Improper of council to oppose scheme

I was sorry to see in the report in page 4 of last week’s Kenilworth Weekly News that you continue to promote the idea that HS2 would not even serve the centre of Birmingham. Of course, HS2’s phase 1 is not intended primarily to serve Birmingham but to provide an alternative route for all long-distance passenger services using the West Coast Main Line beyond Lichfield, thereby relieving congestion and overcrowding on the southern part of the WCML. The link into Birmingham is only a spur off the new high speed trunk line.

Nevertheless, the HS2 station will be central to Birmingham, having a common entrance with Moor Street station. With its entrance/exit escalators on Moor Street Queensway adjacent to the side entrance to Marks & Spencer’s High Street store, and the Bullring Shopping Centre just across the road, it could hardly be more central!

HS2 Ltd states that the walking time between the HS2 station and New Street station will be eight minutes. This is no more than it takes passengers now (and about which I hear no complaint) to get between East Midlands Trains and Southeastern’s platforms at St Pancras station in London and the Underground station and bus stops in Euston Road.

As leader of the district council it is quite improper of you to continue to promote an inaccurate view of the location of the HS2 station in Birmingham.

I also believe it is quite improper of Warwick District Council, and of the county council, to spend council taxpayers’ money opposing HS2, which the national Government has determined should proceed in the national interest and as a hard-pressed taxpayer myself I would welcome your comments. Furthermore, in opposing HS2 you appear to be disregarding the needs of Rugby and Nuneaton, both of which have lost significant long distance services since West Coast Route Modernisation was completed but could have much better services using the capacity released by transferring long-distance services to HS2.

As I stated in my letter also published in last week’s KWN, 51M’s proposals provide considerably fewer benefits than HS2 does, particularly in reduced journey times and the ability to use the resultant freed-up capacity on the existing network to develop new services to meet demand not to mention to provide for continuing rail freight growth. The Government has now accepted this so, surely, what the campaigners should be fighting for now is the best deal, including adequate compensation (and relocation where necessary and if possible) for those people who are going to be affected by this key national infrastructure project.- Alan Marshall, Inchbrook Road, Kenilworth.