Plans to introduce new passenger services over existing freight-only lines in west London are gathering pace. The proposals, however, are already prompting questions about how rail freight will be accommodated on some of the capital’s most strategically important corridors.
The proposed West London Orbital (WLO) scheme would see London Overground-style passenger services introduced on routes that today play a vital role in moving freight through and around London, with early planning documents suggesting freight could be pushed into off-peak operating windows.
Passenger ambitions on freight foundations
The West London Orbital is a Transport for London (TfL)–backed proposal to create a new passenger rail link across west and north-west London, running between Hendon and Hounslow via Harlesden and Old Oak Common, with interchange to HS2 and the Elizabeth line. Although branded as an “orbital” route, the service would not form a complete circle. Instead, it would reuse and upgrade a series of existing lines – most notably the Dudding Hill Line, which is currently freight-only – alongside sections already used by passenger services.
TfL’s “West London Orbital – Strategic Narrative”, published in October 2021, sets out the ambition to convert “underused” freight routes into a frequent, metro-style passenger operation, forming part of London’s longer-term transport growth strategy. That strategic support has been reinforced in TfL’s Draft Business Plan (2026–2030), where the WLO is identified as a future network investment priority, and through statements from the Mayor of London and the London Assembly confirming that the project has progressed through feasibility design stages.
Political momentum and funding commitments
Political backing for the scheme has strengthened over the past year. The Mayor of London has committed £400,000 (€464,000) to the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) to advance the next phase of development, while Brent Council approved a contribution of up to £615,516 in April 2025. Supporters point to independent analysis suggesting the scheme could support 11,500 new jobs and unlock more than 6,700 new homes across Brent, Barnet, Ealing and Hounslow.
Councillor Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, described the WLO as “mission-critical economic infrastructure”, arguing that direct rail connections to Old Oak Common and HS2 would open access to high-value employment and drive regeneration. However, while the economic and social case for new passenger services is being made loudly, the implications for freight traffic on these routes are receiving far less attention.
Freight at risk of being squeezed
For rail freight operators, the concern is not the principle of mixed traffic, but how capacity will be allocated on lines that already function as important freight arteries. The Dudding Hill Line, which would form the backbone of the WLO, is currently used to move freight between Cricklewood, Acton, the North London Line and routes further afield. Much of this traffic is not London-originating or London-terminating, but through freight, using west London as a critical cross-capital corridor.
The 2021 Strategic Narrative acknowledges this tension. For an intensively operated, high-frequency passenger railway, that raises the question of whether freight paths would be reduced, constrained, or effectively displaced to off-peak hours only. This is particularly significant given the UK Government’s stated ambition to grow rail freight volumes, shifting more goods from road to rail to reduce emissions and congestion. Any loss of flexible, all-day freight capacity in London risks undermining those national objectives.
Integration, not displacement
TfL and its partners emphasise that the WLO would be a mixed-traffic railway, not a wholesale removal of freight. Stations such as Hendon, Brent Cross West and Cricklewood are explicitly planned around the continued use of existing freight alignments, with new passenger platforms added alongside. Yet experience elsewhere on the network suggests that once frequent, clockface passenger services are introduced, freight can struggle to compete for paths – particularly during the daytime operating window.
For freight operators, west London’s rail corridors are not optional extras. They are essential links connecting ports, terminals and distribution centres across the South East and beyond. Displacing that traffic risks pushing goods back onto already congested roads, with clear economic and environmental consequences. London’s rail network has long depended on shared infrastructure. The question now is whether the capital can deliver new passenger capacity without quietly eroding the freight capability that keeps its economy supplied. The success of the West London Orbital may ultimately depend on how convincingly it answers that question.
