Originally Posted by
allturnleft
Will crossrail use the HEX lines or be totally new?
Will HEX exist beyong crossrail?
Originally Posted by
Mordac
Crossrail will use the (existing) Great Western Mainline (GWML) from Reading and Heathrow to Paddington (PAD). At PAD it will go onto a new low-level station and enter the new-build tunnel. HEX is planned to continue in existence, and in fact its operation was recently contracted out to Great Western Railway (GWR), who will be converting some of the Class 387 trains they use for current suburban services on the GWML for use on the HEX services, so replace the Class 332s that are currently used. Whether this will survive the commercial reality of a post-Crossrail world is a different story.
From T5 yes crossrail will use the HEX lines (which aren't part of the national rail network) - there was a court case that HAL lost relating to how the access charges for crossrail to use the line would be calculated.
HAL have an agreement with Network Rail for HEX to have access paths to the GWML from Airport Junction (where the HEX lines join the main line) to Paddington until 2028