Credible alternatives to spending £32 billion on HS2 revealed as Chiltern Mainline service launches to cut London to Birmingham travel to 90min

The new Chiltern Mainline service made its debut journey from Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street yesterday 5th September 2011.

The new trainline is cutting the journey time from Birmingham to London to just 90 minutes making it comparable with West Coast Mainline services from Euston to Birmingham, providing one of the credible alternatives to the proposed £32 billion High Speed 2 rail. 

The 51m group opposing HS 2 has welcomed the introduction of the new service that demonstrates what can be achieved by improvement the existing network.

Speaking on behalf of 51m Cllr Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council said, "The Mainline scheme powerfully makes the case that alternatives to High Speed 2 must form part of the consideration before the taxpayer has to finance a £32 billion vanity project, that represents very poor value for money. 51m has said all along that there are alternatives that can be brought in well before 2026, the earliest date HS2 is due to be completed, and at significantly less cost."

"We believed that by taking a similar approach for improving the West Coast Main Line, capacity to meet the predicted demand over the next 30 years can be achieved on an incremental basis as and when required.  In comparison HS2 will not provide any capacity increases to Birmingham until 2026 and Manchester and Leeds until 2033. The Chiltern Mainline will provide significant extra capacity between London and Birmingham and with fares significantly less than those on WCML it will attract significant numbers of passengers.  There are now two intercity Mainlines between London and Birmingham to meet any future demand."

The faster journey times are made possible by a £250 million investment to upgrade the rail route from Moor Street station in the heart of Birmingham to Marylebone station in central London. Birmingham's Moor Street Station has recently been transformed through a £25m renovation adjacent to the Bullring shopping centre. The project has been provided at nil cost to the taxpayer.

The fastest Mainline trains will travel at peak times from Birmingham Moor Street, via Solihull and Warwick Parkway only, before travelling non-stop to London Marylebone. Every hour, a fast Mainline train will call at Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Warwick Parkway, Leamington Spa, Banbury and London Marylebone.

Also every hour, an additional Mainline train will depart from Birmingham Snow Hill and stop at Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Dorridge, Warwick Parkway, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Banbury, Bicester North, High Wycombe and London Marylebone.

The additional capacity coupled with free Wi-Fi access available throughout all Mainline train carriages, provides the ability to work on trains in comfort.

Councillor Martin Tett added, "The Chiltern Railways Mainline scheme has the added advantage of serving two existing railway stations in the heart of Birmingham – Moor Street and Snow Hill, in contrast to the HS2 proposal that will require a new interchange station to be built."

51m oppose HS2 on the grounds of the colossally expensive cost of the project, the vastly cheaper alternatives, the speculative regeneration of the north/south divide, the flawed business case for the scheme and environmental impacts. 

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