Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed western rail access to Heathrow.

Network Rail are consulting on two designs during Statutory Consultation, which runs from 11 May to 22 June. The cost to the public purse is dependent on the agreement of the final design, decisions on the train operating company, the funding and financing proposition and agreement of acceptable terms with the Heathrow aviation industry. The Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline sets out the process for investment decisions on railway enhancement projects, which will be made within the context of the overall portfolio.