Heathrow is better located for passengers, business and jobs than a new hub airport at Stansted or in the Thames Estuary according to new analysis published today.

The new report, entitled “Best placed for Britain“, says that expanding Heathrow is the quickest way for Britain to get ahead in the global race, connecting the UK to growing markets around the world faster and at less cost to the taxpayer than any other hub option. The report has been compiled by Heathrow Airport with architectural and planning consultants AECOM and Quod, and was commissioned as part of new evidence to present to the Airports Commission under Sir Howard Davies.

The report shows that compared to a new hub Heathrow is:

Best for passengers. Building a new hub airport to the east of London would increase travel times for 90% of hub passengers. Even if a new hub airport came with a major investment in new transport infrastructure, Heathrow would still have 4 million more people within 60 minutes travel time. The economic cost of longer journeys to a new hub could be £26bn net present value – the equivalent to cancelling out all the benefits of reduced journey time delivered by High Speed 2.
Best for business and the economy. The area around Heathrow is home to some of the world’s most highly productive business clusters in industries like IT and pharmaceuticals. In total 202 of the UK’s top 300 company HQs are in close proximity to Heathrow. The area has 60% more international businesses, twice as many US businesses, and three and a half times as many Japanese businesses than the national average.

Best for local jobs. The 76,600 people directly employed at Heathrow would face re-location or redundancy if Heathrow was replaced by a new airport. Direct job losses would be far greater than those that occurred when the largest single redundancy in the UK took place at Shotton Steel in 1985 and MG Rover closed its factory at Longbridge in 2005 (both 6,500 jobs), or the worst year of pit closures in the UK, 1984 (30,000 jobs).

Best for speed of delivery. Additional capacity at Heathrow could be delivered around 7 years more quickly than any new hub airport could be built. Any delay is critical, as the UK is losing some £14bn a year in trade and export earnings due to constraints in aviation hub capacity. Each additional year of delay would see the UK fall further behind European hub competitors in the global race for growth and jobs.

Best for taxpayers. Adding capacity at Heathrow will cost the taxpayer much less than building a new hub airport. The report calculates for the first time that £20-£25bn of sunk rail infrastructure cost has been committed around Heathrow since the 1970s. Any new hub would need to build vast new infrastructure from scratch using public money. Mayor of London Boris Johnson estimates that a new hub airport would cost in the region of £70-80 billion of which £25 billion would require public subsidy.

Colin Matthews, CEO of Heathrow, said: “Britain already has one of the world’s most successful international hub airports in Heathrow. Expanding Heathrow will put Britain ahead in the global race, connecting UK business to growth more quickly and at less cost to the taxpayer than any other option for new capacity. Heathrow is better located for passengers, business and jobs. Why build from scratch at a new hub when we can build on the strength that already exists around Heathrow today?”

- New and innovative technology offered following successful trial

- Signs can be quickly and easily self-installed

- Information tailored to meet local needs

Transport for London has today launched a new Countdown Digital Sign service – providing a new way to deliver tailored live bus arrival information cheaply and effectively to a range of public locations, such as hospital waiting rooms, schools or shopping centre foyers.

The introduction of the Digital Sign service follows a successful trial in four locations which included Oaks Park High School in Newbury Park, Loxford School of Science and Technology in Ilford, Redbridge College in Romford and Gracefields Gardens Health and Social Care Centre in Streatham.  The trial demonstrated the signs worked well delivering clear, easily accessible information about local bus services, utilising existing IT and display equipment in public locations.

The technology can be self-installed using existing equipment – so it can be delivered at minimal cost to all.  The business or organisation is provided with a tailored web link via a dedicated URL* – that will give information for the bus stop or stops in the immediate vicinity. An electronic map detailing the local area is also displayed, which is especially useful for passengers unfamiliar with the location.

Businesses or organisations interested in learning more about the service should email.

The introduction of the Digital Signs service compliments the extremely popular ‘Countdown’ real time bus information service which was upgraded and relaunched in October 2011.  The service provides live bus arrival information via dot matrix signs at bus stops, the web, smart phones and SMS, and informs around 13 per cent of all bus journeys every day.  These numbers are growing daily, as more passengers appreciate the added convenience the service offers when getting around London.

Simon Reed, Head of Technical Services Group at London Buses, said: ”We hope the new Digital Sign service will help passengers make the most of London’s extensive bus service.  The service makes use of existing infrastructure that is already in place in many public spaces and can be delivered cheaply and quickly.  It will help our passengers’ access real time bus information away from their local stop which is especially helpful for those who may not have access to the Internet or a smart phone.”

TfL’s ongoing digital commitment to supply API data feeds to app developers has also seen a large rise in the number smart phone applications.  With over 30 of these apps already available, which are in addition to TfL’s free mobile site. Live bus information is always available at passengers’ fingertips 24 hours a day.

The river crossings consultation report shows there is continued support for a new road tunnel between Silvertown and the Greenwich Peninsula and a new river crossing at Gallions Reach

·         The report is available online on the website

Transport for London (TfL) has today published the findings of its river crossings consultation. In October 2012 TfL launched the second phase of a public consultation on a proposed package of new river crossings between east and south east London – this closed on 1 February 2013 and the findings are now available in a report.

In total over 10,000 responses were received from the two consultations. More than 90 per cent of people from the initial consultation agreed there is a need for more river crossings in east and south east London. The scale of demand to cross the eastern section of the River Thames can be seen every day, and this will only continue to increase with the population growth expected in this area.

The findings in the report show there is a high level of support for the option of a new road tunnel, between Silvertown and the Greenwich Peninsula, with 76 per cent of respondents supporting it. This option could be delivered by 2021 if it is taken forward. Whilst a new ferry service at Gallions Reach which could be delivered by 2017 is supported by 51 per cent of respondents there is a higher level of support for a fixed link at Gallions Reach with 71 per cent of respondents preferring this option – even though it could not be delivered until after 2021. A third of those that took part support user charging as a way to fund river crossings.

TfL is now considering the findings in the report. If a decision is taken to progress any of the proposed options further, more detailed consultations would take place.

TfL’s Managing Director of Planning, Michele Dix said: ”We have delivered very significant public transport improvements providing better connections across the Thames in south and south east London, however with London’s population potentially reaching 10 million by 2031, we recognise the importance that will be placed on transporting goods and services throughout east and south east London.

“The proposed additional road infrastructure is vital. Apart from the opening of the QEII Bridge at Dartford there has been no increase in the capacity of the highway network across the river in east London for nearly 50 years. We will review the river crossings consultation report findings to decide what the next steps will be. There will be further more detailed consultations if any of the proposals are taken forward.”

The crossings in the area are under significant strain, with delays at the Blackwall Tunnel averaging 20 minutes per vehicle during the morning peak. Currently there are only a few routes for vehicles to choose from and some of those create indirect journeys across the river costing businesses money and time and discouraging investment. Height restrictions at the Blackwall Tunnel further reduce the options available to vehicles. Both the Blackwall Tunnel and Woolwich Ferry are operating under considerable stress and the new river crossings proposed would address these problems.

The consultation report and more information on TfL’s proposed river crossings package are available here

• Improvement works to Court Street set to start this week to pave the way for  the creation of a temporary new station entrance
• Crossrail’s most architecturally ambitious new station begins to take shape

Work to transform Whitechapel station for new Crossrail services is making good progress as the project moves into an important stage of construction, including the start of work on local street improvements.

The new Whitechapel station plans are among the most architecturally ambitious on the Crossrail project. Key design elements include preserving the existing heritage station entrance with a more spacious forecourt area; a new ticket hall and larger concourse built above the London Overground tracks, stretching from the station entrance on Whitechapel Road to Durward Street; a new pedestrian walkway providing a safe route for local residents from Durward Street on to Whitechapel Road; and a more integrated station layout allowing easy, step-free interchanges between Crossrail, London Underground (Hammersmith & City and District lines) and London Overground.

Early next year, the existing station entrance on Whitechapel Road will be temporarily closed to allow improvement works to take place. A new temporary station entrance will be created on Durward Street, accessible from Whitechapel Road via Court Street and Fulbourne Street.

Before the temporary station entrance opens early next year, Crossrail is now starting work on a range of improvements along Court Street between May 2013 and early 2014 to ensure it provides a safe and accessible route for local residents and passengers.

The improvements will include new improved surfacing with the current roadway raised to create a level surface for pedestrians to use, and better lighting throughout.

The bridge section of Court Street will be closed towards the end of next week to allow the first phase of works to take place. The southern section of Court Street will initially remain open but will then be closed later this year to allow the improvement works to continue. Diversions will be in place for local residents via Fulbourne Street and on to Whitechapel Road whilst these works are underway.

Along with the improvement works on Court Street, the wider construction of the new Whitechapel station remains firmly on track. Work is continuing across a number of sites in the local area and progress made to-date and future construction activity includes:

• Tunnelling work taking place around 32 metres below ground to create around 1km of new station platforms and cross passages for Crossrail services
• Tunnelling work is well underway to create 355 metres of cross passages and 640 metres of twin platform tunnels for the new station – each platform tunnel is 9 metres in diameter and will accommodate the new 250 metre long platforms
• Excavation works well underway to create a 35 metre deep shaft near Durward Street – the Durward Street shaft will sit at the north-west end of the new station concourse and will form the main access route to the Crossrail platforms
• Works underway to create a 30 metre wide, 35 metre deep shaft close to Cambridge Heath Road – the shaft will be located at the eastern end of the new Crossrail platforms and used for tunnel ventilation and emergency access once Crossrail services start operating. Shaft excavations have already reached a depth of 22 metres
• A range of utility works are nearing completion in the local area to check the condition of existing gas and water pipes and other utilities ahead of Crossrail’s tunnelling machines passing through the Whitechapel area later this year

The construction of the new Whitechapel station is a challenging project with work taking place in multiple sites within a confined area – station improvements are being delivered within the constraints of the existing London Underground and London Overground lines as well as a number of residential buildings, local businesses and roads.

Bill Tucker, Crossrail Area Director Central said: “Whitechapel is one of Crossrail’s most ambitious new stations but also one of our most challenging, with a range of improvements being delivered in a tightly constrained area. We are working hard to minimise disruption in the local area so we would like to thank local residents and businesses for their patience while we carry out these essential works. Construction is making good progress and we are on track to deliver a world-class new station and improved transport links for Whitechapel.”

When Crossrail opens in 2018, up to 24 Crossrail trains per hour will operate in each direction between Paddington and Whitechapel during peak times, in addition to the existing London Underground and London Overground services. The new Crossrail services will help ease overcrowding on existing rail services and will support economic growth in the surrounding area, as Whitechapel becomes an important interchange on the Crossrail route. Journey times from Whitechapel to Heathrow Airport will be only 39 minutes, whilst Whitechapel toCanary Wharf will be reduced to just 3 minutes.

New figures from the start of 2013 show that London Underground (LU) customers continue to see solid reliability performance on the Tube as the network remains on track to record its most reliable year on record

The figures, covering periods 11 and 12 of 2012/13 (6 January to 3 February and 3 February to 2 March), show that customer demand continues to rise – in total there were 187m journeys made during the two four-week periods, with LU operating 97.5 per cent of scheduled train services.

The new Victoria line timetable, introducing a 33 trains per hour service to the line following the successful upgrade of track, signalling and train fleet, was also introduced during period 11, giving customers the highest frequency service anywhere in the UK.

Customer satisfaction, measured quarterly through independent surveys of LU customers, stands at a record high of 84. Reliability of services is at record levels, and is poised to smash last year’s best ever performance.

The continuing trend of long-term improvement follows the success of the London Underground Reliability Programme.  London Underground continues to implement this Programme to meet the Mayor’s commitment of reducing delays by a further 30 per cent by 2015.

Mike Brown, Managing Director of London Underground and Rail, said: ”Building reliability into our services is at the core of everything we are doing, and customers are seeing this in improved journeys. But we cannot be complacent – we must continue to invest to keep pace with the relentless demand placed on the Tube, which enables the capital to function as the engine room of the UK economy.”

The performance figures for periods 11 and 12 can be viewed here.