30.Nov.2011 High Speed Rail Route Causes Controversy

David Cameron is facing renewed criticism from environmental groups and local residence over plans to construct a high speed railway that could destroy acres of green belt land.

The final route for the high speed railway, which will cost an estimated £34 billion, is expected to be revealed in the next few weeks, but protestors are up in arms about the effect that the link will have on the local environment and the country as a whole.

The proposed route will cut through the Chiltern Hills and several other areas of UK countryside that are considered to be some of the country’s finest beauty spots.

An alternative route was proposed by Labour that would travel directly to Heathrow and utilise existing transport corridors but it is believed that the proposal has not been favoured by the Conservative Party. The proposed rail link will include trains that will be up to 400 feet long and travel at speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour.

If the route goes ahead it is expected to cause major problems for David Cameron’s leadership. Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan has threatened to give up her position if the route travels through her constituency of Chesham and Amersham.

MP for Aylesbury and Foreign Office Minister David Lidington has pledged to vote against the proposed link, whilst government whip Jeremy Wright has said that the route is ‘not the right one’.

Environmental groups believe that the high speed rail link will be highly damaging to the environment and that the trains will cause unnecessary pollution, but many other critics are up in arms over the costs that tax payers will incur in order to fund the scheme.

To date the project has cost the tax payer £ 200 million and a further £800 million in tax payers money is expected to be spent prior to the next general election.

Many residents in the areas where the planned route will travel are also concerned over rail safety. The Chiltern Voice highlighted a recent incident in China where a high speed train was struck by lightning, killing 39 people and injuring over 190 others.

It remains to be seen whether the proposed link will go ahead but critics are in no doubt that the high speed railway will have a detrimental and damaging effect on the local environment and the tax payers pocket.