High speed rail plans 'lack ambition' - say 2M Group (From Your Local Guardian)

High speed rail plans 'lack ambition' - say 2M Group

1:00pm Monday 15th March 2010 in

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A coalition of councils opposed to Heathrow expansion said the Government’s high speed rail plans “lack ambition” and will not provide passengers an alternative to short haul flights.

The 2M Group, which includes Hounslow and Richmond councils, feared the proposed line to Birmingham - through the environmentally sensitive Chilterns - could deal a fatal blow to prospects for a credible national network.

Campaigners fighting a third runway at Heathrow said the rail scheme did not provide a green alternative, describing it as “an expensive white elephant”.

The Government announced its support for the Birmingham route last Thursday.

Councillor Peter Thompson, leader of Hounslow Council, and Councillor Serge Lourie, leader of Richmond Council, said in a statement: “This 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.”

They added: “This 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.”

Campaign group Hacan, which represents residents living under the flight paths, argued the Government should build high speed rail instead of a third runway, not in addition to it.

John Stewart, chairman of Hacan, said: “High speed rail is only a green way to travel if it is designed to take cars off the road and planes out of the air.”

The No Third Runway Action Group (NoTRAG) pledged to oppose high-speed rail unless the Government dropped the third runway.

The 2M Group’s own plans for a national rail network, published in 2008, extend to Edinburgh and Glasgow.