London City Airport bosses are in talks with Transport for London (TfL) about building a Crossrail station at the airport.

London City Airport chief development officer Peter Adams confirmed that talks are ongoing about the prospect of including a station on the proposed Crossrail extension to Ebbsfleet.

Speaking at New Civil Engineer’s Future of Airports conference, Adams added that talks about putting together a business case for the station are progressing.

The new Crossrail line passes around 300m to the south of the airport, but does not stop there. Its nearest stations are Custom House Station, a 25 minute walk away to the west and Woolwich Station on the other side of the river.

Crossrail proximity to london city airport

Adams has previously gone on the record labelling the lack of a Crossrail station at the airport as a “missed opportunity”. But he said that the airport has not given up and is now looking to draw up plans to correct this.

“From the window [at the airport], you can see the Crossrail tracks and see the test trains that are going through it,” said Adams. “And you do think, to get this connection, and the connection working well between the airports, it feels like a missed opportunity.

“But we’re hoping to change that.”

A Crossrail station at the airport would directly link it with Heathrow Airport which will already have a Crossrail station.

Under the current expansion plans, a £1.5bn extension to the Crossrail line would start from just past the airport at Woolwich and go to Ebbsfleet in Kent.

Adams stressed that the talks with TfL were in their infancy, but should they prove successful, it would be putting in a business case for including a station in the extension plans.

“I recognise that, no doubt, we’ll have to contribute in some way, but we are talking to TfL and others around the business case, particularly about the extension,” said Adams. “That is some way off yet, as we’ve got to get the first part working first, but is there an opportunity there to make that connection.”

London City Airport is currently undergoing a £480M expansion programme which involves building a 75,000m² concrete deck over the King George V Dock to allow the construction of seven new aircraft stands, a parallel taxiway, a 40,000m² terminal extension, and the UK’s first digital air traffic control tower.

The work is due to for completion in 2022.

To get the full update on what’s happening in the rail sector join us at New Civil Engineer’s Future of Rail conference 26-27 June 2019. Call Ben Joudar on 020 3953 2623 to find out more.

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