Release date: 11/03/2010
By: Steve Mayner
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High speed rail plans 'lacking ambition'
Councils opposed to Heathrow expansion say detailed government plans for a high speed line to Birmingham fall far short of the kind of national network that is need to provide alternatives to short haul flights.
They also fear that by choosing an environmentally sensitive route through the Chilterns the proposals could deal a fatal blow to prospects for a credible UK-wide network.
The Government announced its support for the Birmingham route today following publication of the High Speed Two (HS2) report.
The 2M Group published its own plans for a national network in 2008. These followed an M1 alignment north from London and extended to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The councils believe a properly configured network could provide a competitive rail alternative for around a quarter of the destinations in the UK and Europe currently served by Heathrow.
Wandsworth council leader Edward Lister, speaking on behalf of the 2M Group, said:
“Today’s announcement looks more like extending the third runway to the Chilterns than building a credible national high speed rail network.
“With proper links to the European network around a quarter of the destinations served by Heathrow could be reached within four hours by high speed rail. That’s the kind of ambition we want for high speed rail.
“The Government has chosen just about the most environmentally disastrous - and costly - route possible and ignored a much simpler M1 alignment which would provide better value for money and offer a more direct service to the centre of London where most travellers will want to go.
“It will be mired in controversy for years and set back the cause of a national high speed network for decades.
“Before lines start getting drawn on maps we need an open debate which asks why we want high speed rail and what we want it to achieve. If one of the key objectives is to get people to switch from air to rail then we need to make sure that we have a network that can deliver this.
“Today’s route still assumes the third runway goes ahead. We need to see what level of demand there could be for high speed rail without the extra flights that this unwanted expansion would help to create. That would provide a much clearer basis for devising a national network.”
The 2M Group is an alliance of local authorities concerned about the environmental impact of Heathrow expansion on their communities.
The group, which took its name from the 2 million residents of the original 12 authorities, now represents a combined population of 5 million people.
You can view 2M’s high speed rail proposals at www.2MGroup.org.uk
The HS2 report is available at www.dft.gov.uk/highspeedrail
Ends
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