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A long-running campaign to open up a freight railway in West London for passenger use is likely to go ahead, although the opening date is being pushed back until the early 2030s.
Once built, the West London Orbital (WLO) could link Hounslow to Old Oak Common via Neasden and then head to either Brent Cross West and/or West Hampstead. The plans have been under development since 2017, but as always, how to pay for the railway upgrade is the key issue.
Last year, Transport for London (TfL) was awarded funding to cover the costs of feasibility studies into the line, and the Mayor of London’s office says that work on those studies is “nearing completion”, and that a “viable West London Orbital service is expected to be achievable”
The plan is to convert a little-used freight railway line that runs from just north of Cricklewood on the Thameslink line and loops around West London, ever so slightly just missing aligning with a number of stations on existing lines until it joins up with the London Overground at Acton. Then the line could take over some existing mainline tracks down towards Hounslow.
It would likely include new junctions at Neasden, Harlesden and new stations at Old Oak Common, and Lionel Road next to Brentford Community Stadium, on the site of the disused Kew station that closed in 1862.
(An argument could be made for merging Lionel Road and Kew Bridge station on a nearby triangle of land)
A response from the Mayor’s office to a question from Elly Baker AM confirmed that a “contract for engineering design support is expected to be awarded shortly, following a competitive procurement process”
The response added that the work done by the local councils and Network Rail, “alongside work undertaken by Transport for London colleagues, will lead to an updated business case for the scheme and confirmation of the stations to be served, train frequency and traction power, and will allow other strategic decisions to be made early next year.”
Work is also continuing in parallel on funding and finance options for the further development and delivery of the scheme.
A report commissioned by Hammersmith and Fulham council suggests that nearly 16,000 additional homes would be built along the line, generating just under £2.2 billion in additional value, mainly from housing near the stations.
They also expect wider economic benefits caused by the new railway to be in the region of £16 million a year.
The total capital cost for the railway was calculated as £273 million in 2017/18 prices (actually £152m plus 80% contingency for unexpected problems), with annual running costs of £26 million, including the train leases.
Last year, TfL confirmed that the economic case is fairly strong, and the benefit/cost ratio of between 1.6-2.3 would be positive.
They need to complete the studies to form a cast-iron case for the project, and then it’s a case of securing the funding for the infrastructure upgrades.
Some funding may be possible via the government’s existing housing infrastructure fund, which supports transport upgrades if they are needed to support additional housing construction. The councils along the route are also able to borrow to finance transport upgrades, using future tax income to pay back the debt. That’s how the Northern line extension was partially funded by the local councils, so it’s a proven model.
Infrastructure upgrades aside, TfL would likely need additional trains as well to support the service.
If all the cards fall into place, then in maybe a decade’s time, it will be possible to catch a passenger train over a railway line that last saw regular passenger services over a century ago.
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