airport to Staines from Terminal 5. This would require extension of the elevated infrastructure and new service patterns.

No formal business case has been put forward for this proposal and this is not considered the most appropriate mode for providing southern access to Heathrow from Surrey, as it would be difficult to extend further into the County. It is therefore not included in the surface access strategy.

Staines Rapid Rail

Staines Rapid Rail, part of the London Air Rail Transit System (LARTS) concept, is a proposal to build a new light rapid transit line between Staines and Heathrow Terminal 5, with a park-and-ride site at Stanwell. It has potential to be extended to Heathrow Terminals 1-4, and into Surrey connecting with the South West Main Line at Byfleet.

There is currently no business case for this scheme so the feasibility of the scheme and the benefits for Surrey are unclear. The provision of a light rail solution will prohibit further growth and may not be suitable for future demand on a corridor to Staines and beyond. For Heathrow Airport trips from Surrey, interchange would be required between transport modes at either Staines or Byfleet. This option is therefore not included in the surface access strategy.

New Airport Development Surface Access Options

Although there are alternative proposals for a new airport in the Thames Estuary, the focus of this report was on a new four-runway airport at the Isle of Grain, approximately 30 miles east of Central London

4. The airport has a potential

capacity for 110 million passengers per year (mppa) with the potential to expand to 150mppa.

The airport would be located approximately 70 miles north east of Surrey. The airport can be accessed by road using the M25 and then A2; however, the journey time would be in excess of 60-90 minutes. For passengers using the road access to the airport, reliability and predictability of journey times would be key issues. There are currently high levels of congestion on the Surrey road network and congestion on the M25 corridor constrains highway accessibility in the peaks.

No direct rail access has been proposed from Surrey to the Isle of Grain airport. Plans indicate that air passengers from Surrey should travel to Waterloo Station, where direct rail with limited stop services would run to the airport. The journey time would be approximately 40 minutes from Waterloo, meaning overall

4 The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has submitted three proposals to the Airports Commission,

although he has underlined his commitment to the new airport development at the Isle of Grain as

his first choice because of its proximity to London.


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journeys in excess of 70-95 minutes from most of Surrey, with at least one interchange. This compares to current average rail journey times of 55 minutes to Gatwick Airport and 89 minutes to Heathrow Airport from Surrey.

To maintain Surrey’s competitiveness under this scenario would require a direct and fast rail link to the new airport. This is illustrated by the blue line in Figure 20.

Figure 20: High Speed Rail Link to New Airport

Options related to the New Airport Development scenario are not taken forward in the surface access strategy. There is currently much uncertainty over this scenario and SCC has already announced its opposition to any proposals that would serve to reduce the capacity of Heathrow or Gatwick airports or the role of Heathrow as a hub airport. Under the scenarios in this study, it is assumed that a new Thames Estuary airport would result in the closure of Heathrow Airport.

If the Airports Commission concludes that a Thames Estuary airport is a preferred option, when it reports in 2015, the Surrey surface access strategy should be reviewed and updated to consider surface access options to the new airport.

Surrey


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6 Surface Access to Airports Strategy for Surrey

6.1 Development of the Surface Access Strategy

In this chapter, the surface access strategies for each scenario are presented. These strategies comprise the committed surface access improvements around the airports and the preferred options (those achieving a pass in the assessment) for the short, medium or long term timescales.

Options included range from those that are already being developed by the transport industry and just need support and input from Surrey County Council and its partners, to those that are new ideas and are not yet proven, which need further development to determine if they are viable schemes. In all cases, Surrey County Council and partners should be convinced that there is a robust business case for any option before they give their full support and certainly before any funding is committed.

The main actions to deliver each option are also considered; to inform the action plan in the following chapter. These strategies combine to form the Surface Access to Airports Strategy for Surrey.

6.2 Base (Committed) Scenario

6.2.1 Car / Taxi

The following two options were identified for car / taxi:

Reduce ‘kiss and fly’ and return taxi trips, which produce four journey legs rather than two; and

Reduce private car (parking) trips.

A range of incentives, behavioural measures and demand management measures have been proposed by the airports to encourage more sustainable travel to the airports including:

Promoting Car Share schemes to reduce the number of single occupancy car trips to and from the airports;

Reducing staff car parking supply with further priority given to car sharing;

Systems and incentives to encourage more efficient taxi use amongst air passengers; and

Improvements to the cycle network and further development of the existing Heathrow Cycle Hub to offer incentives and support to cyclists using the airport.

Recommendation

To improve surface access by car and taxi to the airports in the Base Scenario, Surrey County Council and partners should support the airports’ schemes which


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reduce car/taxi trips to/from the airports, particularly kiss and fly trips and return taxi trips.

6.2.2 Bus / Coach

The bus/coach options identified have been primarily developed for Heathrow Airport; however, these options are also applicable to Gatwick Airport.

6.2.2.1 Models for Improving Bus Services

There are currently some good examples of successful bus services operating at the airports. These are described in the boxes below.

Express Bus Service

The X26 Express Bus Service runs between Croydon town centre and Heathrow Airport (central bus station). It operates at a 30-minute headway (2 buses per hour). It has long operating hours; the first bus arrives at Heathrow at 05:40 daily and the last bus from Heathrow to Croydon is at midnight, which serves employee needs. The buses are controlled from a central operations control centre enabling timetables to be monitored and delays to be managed.

RailAir Coach Service

The Woking RailAir is a well-established coach link providing direct services from Woking Rail Station to Heathrow Airport (Central Bus Station (for T1 & 3) and Terminal 5, mainly for passengers. The coaches run every 30 minutes with a journey time of approximately 50 minutes. The service is operated by National Express and promoted by the rail operator (South West Trains). Combined rail and coach tickets can be purchased. Coaches can be tracked using an online Coach Tracker facility.

//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Metrobus_503.JPG


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Demand Responsive Bus Services

Barcelona Airport Arrival Shuttle Transfer is a door-to-door service with a maximum of 3 stops on route from the airport to the passengers’ destination. The transfer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The maximum number of passengers per shuttle is 10.

Bus Rapid Transit Network

Metrobus Fastway provides three bus rapid transit routes accessing Gatwick Airport from Horley and Crawley. It operates a frequent service with up to 8 buses per hour during the day. It operates 24-hours a day to meet airport passenger and employee demand.

The network has dedicated bus lanes and guideways to avoid congestion hotspots, and enables priority for buses at junctions through the traffic signals. It provides real-time passenger information both on the network and remotely (eg to mobile phones).

Demand Responsive Taxibus Services

Bicester Taxibus is a regular rail link service running Monday to Friday in peak times following a set route between Bure Parl, Greenwood and Langford Village to meet key trains to London Marylebone.

During off-peak, it is tailored to the needs of the passengers by operating in response to pre-booked journey requests. Fares are calculated on the length of a journey.


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6.2.2.2 Gap Analysis of Existing Bus Services to Heathrow

Airport from Surrey

There are currently two bus services from Heathrow Airport (central bus station) to Surrey. Table 9 provides a summary of the bus services from Heathrow Airport to Surrey.

Table 9: Bus Services from Heathrow Airport to Surrey

Bus

number

Origin-

destination Calling at: Operating hours Frequency

441

Heathrow -

Englefield

Terminal 5,

Stanwell, Ashford,

Staines, Egham

Mon-Sat (05:00-22:15)

Sunday (08:36 (T5)-18:27)

Every 30 mins

555

Heathrow-

Walton-on-

Thames

Hatton Cross,

Stanwell, Ashford,

Sunbury

Mon-Sun (04:35-22:15) Every 30 mins

Every 60 mins on

Sundays

The gaps in the bus network from Heathrow to Surrey have been identified as shown in Figure 21. There are currently no bus service to important locations in Surrey, such as Camberley, Guildford, Weybridge and Epsom.

Figure 21: Gaps in the Bus Network

Not to scale – diagrammatic representation only

Potential links are identified to improve the bus network to Camberley, Guildford, Weybridge and Epsom as shown in Figure 22. The dashed lines in the figure indicate the need for a service that is either an extension of an existing service or a new bus link.

Camberley

Weybridge

Epsom

Guildford


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Figure 22: Improved Bus Connections to Heathrow Airport

Not to scale – diagrammatic representation only

Weybridge is an important location for Heathrow passengers. The existing 555 regular bus service operates to nearby Walton-on-Thames. There is potential to extend this to Weybridge as an Express Bus Service to provide a fast but accessible service for passengers (and employees as needed). The service could route from Weybridge to Walton-on-Thames and then follow the existing established route to Heathrow. If it is not considered feasible to extend the existing service, for example if journey times are too long, then a new express service could be developed to link Weybridge with Heathrow.

A connection to Epsom could be provided by extending a branch of the existing 555 regular bus service from Sunbury. There is potential to extend this to Epsom as an Express Bus Service to provide a fast but accessible service for passengers and employees. The service could route from Epsom to Sunbury and then follow the existing established route to Heathrow.

The analysis above indicates that there is scope to extend existing bus services or introduce new Express Bus services to Heathrow from Surrey. If these are successful, there is the potential to combine these services as a Bus Rapid Transit network as per the Fastway model, perhaps linked to expansion at Heathrow. This is explored later in this chapter under the Heathrow Expansion scenario.

However, this analysis only looks at addressing individual gaps and introducing individual services. A more comprehensive approach, based on similar service models serving a number of hubs across Surrey is to introduce an Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service.

6.2.2.3 Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service

The concept of a new Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service is to provide fast efficient trunk services between key hubs in Surrey (e.g. Camberley, Woking, Walton-on-Thames and Guildford) and Heathrow Airport. The concept is illustrated in Figure 23.


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Figure 23: Airport Hub and Spoke Service for Heathrow

The hubs could be based on existing (or new) established public transport hubs and will provide high quality interchange points for passengers with facilities such as secure parking and drop-off zone, toilets, café, shops, and airport arrival and departure information.

Access to the hubs should be fast, efficient and door-to-door. Passengers can travel to the hubs by their private vehicles and park in the secure parking facilities provided at the hubs. Alternatively drop-off facilities can be used for the air passengers who are dropped off/picked up by friends or relatives. Passengers who do not have access to a car could use taxis/minicabs to get to/from the hubs. The taxis will stop at taxi ranks outside the hubs building and they can be pre-booked online or by telephone. The price of the taxi could be included in the overall ticket price. Other forms of transport including local buses, walking and cycling could be provided for the passengers to get to/from the hubs.

Fast, frequent and direct bus services will be provided from the hubs to the airport with limited stops at other key locations. The vehicles will have high quality facilities including wi-fi, tables and luggage spaces. Real-time information and flights arrival/departure information will be displayed on-board.

Once at the airport, the Hub and Spoke services will serve all the main terminals to avoid an additional interchange. To encourage passengers to use the Hub and Spoke services, the prices offered should be less than taxi rates but more than regular buses to make them commercially viable.

One potential hub location identified by stakeholders is the Surrey Research Park in Guildford. This could be operated as a pilot scheme to test the concept.


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The Hub and Spoke Bus Service concept is recommended as a more comprehensive approach to providing an improvement in surface access by bus and coach to the airports. It is a model which can be repeated in a number of different locations but using the same branding, vehicles types, and facilities, which could bring economies of scale for operating costs.

6.2.2.4 Demand-Responsive Airport Service

An alternative model identified in section 6.2.2.1 is a demand responsive bus service. This is an on-demand bus service that operates in response to pre-booked requests (e.g. by telephone or internet). There is no fixed timetable as the bus route is defined by passenger demand and can differ each day. This type of service is particularly appropriate for areas which have low levels of demand or for very dispersed demand outside of the main centres.

This type of bus service will provide small, high quality vehicles with prices below taxi, above bus. The drop-off / pick-up arrangements at airports need to be arranged so there is a dedicated location for the service.

There is already a proposal to operate a service of this type around Gatwick, and a proposal for Milton Keynes is expected to launch in September 2013:

Potential Hub: Surrey Research Park, Guildford

The Surrey Research Park was developed by the University of Surrey to support businesses involved in the commercialisation of a wide range of sciences. The Park is a 28-hectare low density development that houses 114 companies, the Surrey Technology Centre and Surrey Univeristy. All of these uses generate trips to Heathrow Airport.

The Park is accessible from most of Guildford and is located very close to the A3 which connects directly to the M25 (Junction 10). Heathrow Airport is 25 miles from the Park. The Park has car parking facilities which are controlled by the Surrey Research Park and University. Congestion around the Park is an existing issue, so some form of bus priority may be needed to enable buses to travel in and out of the site without delay.


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A demand-responsive airport service was identified as one of the options to provide door-to-door service from Surrey to Heathrow Airport. Five potential areas have been identified for this scheme which is displayed in Figure 24.

Figure 24: Demand-Responsive Bus Service Areas in Surrey

The demand-responsive service could complement the Hub and Spoke Bus Service concept by covering demand outside the main towns in Surrey that could not easily access the hubs. It could also be used to feed passengers into the hubs where they are close to towns or where this is preferred by passengers. It has the additional advantage or creating an infrastructure for demand responsive bus services (e.g. control centre, website, booking system) that could be used for other purposes by SCC, for example for rural travel to towns where no public transport services currently exist.

Demand responsive services could be developed in conjunction with local businesses. There are many business locations in Surrey that operate their own airport transport and a more coordinated approach to delivery could save businesses money and stimulate demand for such services. This is discussed further in the section below on the Development of Bus Services.

Simply Connect Demand Responsive Bus Service

The Simply Connect service is currently being promoted in the Gatwick area to serve the airport. It provides a dense network of 8-seat vehicles which are operating entirely on demand in real-time. The buses operate in a given area or corridor and drop off and pick up passengers at their home or workplace to travel to designated locations at the airport.

This bus service requires a low capital density and no new physical infrastructure, so it is potentially commercial (i.e. does not need financial support).


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6.2.2.5 Journey Time Reliability

All of the above bus / coach options face a common challenge: journey time reliability. The buses use the same roads as general traffic and therefore get delayed when there is congestion at peak times or following an incident on the road network.

The X26 bus service case study (above) demonstrates that good network management (by Transport for London - TfL) helps to support a successful bus service, as the buses are controlled from a central operations control centre enabling timetables to be monitored and delays to be managed. Surrey County Council should engage with TfL to coordinate network management in Boroughs bordering the London area (eg Spelthorne, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge). It should also seek to learn from this experience to apply similar systems to manage and coordinate bus services within Surrey.

To enhance the travel experience for bus passengers, real-time information should be displayed at bus stops and on board vehicles, with smartphone and tablet apps playing an important supporting role. This will enable passengers to be informed when delays occur, and plan their journey accordingly. For certain services this is already available, for example the Coach Tracker facility for RailAir services.

Bus priority measures including bus lanes and signalised junctions equipped with bus priority should also be introduced to help achieve easier and more consistent journey times through congested areas. This could utilise the Fastway model as a template.

These measures would need to be developed by SCC. In the stakeholder discussions for this study the Highways Agency stated that there is currently no policy on bus priority on the strategic road network (i.e. motorways or A-roads). A change in this policy would require very high level, possibly central Government, direction. This means that bus lanes or hard shoulder running on the motorways is not feasible in the current environment.

Discussions with the SCC Highways Department clarified that there are no current plans to implement any bus priority for routes to Heathrow from Surrey, but this could be considered in the medium-long term, particularly if it was part of a package of measures to reduce car use. Heathrow Airport states in its current business plan that bus priority in and around the airport is to be investigated.

Political acceptability is a major issue with bus priority, as it allocates roadspace away from general traffic, which is already high in the areas where priority is most needed. It is recommended that bus priority is implemented incrementally, focusing on the most critical areas and those of most benefit first of all. These areas would need to be identified through further scheme development and in consultation with the local bus operators. The measures implemented should be designed to be used by as many bus services as possible, not only airport services, so they achieve the maximum benefits. For example, bus priority measures in and around Staines are likely to be of benefit to local buses as well as airport services.

6.2.2.6 Demand for Bus / Coach Services to Heathrow Airport

A simple assessment of demand has been undertaken to evaluate the potential patronage on new bus services and therefore the potential for commercial services, and the impact on mode share.


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The focus of the demand assessment is on developing the air passenger surface access market, rather than staff. This is because the growth forecasts for passengers are higher than staff, for example at Gatwick growth of on-airport employment is forecast to be 5% by 2021/22 compared to 17% for passengers. However, all schemes should be developed with airport staff in mind, particularly services from areas adjacent to the airports where many employees live

5. This

includes offering airport staff travel discounts and offers to staff using services, as is currently done with the Woking RailAir coach service.

The demand assessment is shown in Table 10. Woking has the existing RailAir bus service, as well as a regular bus service to Heathrow (557). It has the highest bus/coach mode share to Heathrow of all Surrey boroughs at 21%, which equates to approximately 110 passengers per day (calculated from 174,000 passengers per year in 2011, assuming an annualisation factor of 320, which is typical for airport surface access). In addition, passengers travel to Woking from neighbouring Boroughs, such as Guildford and Waverley to access the RailAir service.

For the purpose of this assessment, Guildford has been chosen as the Borough with the highest air passenger trip volumes in the County to Heathrow Airport, with a total of 284,607 trips. This equates to about 890 passengers per day. The current bus/coach mode share is 9% (about 80 passengers per day). If this could be increased to 21%, in line with Woking, by introducing a new airport link service, then this would equate to about 185 passengers per day.

If new bus services are heavily promoted and marketed, a higher mode share than Woking could be achieved, say 30%. If applied to the Guildford example this would give demand of approximately 270 bus passengers per day.

The different approaches above give a range of 185-270 bus passengers per day from Guildford. The Woking RailAir service operates a full-size coach at a frequency of approximately two services per hour for about 16 hours per day. Each coach has approximately 50 seats, which gives a supply in the order of 1600 seats per day. This is well in excess of the potential demand from Guildford, even if additional trips from neighbouring Boroughs could be captured.

This suggests that a more cost-effective solution would be to operate a service with smaller vehicles, say 25-seater minibuses (e.g. Optare Solo models) or to utilise the demand responsive model to more closely match the supply to the demand. The exact solution would need to be confirmed through a more detailed assessment of operating costs of express bus services (with larger and smaller vehicles) compared to demand responsive type services.

5 Such as Spelthorne and Runnymede for Heathrow and Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge for

Gatwick.


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Table 10: Demand for Bus / Coach Services to Heathrow Airport

Woking

Annual passengers to Heathrow 174,320

Daily passengers (/ 320*) 545

Bus / coach mode share - existing 21%

Daily bus / coach passengers 112

Guildford

Annual passengers to Heathrow 284,607

Daily passengers (/ 320*) 889

Bus / coach mode share - existing 9%


Bus / coach mode share – same as Woking 21%


Bus / coach mode share – enhanced and promoted airport bus service 30%


See Data Review and Analysis Working Paper for sources of data.

* - Typical annualisation factor for airport travel.

6.2.2.7 Development of Bus Services

The options described above are potential solutions to improve surface access by bus and coach to the airports in the shorter term. All of these options require more detailed development to confirm the costs, revenues, wider benefits and business case for developing the service as a commercial undertaking.

The County Council is not a commercial bus operator. It has the power to subsidise socially necessary bus services which the marketplace does not provide, however this generally does not apply to services to the airports. The Council is therefore reliant on private commercial operators to develop services.

Through this study, interest in the options described above has been stimulated from private operators by the stakeholder workshop and individual discussions. In particular, National Express has expressed an interest in engaging further with the Council, as have the developers of the Simply Connect demand-responsive bus service.

It is recommended therefore that the County Council engages with these operators to further develop the options described above to determine the commercial business case for the services. The County Council should:

support the development of the business case work;

connect the operators with airport transport forums to unlock support and funding for initiatives, such as the Heathrow Area Transport Forum;

connect operators with local businesses to develop partnerships and funding opportunities, for example through Surrey Connects;

providing existing Council-owned public transport facilities (such as bus stops) to be available for new airport services;


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providing new facilities for airport services (such as bus hubs) and identifying funding bids, for example through Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) growth deals.

The connection with local businesses is particularly important. There are many business locations in Surrey that operate their own transport in the areas around the airports, either for staff or passengers, often spending significant sums of money. By working together through business collectives there is an opportunity to improve overall coverage, open usage to a wider market base, and reduce operating costs to those operating and funding the services. The Surrey Connects development company is an established forum for engaging with local businesses and should be engaged to maximise these connections.

These activities do not guarantee a business case for new services, but they would give each option the best chance of being successfully and commercially viable.

Recommendation

To improve surface access by bus and coach to the airports SCC should:

Fill gaps in the bus network in the short term with additional Express Bus Services. Initial locations for Heathrow are identified as Weybridge and Epsom;

Develop an Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service concept to provide a more comprehensive framework for the development of surface access by bus and coach to the airports. Initial hub locations for Heathrow are identified as Camberley, Woking, Guildford, and Walton-on-Thames. A pilot scheme could be carried out to develop a Hub and Spoke Bus Service from Guildford to Heathrow Airport;

Develop a Demand Responsive Bus Network to serve dispersed or low levels of airport demand, possibly using the Simply Connect model. Initial operating zones are identified as Camberley, Woking, Guildford, Weybridge, Epsom and Reigate.

6.2.3 Rail

Rail options have been considered for both Heathrow and Gatwick airports. As stated earlier, the scope for Gatwick Airport is limited to access via the North Downs Rail Line.

6.2.3.1 Heathrow Airport

There are no rail schemes currently committed that will significantly improve surface access to Heathrow Airport in the Base Scenario (ie to 2019).

The Western Access to Reading was considered as an option, but this was rejected as it does not significantly benefit surface access from Surrey – see section 5.2.3 for more details.

6.2.3.2 Gatwick Airport

In 2012, the DfT’s High Level Output Specification gave approval for some key enhancements on Network Rail’s Sussex Route, including an additional platform


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at Redhill (platform 0). This provides a capacity improvement and enables the extension of a second Reading train in most hours from Redhill to Gatwick Airport. This scheme will be implemented in CP5 (2014-19).

Currently there are two trains per hour operating on the North Downs Line, one fast service and one slow service. The fast service stops only at Reading, Wokingham, Blackwater, North Camp, Guildford, Dorking Deepdene, Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick and takes about 40 minutes from Guildford to Gatwick. The slow service stops at nearly all stops and takes about 50 minutes from Guildford to Gatwick, with an interchange at Redhill.

SCC should engage with the rail industry, particularly Network Rail and First Great Western, to ensure that the optimum train service pattern is implemented after the new platform at Redhill opens. The aim should be to achieve two trains per hour between Reading, Guildford and Gatwick, although there may have to be trade-offs between fast services (i.e. short journey times) and accessibility (ie stops at smaller stations).

In addition to the train service pattern with the new Redhill platform, there is potential in the shorter term to lengthen the existing 2- or 3-car diesel multiple unit trains to 4- or 5-car trains, on services between Reading and Gatwick. Lengthening would be carried out only on selected busy services.

This would have the benefit of providing additional capacity for air passengers and space for luggage storage.

Recommendation

To improve surface access by rail to Gatwick Airport SCC should:

Engage with the rail industry to ensure that the optimum train service pattern to Gatwick on the North Downs Line is implemented after the opening of the new platform at Redhill;

Engage with the rail industry on lengthening of trains on the North Downs Line to provide additional capacity for air passengers.

No Base Scenario options are identified for surface access by rail to Heathrow Airport.

6.2.4 Access to Heathrow from East Surrey

All of the Base Scenario surface access options identified above address access to Heathrow from north and west Surrey. However, there is demand from East Surrey to Heathrow Airport, particularly for air passengers.

Bus and coach access from East Surrey is generally poor, with journey times in excess of 120 minutes from most key locations. It is unlikely that significant improvements can be made to these journey times, as bus and coach services need to use the M25 motorway to access Heathrow, which is subject to congestion and journey time unreliability. There are no quicker alternative routes for buses.

Rail is therefore the preferred mode of access to Heathrow from East Surrey. Currently, rail journey times from East Surrey are much quicker than bus, with journey times from Redhill and Oxted just over 90 minutes, although this requires


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two interchanges via London Victoria and London Paddington (using Heathrow Express).

In the future, Crossrail will improve rail journey times to Heathrow from East Surrey, as shown in Figure 25. Connections from the Brighton Main Line at Farringdon will enable one interchange to Crossrail services to Heathrow.

Journey times on Crossrail from Farringdon to Heathrow are expected to be about 31 minutes, so a trip from Redhill could take around 80 minutes rather than 95 minutes, a saving of around 15 minutes.

There is no specific recommendation for SCC for surface access from East Surrey to Heathrow, as the Crossrail scheme is already committed and under construction. It should support the development and implementation of the Crossrail scheme to ensure the benefits for surface access to Heathrow from East Surrey are realised.

Figure 25: Surface Access to Heathrow from East Surrey via Crossrail

6.3 Heathrow Expansion Scenario

6.3.1 Bus / Coach

In the Base Scenario additional Express Bus Services and a Hub and Spoke Network were recommended. To cater effectively for the proposed growth in passengers for the Heathrow Expansion Scenario, a package of these bus measures is recommended to be introduced rather than individual service improvements. This might include destinations that were not included in the Base Scenario because demand was not sufficient, or destinations where demand responsive services were implemented to cater for low levels of demand which warrant upgrading to a more frequent Express Bus service.

In this scenario, bus priority measures should be introduced on key corridors to reduce journey times and to make these services more attractive to potential passengers. For example, bus lanes and bus priority at traffic signals could be


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introduced in the Staines and Ashford area, where many services to Heathrow converge, and which has existing issues with congestion. A bus guideway link could also be provided between Staines and Heathrow Terminal 5, with higher speed services running to the airport.

Giving greater priority to buses over other road vehicles can assist in minimising delays and improving reliability. The indicative location of potential bus priority measures on key corridors to Heathrow Airport are shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26: Bus Priority Measures on Key Corridors

This package of bus priority measures could be delivered as a Fastway type network for the Staines area, providing all the features of the existing Crawley scheme in this area.

The Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service option recommended in the Base Scenario can be developed further in the Heathrow Expansion Scenario. The existing hub locations could be further developed with additional mixed land uses to include, for example, business centre / offices, hotel / retail, and interchange facilities for local transport services. These hubs could potentially generate revenue for SCC through the sale of development rights or leasing of commercial space.

Hub and Spoke services could also take advantage of the package of bus priority measures, including the guideway link, to reduce journey times and improve reliability to the airport.

Recommendation

To improve surface access by bus/coach to Heathrow Airport in the Heathrow Expansion scenario, SCC should:

Alternative route

on proposed rail

alignment

Stanwell Moor

Road

Bus priority


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Investigate with operators the feasibility of a package of additional Express Bus services to cater for the additional demand generated by Heathrow Expansion;

Further develop the Airport Hub and Spoke concept to develop mixed use hubs to provide additional services for passengers and to provide revenue generation opportunities for SCC.

6.3.2 Rail

6.3.2.1 Heathrow Airport

Under the Heathrow Expansion scenario, the increased demand to the airport is likely to require additional capacity for passengers from Surrey. A southern rail access to Heathrow is an option for providing this capacity.

A rail link between Staines and Heathrow was the basis for the Airtrack scheme and is the basis for the AirTrack Lite scheme. It has been studied and is considered to be feasible, although there are potentially significant engineering issues.

A good use of this rail link is to connect Crossrail services to Staines from Heathrow. Crossrail services are already planned to run to Heathrow Central and Terminal 4. This option would divert them through Terminal 5 to a terminus at Staines. The advantage of this scheme is not only the new direct link to Heathrow from Surrey, but the journey alternatives this brings to Surrey, which would divert traffic away from the heavily congested station at London Waterloo. For example, passengers on the Windsor Lines travelling to central London could change at Staines to take Crossrail services direct to Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Canary Wharf and Stratford. There may also be opportunities to further recast the timetable south of Staines to utilise the connections towards Weybridge and interchange with the South West Main Line services.

This scheme also avoids the level crossing issues of the AirTrack schemes.

In the longer term, there could be potential to extend Crossrail services through Staines to stations on the Windsor Lines or via Chertsey to Weybridge or Woking, as and when timetable changes and capacity enhancements on the South West Main Line permit. This is illustrated in Figure 27.


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Figure 27: Crossrail Extension to Staines

An additional option under this scenario is to provide a higher speed rail link (circa 125mph) broadly paralleling the M25 into Surrey from Heathrow, possibly extending to Gatwick and into Kent.

Under a Heathrow Expansion scenario, Heathrow Airport could be linked to the High Speed 2 line between London and Birmingham with a newly constructed spur

6 in the very long term (i.e. 2033 onwards). This option involves extending

this spur south into Surrey, possibly in a tunnel, and probably along the M25 corridor. At least one intermediate station could give Surrey residents access to the new line. This could take the form of an interchange station on the South West Main Line at or near Woking, for example.

This line could be extended to Gatwick Airport, thus providing a connection between the two airports as well as access from Surrey, and many locations beyond. It could also run beyond Gatwick to link back with the High Speed 1 line at Ashford, thus providing an orbital high speed route around London.

This high speed line could provide fast, frequent, reliable and direct rail services between Surrey and both Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as a possible direct link to the North, and possibly the continent via High Speed 1. This concept is illustrated in Figure 28.

6 In January 2013 the Government announced that it has paused work on the HS2 Heathrow spur

until after the Airports (Davies) Commission has reported and there has been an opportunity to

consider the Commission’s recommendations. This scheme would only be possible if the spur

goes ahead.


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Figure 28: New Rail Link through Surrey

Recommendation

To improve surface access by rail to Heathrow Airport in the Heathrow Expansion scenario, SCC should:

Engage with stakeholders to develop a southern rail access to Heathrow Airport that could facilitate the extension of Crossrail services into Surrey; SCC should push hard for this option under a Heathrow Expansion scenario, with an interim solution of timetable changes to permit interchanges onto the SWML and a longer term goal of services running into Surrey.

Develop a concept for extending the HS2 Spur to Heathrow Airport into Surrey, potentially linking through to Gatwick Airport and beyond.

6.4 Gatwick Expansion Scenario

Under a Gatwick Airport Expansion scenario, there will be additional travel demand to Gatwick Airport that would make a major upgrade of the North Downs Line (NDL) a potential option to improve surface access to the airport.

Improvements to the line might include:

Station upgrades and improvements to facilities to improve services for air passengers, such as airport information at stations and improved waiting areas;

Rolling stock upgrade and improvement, to include improved airport information for rail passengers and additional luggage storage.

This option could also include electrification of the NDL between Reigate and Guildford, and Ash and Wokingham. Electrification of the track provides greater rolling stock flexibility and improved integration with the rest of the network. It also enables faster operating speeds for existing services which would decrease journey times and improve the attractiveness of the line. Electrification of the line could also allow for current Southern and South Western electric services to extend to the North Downs Line, thus improving connectivity with the wider rail network. For example the existing London Bridge to Reigate service could be extended.


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Guildford

Gatwick

East West Rail (proposed)

North Downs Line

London

Reading

Didcot Parkway

Oxford

Bicester

Milton Keynes

Bedford

These improvements could stimulate the development of improvements around Redhill to better facilitate services to Gatwick.

The service improvements could be packaged with station and rolling stock upgrades, with strong marketing of the improved NDL to provide a step change in service provision for Surrey air passengers and airport employees.

An additional feature of this option could be the linkage with the proposed East-West Rail at Reading, a scheme due to be implemented in the medium term which will see orbital rail services running from Reading to Bedford via Oxford (in the initial western section, and beyond in the long term). An upgraded NDL would extend this orbital service through the new eastern underpass at Reading Station around the south-western quadrant of London via Guildford, Dorking and Redhill to Gatwick, with a longer term potential to expand through Tandridge District into Kent, as shown in the sketch Figure 29. The extension into Kent is already subject to development and business case work by Kent County Council.

Figure 29: North Downs Line and East West Rail

Recommendation

To improve surface access by rail to Gatwick Airport in the Gatwick Expansion scenario, SCC should:

Engage with the rail industry to develop a major upgrade of the North Downs Line to include station upgrades and rolling stock improvements. This scheme could include electrification of the line and extension of services beyond Reading to the west and into Kent to the east.

6.5 New Airport Development Scenario

Options related to the New Airport Development scenario are not taken forward in the surface access strategy – see section 5.2.3 for further details.


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If the Airports Commission concludes that a Thames Estuary airport is a preferred option, when it reports in 2015, the Surrey surface access strategy should be reviewed and updated to consider surface access options to the new airport.

6.6 Marketing and Awareness

For the successful implementation of the surface access options, apart from transport policy and infrastructure interventions which were discussed in the previous sections, strong promotion and marketing of options is also required.

A good passenger information strategy helps to ease the access to the public transport network. The information could be provided through marketing campaigns, technology including smart phone apps, social media campaigns and partnership initiatives.

Travel awareness campaigns could use a wide range of media aimed at improving general public knowledge of the public transport services available to and from the airports. The tools that could be used include posters and leaflets displayed at and around airports or at Surrey business centres, advertising on press, local radio, websites such as Surrey Travelsmart, high profile events, and provision of factual information on websites or at local travel centres.

Smart phone apps should be developed to provide real-time information for passengers before and during travelling to enable them to plan door-to-door journeys.

Partnership between government authorities and public transport operators is vital to provide better accessibility to public transport for all air passengers and airport employees. To improve public transport services to the airports, workable partnership arrangements should be promoted between different actors/partners.

Recommendation

To improve surface access to the airports SCC should develop marketing and awareness campaigns and initiatives to support each option that is implemented in the surface access strategy.


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7 Surface Access to Airports Action Plan

This chapter presents the recommended actions for Surrey County Council, its partners, and other stakeholders in the short, medium, long term to deliver the surface access to airports strategy described in the previous chapter.

The top priority actions are identified to enable the effort and resources to be focused on the most important issues.

The Action Plan is split into two tables:

Short-medium term (2013-2019); and

Long term (2019 onwards).

The Action Plan tables are structured as follows:

‘Scenario’ is the scenario to which the option applies;

‘Option’ is the option being recommended;

‘Action’ is the action required by Surrey County Council;

‘Main Stakeholders’ refers to the parties with whom Surrey County Council and its partners should work to deliver the strategy. These are:

LHR – London Heathrow Airport;

LGW – London Gatwick Airport;

NR – Network Rail;

TOC – the relevant Train Operating Company;

BOC – the relevant Bus/Coach Operating Company;

BD – Boroughs and Districts, both within Surrey and possibly in neighbouring counties;

Other – depending on the option, may refer to, for example, private sector scheme promoters.

Within each table, the actions are grouped by options; they are not in priority order within each table.


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7.1 Short-Medium Term Action Plan

The Short-Medium Term Action Plan is shown in Table 11. The Short-Medium Term refers to the period 2013-2019. These actions cover all modes of transport for both airports for the Base (Committed) Scenario.

Table 11: Short-Medium Term Action Plan

Scenario Option Action Main Stakeholders

LH

R

LG

W

NR

TO

C

BO

C

BD

Oth

.

Base Car / taxi Support schemes which reduce car/taxi trips to/from the airports, particularly kiss and fly trips and return taxi trips.

X X

Base Bus / coach

Fill gaps in the bus network with additional Express Bus Services. Initial locations for Heathrow are identified as Weybridge and Epsom.

X X X

Base Bus / coach

Develop an Airport Hub and Spoke Bus Service concept. Initial hub locations for Heathrow are identified as Camberley, Woking, Guildford, and Walton-on-Thames. A pilot scheme could be carried out to develop a Hub and Spoke Bus Service from Guildford to Heathrow Airport.

X X X X

Base Bus / coach

Develop a Demand Responsive Bus Network to serve dispersed or low levels of airport demand. Initial operating zones are identified as Camberley, Woking, Guildford, Weybridge, Epsom and Reigate.

X X X X

Base Rail Engage with the rail industry to ensure that the optimum train service pattern to Gatwick on the North Downs Line is implemented after the opening of the new platform at Redhill.

X X X

Base Rail Engage with the rail industry on lengthening of trains on the North Downs Line to provide additional capacity for air passengers.

X X X

Base Marketing Develop marketing and awareness campaigns and initiatives to support each option that is implemented in the surface access strategy.

X X X X X X X


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7.2 Long Term Action Plan

The Long Term Action Plan is shown in Table 12. The Long Term refers to the period from 2019 onwards (ie the start of the airports regulatory period Q7 and the rail industry Control Period 6). These actions cover all modes of transport for both airports for the Heathrow and Gatwick Expansion Scenarios.

Table 12: Long Term Action Plan

Scenario Option Action Main Stakeholders

LH

R

LG

W

NR

TO

C

BO

C

BD

Oth

.

Heathrow Expansion

Bus / coach

Introduce a package of additional Express Bus services to cater for the additional demand generated by Heathrow Expansion.

X X X X

Heathrow Expansion

Bus / coach

Further develop the Airport Hub and Spoke concept to develop mixed use hubs to provide additional services for passengers and to provide revenue generation opportunities for SCC.

X X X X

Heathrow Expansion

Rail Engage with stakeholders to develop a southern rail access to Heathrow Airport that could facilitate the extension of Crossrail services into Surrey.

X X X X

Heathrow Expansion

Rail Develop a concept for extending the HS2 Spur to Heathrow Airport into Surrey, potentially linking through to Gatwick Airport and beyond.

X X X X X

Gatwick Expansion

Rail Engage with the rail industry to develop a major upgrade of the North Downs Line to include station upgrades and rolling stock improvements. This scheme could include electrification of the line and extension of services beyond Reading to the west and into Kent to the east.

X X X X

Heathrow & Gatwick Expansion

Marketing Develop marketing and awareness campaigns and initiatives to support each option that is implemented in the surface access strategy.

X X X X X X X

7.3 Surface Access to Airports Strategy Priorities

There are a number of actions identified above covering many different options. There is a risk of confusion over priorities and dilution of resources across too many activities, particularly if human resources to lead and develop options are limited.


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The priority actions should be those which relate to those options which are closely aligned with the Surrey surface to airports development objectives and which have the potential to have a major impact on surface access to airports from Surrey, in the short-medium or long term.

These priority options are considered to be:

Developing bus and coach surface access solutions with additional Express Bus services to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, with the development of a Hub and Spoke Network to provide the framework for additional services. A network of demand-responsive services should be developed to complement the additional services;

Engaging with the rail industry to ensure that medium term improvements to the North Downs Rail Line (new platform at Redhill and peak train lengthening) are optimised for surface access to Gatwick Airport;

Promoting a future direct rail access solution to Heathrow Airport from Surrey. This can be developed incrementally, for example by extending Crossrail services to Staines initially, then later extending services further into Surrey;

Promoting surface access by public transport through strong marketing and awareness campaigns.

In 2015, when the Airports Commission reports its recommendations, SCC should immediately engage with stakeholders on the long term options for the relevant expansion scenario, to ensure that infrastructure and services are in place to accommodate the increased demand at the expanded airport.

7.4 Implementing the Strategy

Once the Surface Access to Airports Strategy is approved and adopted by Surrey County Council, it should be implemented quickly to maintain the momentum gained during the development stage of the strategy. Early engagement and actions should include:

Detailed business case analysis of the bus and coach options to determine which type of service should serve the locations identified in this study. SCC should work with bus operators and promoters of services, such as Simply Connect, as well as local businesses to ensure industry involvement and to develop commercially viable services;

Engagement with the DfT, Network Rail, First Great Western and Gatwick Airport Limited on potential short-medium term improvements to the North Downs Line to ensure these are included in the next franchise specification from July 2016. It would be beneficial to include other stakeholders from Berkshire, West Sussex and Kent;

Promotion and marketing of existing and new surface access options by SCC, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, such as the airports and transport operators.