Windsor Link Railway, Berkshire

The Windsor Link Railway is a proposed new railway in Windsor, Berkshire, connecting the Great Western and South West Trains franchise areas and potentially linking both to London Heathrow Airport.

The project is promoted by Windsor Link Railway Limited, led by businessman George Bathurst. The promoter's aim is for the railway to be a Big Society entirely privately initiated and financed. The cost is estimated as £200 million for the Staines to Slough section of the railway only, excluding the proposed work on roads and buildings.

The focus is on a short tunnel through central Windsor itself and a proof-of-concept on this is currently being supported by a major rail infrastructure company.

In June 2013 the company announced that Network Rail had given the green light to go ahead to the next phase of development and seek private investment.

Route
Phase 1 of the scheme would run from Slough to Staines, via Chalvey, Windsor, Datchet, Wraysbury and Sunnymeads.

A new all-in-one station in the Windsor Goswells would replace the existing two nearby stations (Riverside and Central).

Phase 2 of the project involves linking to Heathrow. As the Heathrow Airtrack scheme has been dropped by BAA, the proponents say a much cheaper method of connecting Heathrow to the north west, west and south would be via a bridge over the M25. This would also have benefits for the proposed intermodal freight depot at Colnbrook, Berkshire.

Eventually it is hoped that the improvement would include provision to Bedford via Bletchley, Aylesbury, High Wycombe from Maidenhead by reopening the link from Bourne End Station. Other direct services to Heathrow would be enabled from Oxford via the Oxford to Bicester Line, developed by Chiltern Rail, and from Reading.

To the south, a new service from Basingstoke would go to Heathrow and Slough via Frimley (where there would be a re-opened chord), Camberley, Ascot and Virginia Water. This would give residents a direct connection to Heathrow. By contrast only enabling Heathrow to be accessed from London Paddington station or via the Piccadilly Line would not allow for rail competition and would not keep down passenger journey times.

Background
The project is promoted by the Windsor Link Railway Limited, led by businessman George Bathurst. When initially proposed, one resident described the proposal as a "fantasy". Some local politicians have supported the proposal: Councillor Mohammed Rasib, for Chalvey ward and leader of the opposition Conservative group, expressed strong support. Fiona Mactaggart (Member of Parliament for Slough, 1997– ) said, "Any proposal to bring better rail links is welcomed, although this plan looks a long way from being realised."

More recently, Transport Minister Theresa Villiers said, “The Government is keen to explore innovative ways of funding proposals for new train services and rail infrastructure which meet transport needs and deliver value for money.

“Ministers welcome the proposals for the Windsor Link Railway and look forward to further work on the business case to confirm whether the scheme is viable.”

The first section of line, between Staines and Slough, is estimated to cost around £200 million to build. According to the Department for Transport, the scheme would be approved, assuming it meets the appropriate criteria, via the Transport and Works Act.