Did you know that a high speed train running between Heathrow and Gatwick almost became a thing back in 2018? The service would have offered a smooth 15-minute journey between each airport and more convenient travel to both from the rest of the UK. Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be – this is the story of HS4Air.
HS4Air was a £10 billion plan from the minds at engineering consultancy, Expedition Engineering. The idea was to link the existing High Speed 1 to the future High Speed 2 (HS2) with an 87-mile line around southwest London. It would have run parallel to the M25 motorway with stations at Heathrow and Gatwick.
If the line came to fruition, planners believed it would have taken pressure off the capital’s transport network and allowed easier travel to each airport from Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds (this was before the northern legs of HS2 were scrapped).
But HS4Air never made it past the planning stage. The government rejected the idea on the grounds that it wasn’t financially viable and concerns that it would be opposed by local communities. Nothing else has come of the proposals since then. RIP.
More from travel: All the upgrades and new services coming to London’s transport network in 2025
Plus: Why will Euston’s new HS2 station only have six platforms?
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