West London Orbital Rail Project

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[Ruth Cadbury]

I absolutely do, but from a West London Alliance perspective, Barnet is in west London, so when I say “west London” I of course include Barnet.

My constituents and I will get to Wembley stadium in less than an hour, with a much better journey. The line will link 450,000 additional people to Old Oak Common within an hour, massively boosting the benefit that HS2 will bring to outer London.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, my constituency neighbour, for giving way. Old Oak is in my seat. This huge thing that we were promised has still not quite happened, and it seems to be going over budget. Does she agree that we need a comprehensive traffic survey? Obviously, the benefits are great—it will be very quick to go to Brent Cross, for example—but several level crossings in Chiswick, which we used to share, will be down permanently, so where will that traffic go? Will it evaporate? The Old Oak link sounds great.

[Ruth Cadbury]

There is clearly a lot of work to be done, particularly on alternatives to the level crossings. I have one in my constituency, and I know that my hon. Friend has more. However, I am absolutely sure that the local authorities, which definitely want this scheme, and Transport for London—ditto—will work together to find effective solutions that do not disbenefit local areas in ways that can be avoided.

What is important for many of us and our constituents is the direct link to the Elizabeth line. That would allow my constituents to access another route both into central London and out to Heathrow without needing to get a bus up to the Elizabeth line stations.

The real magic of the scheme is that it makes use of existing rail lines. They have capacity, with some parts currently used only by freight, such as the Dudding Hill line and the stretch between South Acton and Kew Bridge. Only four new stations would be needed, and no elaborate new tunnelling is required, so it is more or less a shovel-ready scheme.

London’s existing tube and rail network was mainly developed by private companies in the 19th and 20th centuries as London was growing, but without much strategic thinking. Outer London boroughs do not have great connectivity in many parts, and what there is generally follows the radial rail routes going in and out of central London. There are exceptions that actually demonstrate success, such as the Mildmay line—until a year ago, we knew it as the North London line. That is an orbital route.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justin Madders]

It is clear that the direction of travel under this Government is to empower local areas to control their own destinies; we think that is really important. We hope to see the mayoral model being replicated around the country, but there is already proof of concept in London. I will say a little more about the fiscal devolution proposals in a minute.

As Members will know, transport is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London: it is for them to determine and prioritise which projects they want to support. Nevertheless, we work closely with Transport for London to understand the long-term needs of London’s transport infrastructure and where there are opportunities to enhance the network, including through major projects such as the one we are discussing today.

The Government have already provided significant support to Transport for London, including more than £6.5 billion in revenue funding and capital funding between 2020 and 2024. At the 2025 spending review, the Government also confirmed nearly £2.2 billion in capital funding for Transport for London over the four years from 2026-27 to 2029-30, to support major rolling stock, signalling and road renewal projects.

[Dr Huq]

I wonder whether my hon. Friend the Minister can allay some fears that I heard about on the doorstep last weekend about South Acton station in W4. People were saying that unless we sort out the level-crossing issue and find a better way of doing them, communities will be cut in half and there will be permanent gridlock. They were also saying that this project will never happen, because the money is not there. Can he elucidate?