BLUEPRINT – Runway success

Download PDF: BLUEPRINT 333 – Runway success April2014

Thames Reach – AirRailHub

Norman Foster’s vision wasn’t the only inner estuary proposal. The less high-profile Thames Reach AirRailHub concept is for a 25 sq km platform 8m above sea-level projecting into the estuary from the Hoo Peninsula (Kent) and providing three 24-hour-a-day operable runways supported by two terminals with 12 satellites and two 10-track railway stations with direct access to Crossrail and HS1. It also involves a road/rail tunnel to Canvey Island (Essex) and a tidal pool.

Thames Reach Airport director Matthias Hamm argues that such a hub would future-proof the UK’s position in global aviation and would be far less expensive, safer and less noise-polluting than expanding Heathrow. Central to the proposal is an integrated rail strategy incorporating Crossrail High Speed, regional and commuter services. Three runways could be completed by 2032 with potential for a further fourth.

‘It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime chance to really plan something with synergy, where one can produce an outcome that can be truly integrated,’ he says, welcoming the Commission’s decision to give further consideration to an estuary location.

Extract from BLUEPRINT magazine article by Pamela Buxton – read more: http://www.designcurial.com/news/runway-success-4207797/