THAMES Valley Chamber of Commerce group is throwing its weight behind plans to build a new rail link between the Great Western main line and Heathrow airport.

The group, made up of local chambers including Swindon, met at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel to formally back the plans alongside MP for North Swindon Justin Tomlinson.

The 6.5km rail link would connect the Great Western Main Line and Heathrow, allowing passengers from Swindon to travel to Heathrow via Reading, without having to change at Paddington. It would deliver a faster connection to the London airport, cutting more than third off the journey time, and promises to give a boost to Swindon’s local economy.

Mr Tomlinson, who spoke at the Barclays Economic lunch at the Hilton Doubletree, organised by the Swindon Chamber, said: “A third runway at Heathrow will deliver new jobs, stronger growth and increased capacity, while a western rail link to the airport will, for the first time, mean that Swindon residents can travel to Heathrow in under an hour.

“It will make quicker connections for holidays, whilst delivering strong connections for businesses who wish to deliver new investment. Both the new third runway and the Western Rail Link are vital for Swindon and vital for the country.”

The Network Rail scheme would mean a new line between Langley and Iver. The link could also ease congestion on the M4 and M25.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling signalled support when it was raised by Mr Tomlinson in Parliament, confirming that the project will be included in the Government’s next railway improvement plans.

Construction work could start in 2020 and take five years, including, 15 months of 24-hour tunnelling, finishing by 2026, in time for the completion of the third-run at Heathrow.

Today is the final day of the public consultation before Network Rail submits them to the Planning Inspectorate in 2019.