Heathrow Junction railway station

Heathrow Junction was a short-lived railway station built to serve London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom.

Heathrow Junction
The station in 1998
LocationLondon Heathrow Airport
Local authorityLondon Borough of Hillingdon
OwnerHeathrow Express
Number of platforms1
Key dates
19 January 1998 (1998-01-19)Opened
22 June 1998 (1998-06-22)Closed
Replaced byHeathrow Terminals 2 & 3
Other information
 London transport portal

History

Between January and June 1998, the Heathrow Express shuttle service was built to connect Paddington station to Heathrow Airport. A new spur was built from the existing Great Western Main Line to the airport, running mostly in tunnel.[1] To save costs, the tunnel was built using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). Unfortunately, the construction was not a success, and in 1994 parts of the not-yet-opened tunnels near the airport collapsed.[2]

The collapse not only delayed the finishing of the railway tunnel beneath the airport but caused the suspension of Piccadilly line services to the airport. With no rail service, a decision was made to open a temporary surface-level station at the edge of the airport whilst construction continued. The line to the new station followed the route of a long-disused canal known as "Broad's Dock".[3] Heathrow Junction station was situated in Stockley Park, slightly to the north of the airport. Class 332 trains (branded as "Heathrow Fast Train") carried passengers from Paddington to Heathrow Junction (a journey of 12 minutes), and a fleet of shuttle buses carried the passengers the remaining distance to the airport.[4]

On 23 June 1998 Heathrow Express service commenced to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station and Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station. Trains no longer called at Heathrow Junction, and within ten days the track leading to the station had been dismantled.[1]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Disused railways
Paddington   Heathrow Express   Terminus

References
  1. Connor, J.E. (2000). GWR Disused Stations in Greater London. Colchester: Connor & Butler. p. 68. ISBN 0-947699-31-7.
  2. Barakat, Dr M. "Ground Movement & Structures Response Due to Tunnelling". Imperial College London Faculty of Engineering. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  3. Carr, Bob (May 1998). "Heathrow Junction to Close". Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  4. "New Heathrow Service From Central London". New York Times. 22 February 1998. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.


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