Tfl should recognise the jobs, apprenticeships & connectivity Heathrow expansion offers
Heathrow's Director External Relations, Nigel Milton
| Heathrow
The Director External Relations at Heathrow Nigel Milton responds to TfL on the costs of upgrading transport links to Heathrow if the expansion goes ahead there.
The legacy of the London Mayor’s politicking via TFL is on full display again this week, with several newspapers reporting there is a multi-billion pound “black hole” of costs relating to transport connections to an expanded Heathrow .
Transport for London’s cost estimates on connections to an expanded Heathrow, are not only wrong, they are also not new - they were actually revealed over five months ago at an Environmental Audit Committee hearing.
The cost estimates TFL have calculated with regards to Heathrow are much higher than the figure the independent experts of the Airports Commission proposed, following a three year, £20 million study - the most in-depth ever into this issue. And that is because, through their own admission, TFL’s final figure is a shopping list of projects that would be required regardless of Heathrow expansion.
In reality, public funding of around £1 billion only would be needed for road and rail upgrades, as has happened at other airports. With Heathrow expansion delivering £211bn additional growth for the British economy, that represents fantastic value for money for the UK. Heathrow itself would also invest a further £1 billion on airport rail infrastructure, the local road network and upgrades to the M25.
We are not only following existing Government policy, we are doing our share to ensure passengers and our airport colleagues get out of their cars, and into sustainable modes of transportation. Over the years, Heathrow has invested £1 billion in projects like Heathrow Express and the Piccadilly extension to Terminal 5 to make our airport the best connected in the UK. We have successfully grown the share of passengers taking public transport, so that even as passengers have doubled the number of airport-related vehicles on local roads has remained broadly static.
Heathrow has vast experience in working with Government partners to deliver major infrastructure projects like Terminal 2 and Terminal 5 on time and on budget. Our plans for expansion build on our experience and solid record of delivery. Transport for London would serve the capital best by standing behind Heathrow and the opportunities expansion can bring - 180,000 jobs, 10,000 apprenticeships and more connections to emerging markets and trade destinations.
