The first entirely privately-funded railway line looks likely to run from Heathrow airport after the Government launched broader plans to invite bids for major new schemes.

Private companies and local authorities have been invited to put bids in for the construction of a rail link which will run south out of Heathrow airport.

The Department for Transport said the scheme would be the first railway line entirely funded by private means. Other projects such as HS1 and the Channel Tunnel were part-funded with private cash. The DfT said there were already a number of consortia looking to construct the southern link to Heathrow.

At present, many passengers based south of the airport have to travel into London Paddington and back out again because there is no direct rail link to the airport from the south. The exact location of the line will be determined once the Government selects its chosen scheme.

The Government is also inviting bids related to other schemes, including reinstating closed branch lines.

The decision to open up rail projects to private funding comes after the DfT has had to scale back a host of upgrade schemes due to projects running over budget. The Great Western electrification scheme, for instance, will now stop at Cardiff rather than running all the way to Swansea.