Fears as high-speed rail route unveiled (From Oxford Mail)

What a non story. Firstly there will be a few changes of government before then, so what is decided now will mean nothing. 225 MPH you're having a laugh. And by 2026 Finmere will be part of a big city called Bifinly so why worry now. The rail link is as likely to happen as H.G.Wells Martians landing on Earth. Oh well at least it has stopped the NIMBYS campaigning against the Wind Turbines for a few days

The picture comment highlights the fact that this route is reopening an old line, so it's not like it's going through virgin woodland. I reckon the noise from steam trains back in the 50's would be louder than a modern highspeed electric. Mike K-B should take solace in the fact that even allowing for the new line his house value increase will have massively outripped average earnings in the 25yrs he has been there.

The high speed rail link is great news for the country. Whilst, the route between Birmingham & London won't directly benefit the people of Oxford, as the route progresses North, people of Oxon & Bucks will be jumping on "traditional" services to Birmingham to connect with High Speed rail to the North of England and Scotland. If anyone pays close attention to the plans, the clear indication is that the maintenance plant for the trains will be at Wolverton and the E-W rail link will be re-opened to a high standard between Calvert & Bletchley to permit access from HS2. All it will then take is 3 miles of upgrade between the Chiltern Evergreen 3 Project at Bicester and the HS2 line to reopen the E-W link between Oxford and Milton Keynes. Great news for the County and local people.

What a sour face from a sour, double-barrelled, selfish individual! This used to be main railway line until it was absurdly closed in the Beeching era. The new high speed railway is no more than using it for the very purpose it was built. Let these NIMBYs go somewhere and whine else and get on with reducing the pollution (and noise) from cars on the M40/M1 and planes in the sky.

I know how he feels - just seen the map and discovered the new line runs half a mile south of our village *gloom*. Our bit is a new line complete with viaducts, bridges and a huge embankment. Don't get me wrong though, I'm all for public transport and if the railway line that Dr Beeching closed in the 60's that used to run through our village was still open I'd use that to get to Banbury instead of the car. Trouble is the new trains won't stop (obviously). If it does go ahead, well, I just don't know...M40 all over again...years of construction and distruction. When something like this could directly affect you it does change your outlook on things, yes, it is NIMBYism...you just can't help it. I don't know what to think!

Unfortunately any major project does affect 'idyllic' scenes like that depicted - its a sad fact of life in a relativelely densely populated country like ours.
No doubt there were protests when the M40 was built, and when the original Chiltern and Great Central rail routes were built in the late 19th and early century.

What has home value got to do with? This is about quality of life and everyone has the right to highlight concern when that is in question, not be ridiculed for it. Mike’s home is his castle, just like my own and yours too; value over 25 years is a stupid thing to remark, all land and property has increased over the past 25 years, no different to the past few hundred years.

Value of life is the important thing here and when a village is constantly battling against excessive landfill, and government environment offices turning a blind eye to their rule breaking practices, (appalling when we consider they are financed by the public to protect the public), oh and of late, now we battling against incinerator applications (again) and our health being challenged as we are slowly poisoned (fact)…. Yes, enough is enough.

Helping the environment, yeah right, maybe someone could give us the facts on the damage this construction will cause, steel for the lines, electricity for power, lorries, vans and cars required to complete the creation, the trains building themselves and the affect on nature, wildlife, etc. What is the offset term here? How much of these eco friendly resources will be imported???!!!

As for steam trains and the noise, good argument, except they were not as busy and other means of transport choices not so plentiful. As for the turn of the century railway building, this was welcoming as it meant your world spread far beyond a few mile radius!

To shave of a mere 20 mins from London to Birmingham – is that really worthy??? Oh and one other fact to consider is the cost of this travel champion idea... Who’s going to be able to afford it? As it stands driving your car or jumping on a domestic flight is far cheaper than taking a train, you think any of that £30billion will be used to subsidise travel costs? No, you’ll see your taxes (I include stealth) continually increase as our children pay for our governments (and bankers) major mistakes. What is it our government is still borrowing, £20million per hour!!!!!!!! What’s another £30billion!

We hear Cameron talk about technology investment, making this country powerful once again, globally competitive etc…. £30billion would do a lot more to business and protect, if not create jobs… far more than another rail link can offer, it’s not like the old one is that good, lets fix what needs fixing….. With the internet and more people working from home, one could argue an eco supportive drive is well underway. 10 years ago I drove 40,000 miles a year and flew on business a lot, now I take a flight every couple of years and drive 10,000 miles, all thanks to the internet, a pc and a digital camera. I digress!

How long will it take the country to recoup the £30billion cost plus running costs thereafter?

Has anybody actually taken a poll on (1) who wants it? and (2) who will use it? Is this another one of those plans for the people they think is wanted but in reality won’t be useed? Millennium Dome, that was a goodie for the public, very well used and made its money back as planned (not). Good old labour again eh!

Surely everyone can see the timing of this is more politically biased than anything else as conservatives enjoy a very strong foothold on the areas to be most affected. Someone told me Buckinghamshire has more lawyers per square mile than anywhere else in the country, good news I hope. Do I think this plan will go ahead (not sure) start in 2017 (never)…. But in the meantime, have we just lost the value in hour homes? A value with meaning if we need to sell?

I think we as a nation should focus on job creation and debt repayment before thinking about spending money on new train sets we can’t afford!!! Grandma always said if you save for it – you’ll respect it!