§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will388W take a decision on whether there should be a London airports rail franchise; when it is planned that London Heathrow airport will have direct rail connections to (a) Waterloo and (b) St. Pancras stations; and what the estimated cost is of the necessary work to complete these works. [157465]
§ Mr. HillThe Strategic Rail Authority is currently investigating the possibility of a London airports franchise but an early decision as to whether or not to proceed is not expected. An airport service to St. Pancras will be dependent upon completion of CTRL Stage 2 and upon appropriate platform capacity being made available at the new St. Pancras station. A direct connection to Waterloo is a conceptual scheme currently being developed by BAA and Railtrack.