Third runway 'would ruin Piccadilly line'

A third runway at Heathrow will turn the Piccadilly line into a tourist shuttle and inflict misery on commuters, opponents of airport expansion warned today.

Hammersmith and Fulham council said the extra 220,000 flights resulting from a third runway would result in hundreds of thousands more travellers taking the Tube.

It said this would cause severe overcrowding on the Piccadilly line - unless longer and more frequent trains were introduced - and seriously affect the quality of life of commuters living in the borough.

The council pointed out the line is already running at 97 per cent capacity - "close to breaking point" - and that Transport for London had predicted a doubling of passengers with a third runway. Calling on the Government to refuse a new runway, Nicholas Botterill, the council's deputy leader, said: "Many residents already struggle to find a space, let alone a seat, when Piccadilly line trains roll into the borough."

The council is part of the 2M group of local authorities opposed to the new runway.

Under plans published by the Government last year, a third runway, plus a sixth terminal, could be built at Heathrow by 2020. Ministers are assessing the results of a public consultation and are due to decide this year, or early next year, whether to press ahead.