THOUSANDS of people living close to the railway could see their house price tumble if a plan to take hundreds of extra freight trains through High Wycombe gathers steam.

Central Railway has said it wants to relaunch a £10million bid to take lorry trailers from Liverpool to the Channel Tunnel, passing through High Wycombe on route.

Central Railway thinks the freight service would take five million lorry journeys off Britain's roads each year.

Talks have been held with freight lobby group Euro Freight Route about a new plan after it was thrown out by Government chiefs two years ago. The idea angered people in High Wycombe who were worried about the extra noise and grime from the trains as they screamed past their homes.

Trevor Kent, an estate agent based in Gerrards Cross, said the thought of extra trains could put off buyers.

He said: "It was certainly something that caused some anxiety before. It is difficult to say how it would affect house prices because it would depend on each property's position. But it could be a terrible disadvantage. That's why there is bound to be strong opposition."

The last failed idea by Central Railway was to take trains to the south of London, but Euro Freight Route has come up with a new plan to take trains to the north east of London. But this new plan would still mean the heavy loads passing through High Wycombe.

Chris Savage, consultant to Central Railway, said it is looking at the Chiltern Railways line through High Wycombe because it already has four tracks to cope with the extra trains.

He added: "The route is by no means decided yet. If we did go through Buckinghamshire we would ensure that we address environmental concerns and improve conditions at stations."

Alan Stevens, Central Railway chief executive, said: "Euro Freight Route has made a valuable contribution to the debate on Britain's transport infrastructure. A lot of its thinking is in line with the previous Central Railway proposal, but it has also put forward some new suggestions which deserve to be fully considered. We look forward to working with the group to explore these issues in the coming months."