Western Rail Approach to Heathrow

Colnbrook is a village in the Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the Colne, the Colne Brook and Wraysbury River. These two streams have their confluence just to the southeast of the village. Colnbrook is centred 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Slough town centre, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Windsor, and 19 miles (31 km) west of central London. Colnbrook forms the greater part of the civil parish of Colnbrook with Poyle (see also Poyle). Junctions of the M4 and M25 are near the village. To the east is Longford, London, and Bedfont and Stanwell which abut the south of London Heathrow Airport. Colnbrook with Poyle is a suburban parish with significant industrial units, logistical premises and open land. The parish was created on 1 April 1995 as an amalgamation of Colnbrook from Iver to the north and the smaller Poyle from an unparished area of Stanwell to the south-east. At the 2011 census the whole civil parish had a population of 6,157 living in 2,533 homes.

Colnbrook with Poyle is a civil parish in the borough of Slough in Berkshire, England. Located approximately 17 miles (27 km) west of central London and adjacent to the Greater London boundary, it is an urbanised parish with some industrial development and open land. The local council is Colnbrook with Poyle Parish Council. The parish was created on 1 April 1995 as an amalgamation of Colnbrook from the parish of Iver with Poyle from an unparished area. At the 2001 census it had a population of 5,426.

Colnbrook railway station was a station on the now closed railway line between West Drayton and Staines West, on the western edge of London, England. It opened in 1884 to serve the village of Colnbrook, perhaps anticipating that one day it would grow into a larger settlement. It was located on the original route of the Great Bath Road, and under the present flight path near the end of one of Heathrow Airport's main runways. Although passenger traffic was fairly minimal, the station was not closed to passengers until 1965 (following the Beeching Report). Goods services were withdrawn the following year, but part of the line still remains in use for aggregates traffic and for deliveries to a fuel terminal serving the nearby Heathrow Airport. The platforms survived for quite a while after closure, but have now been demolished. The station house still stands, but the track beyond the former station level crossing towards Poyle has been lifted.Part of the route may be reused for the proposed Heathrow Airtrack link between Staines and Heathrow Airport. Between 1961 and 1965, the small Colnbrook Estate Halt was opened to the north to serve the industrial estate there.

The McKay Trading Estate in Slough, Berkshire, is a grade II listed building with Historic England. It was completed in 1976–78, for the architect John Outram.

Poyle is a largely industrial and agricultural area in the unitary authority of Slough, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England (of which it is the easternmost settlement). It is located 18.5 miles (30 km) west of Charing Cross in London and immediately west of the M25 motorway, near Heathrow Airport; it also adjoins the Colne Valley regional park. Historically in Middlesex, Poyle was transferred to Surrey in 1965 and to Berkshire in 1995. Together with the neighbouring village of Colnbrook to the west, it forms the Colnbrook with Poyle civil parish.

The Lakeside EfW is located in Colnbrook, Slough, and is the largest facility of its kind in England. It incinerates residual waste, and since 2010 it has also been authorised to incinerate low-level radioactive waste.

Poyle Estate Halt railway station was opened by the Western Region of British Railways on 4 January 1954 between Colnbrook and Poyle Halt on the Staines West Line. It closed to passengers on 29 March 1965. No relic of it remains.

Colnbrook Estate Halt railway station was a station on the now closed railway line between West Drayton and Staines West, on the western edge of London, England. It was opened on 1 May 1961 by British Railways to serve the Colnbrook Industrial Estate.The station closed to passengers on 29 March 1965 following the Beeching Report and has been completely demolished although the line through its site serves an aggregate depot and a fuel depot.

The Staines & West Drayton Railway (S&WDR) is a former railway on the western edge of London, England. It was about 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) long and ran roughly north–south along the River Colne, parallel to the modern M25 motorway west of Heathrow Airport. It opened from West Drayton on the Great Western Main Line to Colnbrook in 1884 and reached Staines the next year.

Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC) is a sorting office for inbound and outbound international mail operated by Royal Mail. Located close to Heathrow Airport, the HWDC is situated in the town of Langley, Berkshire, near Slough, and began operations in 2003. The centre is often referred to by its abbreviation, Langley HWDC, or as 'GBLALA' in mail tracking information.Most mail entering and leaving the United Kingdom is sorted at Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre under tight aviation security standards, following the closure of all other international mail handling facilities in the UK. Parcelforce Worldwide operates two hubs based at Coventry adjacent to the airport. One hub is for parcels for the United Kingdom, and the other for international parcels. Not all mail handled at HWDC arrives by air, as road vehicles that formerly arrived in the UK by ferry at Dover, or container ship at Southampton now extend their trip to HWDC by road, instead of entering the Royal Mail network at (now defunct) offices of exchange situated nearest the ports. Outbound mail will usually leave the country by aircraft from the nearby Heathrow Airport.

Arthur Jacob Nature Reserve is a 4.1-hectare (10-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Horton in Berkshire. It is owned and managed by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.The reserve has four former gravel pits which have been converted from derelict land into lagoons managed for wildlife. There are several islands and the site has been planted with trees and shrubs, while some areas have been turned into wildflower meadows.

Poyle for Stanwell Moor Halt railway station was on the outskirts of London, on the now closed line of the Staines and West Drayton Railway. It opened on 1 June 1927 to serve the village of Poyle; originally named Stanwell Moor and Poyle Halt, it was renamed Poyle for Stanwell Moor Halt on 26 September the same year. It closed on 29 March 1965, when passenger services on the line ceased. The line north of Colnbrook remains open for goods services. The M25 runs near and over much of the branch south of the station. Part of the former route is involved in the Heathrow Airtrack proposal to connect Staines with Heathrow Airport. It should not be confused with Poyle Estate Halt, a small station to the north of it which opened in 1954 to serve the nearby industrial estate, and which also closed in 1965.The Staines-West Drayton route never attracted many passengers as the hoped-for growth at the villages of Colnbrook, Poyle and Yeoveney did not occur.