High speed train "won't come through High Wycombe"

Aylesbury MP David Lidington said he was given the “explicit” reassurance over fears the “High Speed 2” project would run the Chiltern Railways line.

Yet he said it is not clear if the 225mph line could still go through the Chilterns Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a large part of Buckinghamshire’s countryside.

The route will go from London to Birmingham in 37 minutes every four minutes.

Other mooted options include using the west coast main line from London via Watford to Birmingham and new track alongside the M40.

Mr Lidington met Sir David Rowlands, chairman of High Speed 2, a firm set up by the Government, with Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan.

The MP said: “We don’t get know if this new rail link will go through the Chilterns, but we wanted to know more about the project and to tell HS2 about the concerns of our constituents.

“Sir David made it clear that no decision had yet been made about a preferred route.

“Explicit reassurances were given that high speed trains would not run through existing routes, with High Wycombe, Princes Risborough and Aylesbury being specifically ruled out.

“Sir David also said that if a high speed service were built it would not disrupt local commuter services because it would not use Chiltern Railways track.”

He added: "It is going to be a completely new line."

Conservation groups the Chilterns Conservation Board and the Chiltern Society would be consulted by the firm “during the next few weeks” he said. The board last week warned about the impact of the scheme alongside other transport projects including the third runway at Heathrow (see link, bottom of story).

Mr Lidington said: “I will keep people up to date on the progress of the project, making sure that that the environmental impact is top of the agenda”.

The company will submit a report to the Government recommending its preferred route.

Wycombe MP Paul Goodman and the National Trust have also hit out at the plans.