An Aerial Look At West Drayton Station
In my visit to West Drayton station, I also noted a railway line going away from the main line towards the North West.
West Drayton Station
In this aerial view you can clearly see it branching away at the station, which is marked by the red arrow. It then curves round to go under the Great Western Main Line in a Southerly direction, at the far left of the picture.
This is the Staines and West Drayton Railway and the northern section from West Drayton to Colnbrook is still used by freight trains. Some take fuel to a depot near Heathrow.
It seems to me over the last few years, there have been several proposals to improve the links from places like Reading and the West and Waterloo and South London, some of which pass through this area. But none seem to build on and improve this line.
We know that trains will be able to get from Reading and the West to Heathrow, but all projects to Waterloo and South London like Airtrack, seem to have foundered until now.
On the other hand, when Crossrail and Thameslink are fully operational in 2019, it looks like the journey time between East Croydon and Heathrow, changing at Farringdon will be around an hour. Currently, it looks like it’s a couple of minutes over an hour and a half, with two changes. Fast times need a trip on the expensive Heathrow Express.
I think that the only certainty is that in the next ten years or so, Heathrow and Crossrail/Thameslink will have a tremendous influence on railways in the vicinity of West London.
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The Anonymous Widower 
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