Labour MP for Feltham and Heston Seema Malhotra has called for a new rail link between Feltham and Heathrow, directly linking the Airport with Waterloo and the South West.

She said: “It is scandalous that the world’s busiest airport is not connected to south London and the whole of the south west it serves for want of a few kilometres of track linking Heathrow to Waterloo, intermediate stations in Hounslow, and the rest of the South East.”

The West London MP, speaking in an adjournment debate at the House of Commons, has backed a proposal by Hounslow Council which could significantly enhance local public transport and open the potential for sustainable development and much needed housing.  Malhotra is calling for Hounslow Council’s proposal to be considered in the DfT’s Southern Rail Access project alongside previously proposed options.

Malhotra has also criticised the Department for Transport for not sufficiently engaging with local councils when it developed options last year for a new link to the Airport from the south.

She says. “When Network Rail was undertaking its research, local stakeholders were deliberately not engaged in relation to the options being considered by them.

The reasons for this were never very clear, however it is my personal view that even within any constraints of the Davies Commission, more could have been done to include local voice. I am concerned that therefore the process that was undertaken did not make the best use of public money spent. This report did not achieve as much as it could have done had it engaged with local leaders in a more collaborative manner.”

The Hansard record of the debate can be found here.