http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16436443
HS2: Campaign backs high-speed rail link in media
More than 100 business leaders, MPs and economists have mounted a campaign backing plans to link Birmingham and London with a new high-speed rail line.
In letters to the Financial Times, Daily Telegraph and the Guardian they say the HS2 rail line would create jobs and ease transport overcrowding.
Opponents say the planned route crosses an area of outstanding natural beauty.
It is understood ministers will decide next week whether to approve the £17bn London to Birmingham link.
The connection between the two cities would mark the first phase of HS2, with extensions further north later.
A Y-shaped section taking branches to Manchester, Leeds and possibly further north could be finished by 2033.
The entire cost of the project is expected to be £32bn.
The 100-mile rail link, which would be built between 2016 and 2026, aims to cut the London to Birmingham journey time to 49 minutes.
The group urging the government to approve the rail link argues that it would be a boost for business, especially across the north of England, which has been hit hard in the economic slowdown.
The letter, which says up to one million British jobs could be created, states: "Economic studies show that effective modes of transport, including high-speed rail, enable entrepreneurs to get their goods and services to market in a secure and timely manner and facilitate the movement of workers to the most suitable jobs."
It goes on: "The absence of a high-speed rail line connecting the north of England to London and the European Union is a continuous embarrassment to British businesses promoting UK plc overseas."
But the project - introduced by Labour and continued by the coalition government - has proved highly controversial, with many living along the proposed route complaining that it will damage the environment.
Protesters oppose the plan on the grounds that they feel it does not make good business, economic or environmental sense.
And some have argued that the scheme will be a waste of money and that updating the existing West Coast mainline would be a better investment.
The most recent proposals would see another tunnel being used to link two others, which are already planned, and would prevent scarring the Chiltern hills, which is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty.
It came after a decision to look again at the route followed a report by the House of Commons Transport Committee in November, which suggested a re-assessment of the plans to consider the impact and the benefits of HS2.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England has said additional tunnelling would be "essential" if HS2 is to be built through the Chilterns.
Map of proposed route
http://highspeedrail...uk/in-your-area
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EU behind corrupt MPs and corrupt business leaders who back HS2 rail link that will destroy English Countryside. But the public do not want it.
Started by
Guthlac
, Jan 06 2012 05:46 AM
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#1
Guthlac
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Posted 06 January 2012 - 05:46 AM
Sir Winston Churchill
"Never Give In"
"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it the third time — a tremendous whack."
"Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry."
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."
The Ethnic English, The only English, The True English
