§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further rail links his Department estimates will be built to Heathrow airport; and what assessment he has made of the impact that rail privatisation will have on(a) delaying or (b) expediting plans. [49]
§ Mr. WattsThe Heathrow Express rail link, a joint venture between BAA, British Rail and Railtrack, is under construction. Heathrow Express is due to start services in 1998 and will operate a service every quarter of an hour with a journey time from Paddington to Heathrow of 16 minutes.
Rail access to Heathrow airport is being considered within the London airports surface access study, which was set up in April by my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State and is examining the opportunities for economically beneficial improvements in access to and between London's main airports.
Rail privatisation should encourage rather than delay investment in infrastructure. Privatisation should allow greater use of private sector skills in encouraging investment and will also allow greater access to private sector finance. Railtrack's investment programme will be commercially driven, and will therefore be more directly responsive to the demands of its customers. Both operators and passengers will benefit because Railtrack will have incentives to use investment to increase efficiency.