GLOUCESTERSHIRE's Heathrow-bound travellers are one step closer to travelling to the airport in just one hour.

A consultation by Network Rail which ended in June looked at how to cut 30 minutes off the journey time from the county’s London-line stations: Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud and Kemble.

Currently, if a traveller were to take the train to Heathrow from Gloucestershire they can expect an average journey time of nearly three hours.

The news was announced last month in the county council’s economic growth scrutiny committee by official Nigel Riglar, the director of communities and infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council.

The link is part of improving the South West’s connection to Europe’s busiest airport as Network Rail.

The plans, which have been funded by the Department for Transport to enable a detailed proposal to be developed, are based on serving the needs of the airport’s existing two-runway capacity.

Now the consultation has closed responses are being analysed and Network Rail will publish finalised plans and hold public information events in late 2018 and early 2019.

If approved, the Transport Secretary will announce the change will could affect up to 48 trains that travel out of the region to the major airport, in 2019.

Find out more here: networkrail.co.uk/our-railway-upgrade-plan/key-projects/heathrow-rail-link/#have-your-say