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RAIL ELECTRIFICATON GOOD FOR HEATHROW ACCESS

THE PLANNED £1 BILLION electrification of the UK's First Great Western rail line between London and Swansea could have spin-off benefits for travellers from Wales and the west of England heading for Heathrow.

In its 32-page report into the proposed electrification of the London-Swansea and Manchester- Liverpool lines, the Department for Transport (DfT) says its scheme would allow a direct rail link - as opposed to the present bus services - into Heathrow from Reading, Maidenhead and Slough. Local authorities in the Thames Valley have already identified the need for a rail link, but were unable to push the scheme forward because the main line diesel trains cannot use the track which runs under the airport.

The DfT isn't committing to any such project, however. The report simply says: "We look forward to the local authorities and BAA taking this [opportunity] into account in their further assessments of airport surface access requirements."

The First Great Western electrification could provide a welcome boost for domestic airlines. The project will not be completed at least until 2017, and coincides with the £425 million redevelopment of Reading station. Although the DfT says the work will be undertaken in eight-hour overnight shifts, rail travellers will already be steeling themselves for disruption.

Undeterred, the DfT is now "looking intensively at the costs and benefits of electrifying the Midland main line between London and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, as well as the routes between Manchester and Preston, and Liverpool and Preston".