HS2 could damage Rugby station - MP

Buy photos » Chris Gibb CEO of Virgin Trains with Mark Pawsey at Rugby railway station. 47.09.050.rug.jm1

SERVICES at Rugby's railway station could be damaged after the decision to go ahead with the controversial HS2 rail line between Birmingham and London.

So says MP Mark Pawsey who has voiced his opposition to the £17 billion scheme approved on Tuesday (January 10) by Transport Secretary Justine Greening by 2026.

Mr Pawsey said he had kept an open mind over the project but had decided it could have a negative impact on stations along the current West Coast Mainline including Rugby.

He said: "If the existing service is downgraded, Rugby trains could be reduced to ‘all station stoppers’ and the business attraction of a 50 minute link to London may be lost.

"Add this to the more immediate worry about the reliability of the existing services during the rebuilding of London Euston station a few years from now, and local commuters have a right to be concerned about the future impact on their journeys."

He also backed the argument HS2 does not make economic sense and questioned whether it would justify the eventual £32 billion it will cost when extended to Manchester and Leeds by 2033.

"I simply do not agree that all journey time on trains is wasted. Every time I travel by train I share carriages with people busily working on laptops, and a £32 billion enterprise should not be based on outdated knowledge," he said.

"I also believe there are cheaper alternatives available such as an improvement to the existing network. Capacity on the West Coast Mainline could increase simply by changing the mix of first and second class coaches and increasing the train length by adding more carriages."

The HS2 line will cut through the heart of the Warwickshire countryside near Southam, Ladbroke, Cubbington and Kenilworth, but it will not run through any part of Rugby borough.

Campaigners in the county have reacted to the news with anger and said it will destroy rural parts of the county, but supporters claim it will increase capacity across the country's rail network, shorten journey times, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.

The consultation process which ran from February to July last year generated almost 55,000 responses which the government said had “helped inform a series of refinements that have significantly reduced the impacts of the route,” almost halving the numbers of dwellings at risk.

Further information on the scheme can be found at www.dft.gov.uk/highspeedrail

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