The protesters against the HS2 rail link ask me to state my case. Well, here it is;
1. Britain should have built high speed train travel many years ago as our competitor nations did.
2. The existing rail network is operating at maximum capacity and even with huge investment cannot provide for an increase.
3. The existing Motorways are at or near capacity and the M1 is already being widened to 4 lanes all the way to Milton Keynes. We will soon see demands from business for that widening to be applied to the rest of the M1 and the M6 because of the obvious congestion.
4. A third motorway between the Midlands and London is not the answer and would do much more environmental damage than a rail line.
5. Integrated transport is important and therefore it is important that the new line does the maximum to link airports into the rail network. The most important Airport, for business and therefore for jobs, is Heathrow.
6. We should not contemplate a rail line through the city of Coventry because the demolitions and compensations necessary would be huge.
7. Therefore, having the new line stop only eight miles from the city is as good as it’s going to get.
I have great sympathy for anyone whose home is going to be adversely affected by what is being proposed, but I hope those who disagree with me will address the issues instead of the sometimes childish comments they are currently deploying against anyone who dares disagree with them. It’s not impressive.
Bob Ainsworth MP 