Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current surface access arrangements between London and Heathrow, and whether these arrangements make the best use of available infrastructure capacity.

Heathrow Airport has a wide range of surface access infrastructure, including rail services through Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line trains, underground services on the Picadilly line, a wide network of bus and coach connections as well as being close to the M25 and M4 motorways. This network supported 83.9 million passengers to access the airport in 2024.

The most recent Heathrow Surface Access Strategy covers 2022 – 2026 and sets out how Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) supports passengers, staff and freight to arrive at the airport, including the continued use of available infrastructure and sets out any new requirements. Any expansion proposals for Heathrow Airport are currently subject to the 2018 Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which sets out targets for increasing public transport mode share and reducing staff car journeys which the proposals will need to meet. These targets will be reviewed as part of any future ANPS review, and the department will engage with promoters of a third runway to ensure future surface access arrangements make effective use of capacity to the airport.