Between January and June 1998, the
Heathrow Express shuttle service was built to connect
Paddington station to Heathrow Airport. A new spur was built from the existing
Great Western Main Line to the airport, running mostly in tunnel. To save costs, the tunnel was built using the
New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). In 1994, parts of the unopened tunnels near the airport collapsed. The collapse not only delayed the finishing of the railway tunnel beneath the airport but also caused the temporary suspension of
Piccadilly line services to the airport whilst the ground was stabilised. With the project delayed, a decision was made to open a temporary surface-level station at the edge of the airport whilst construction continued. The line to the new station followed the route of a long-disused
canal known as "Broad's Dock". Heathrow Junction station was situated in
Stockley Park, slightly to the north of the airport.
Class 332 trains (branded as "Heathrow Fast Train") carried passengers from Paddington to Heathrow Junction (a journey of 12 minutes), and a fleet of
shuttle buses carried the passengers the remaining distance to the airport. On 23 June 1998, after only 126 days,
Heathrow Express services commenced to
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station and
Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station. Trains no longer called at Heathrow Junction, and within ten days the track leading to the station had been dismantled. == References ==