London-Birmingham high-speed line 'will improve local rail services'

Building the London to Birmingham HS2 high-speed rail line will benefit Midlands and southern towns and cities, giving them faster and improved services, a report says. Greengauge 21 , a group set up to develop the case for high-speed lines, said places that will get improved services include Lichfield, Tamworth, Nuneaton, Rugby, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Watford. "Today's network of passenger services can also be expanded," said the report. "Much of today's longer-distance demand will have transferred to HS2 services and it will be possible to operate new services through key junctions - services which are inhibited today by the intensive frequency of through non-stopping services. There will also be freed-up rolling stock available to operate these services." The report says Milton Keynes, for example, would be a main beneficiary of HS2. "As a large and growing centre it is quite poorly served at present," said the report. "It is proposed that all six of the WCML (west coast mainline) inter-city trains will call each hour, together with three regional trains. This will secure a high-convenience link with London and excellent connectivity to the north. Milton Keynes will become a 'super-hub' station - an important interchange - as well as offering very high levels of connectivity to the city." Opponents of HS2 acknowledge that a new high speed line would leave unused capacity on existing lines, making it possible for increased local services. The problem, however, would be the subsidies to support local services that are already losing money. "All these services are provided at a loss," said Bruce Weston, a director of the HS2 Action Alliance , which represents more than 70 opposition groups. "How do you improve local services without additional subsidies? Yes, you could add services to London from Coventry, but where is the money going to come from? It all depends on additional subsidies." HS2, which is to eventually run north of Birmingham, is a key part of the government's transport strategy but is bitterly opposed by groups such as HS2 Action Alliance on economic grounds as well as affecting beauty spots, such as the Chiltern Hills. Greengauge 21 director Jim Steer said: "Services which simply cannot be fitted on today's network will become viable once HS2 is built. Non-stopping inter-city services from the north of England and the Midlands to London will transfer across to HS2, making space on the west coast main line for more freight on rail and more local services." He added that rail services to a number of destinations would be "faster, more frequent and with much better connections, with peak-period travel restrictions ending". Steer went on: "It also becomes possible to operate new connecting and cross-country services that would need to travel short distances on the west coast main line. "So, East West Rail - the project long sought after between Oxford and Milton Keynes - becomes possible. The case for the Croxley link - near Watford - will be much improved because of the transformed service at Watford Junction." Steer said HS2 could also allow through-services from London to Wrexham and Shrewsbury again, while West Midlands services could be expanded.