Train link would be a benefit to the county, says Transport Secretary Lord Adonis (From Oxford Mail)

Train link would be a benefit to the county, says Transport Secretary Lord Adonis

3:56pm Thursday 15th April 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

TRANSPORT Secretary Lord Adonis says a controversial high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham would be good for Oxfordshire.

The minister told the Oxford Mail the high-speed line would help improve the county’s existing rail services, tackle traffic congestion and bring new jobs.

The plans, announced by Lord Adonis last month, have angered some villagers living close to the proposed line who fear they will be disrupted by construction work and by noise from the 225mph trains.

The line would not serve Oxfordshire but would cut across the county’s north-east corner.

On a visit to Oxford on Wednesday, Lord Adonis said the new link, called High Speed 2, would free up capacity on the Chiltern Line and could alleviate traffic congestion on roads like the A34.

He said: “I would like to see more freight off the road and on to the railway.

“The high-speed rail link will free up that capacity.”

He said the line would also boost the county’s economy, adding: “It will benefit national competiviness and make Britain a much more competitive place for inward investment – and that is great news for Oxfordshire too.”

Villagers from Finmere, Mixbury, Newton Purcell and Godington have raised concerns about the impact of High Speed 2 on their homes and North Oxfordshire Conservative MP Tony Baldry has called for compensation details to be made clear.

Lord Adonis said there was consultation to address the issue of blight and a scheme would be put in place after the General Election for those affected by the new line.

Pressed on long-standing hopes to reopen Grove station near Wantage, Lord Adonis said: “I am very sympathetic to proposals for the reopening of stations where they can get more people on to trains and out of their cars.”

Lord Adonis was visiting the Oxford Bus Company in Greater Leys as part of a countrywide election tour.

He said Oxford East was a “vital battleground” for Labour and added: “If we hold this seat it is much more likely we will have a Labour government on May 7.”

The minister is a former Alliance/Liberal Democrat Oxford City councillor but joined the Labour Party in the mid-1990s.

He urged Liberal Democrat supporters in Oxford East to vote tactically and support Labour candidate Andrew Smith “unless they want a Tory government”.

But asked if Labour supporters should repay the favour in Oxford West and Abingdon, where the Conservatives are the closest challengers to Liberal Democrat incumbent Evan Harris, he said “people need to make up their own minds in other areas”.