PROPOSALS for an alternative route for the planned £33bn High Speed Rail link (HS2) which would run closer to Oxfordshire towns have been attacked by MP Tony Baldry.

Shadow transport minister Maria Eagle told the Airport Operators Association yesterday that the London to Birmingham line should follow parts of the M40 and Chiltern Line.

The Liverpool MP also suggested HS2 should link to Heathrow. It is understood her route would run closer to Bicester, Banbury and Princes Risborough, then join the original route at Leamington before continuing to Birmingham airport and the city centre.

But North Oxfordshire MP Tony Baldry has fired off a scathing letter to Ms Eagle calling her proposal “ludicrous”.

He said if the route of the rail scheme was changed it would have a “dramatically negative impact” on Bicester, Banbury and surrounding villages.

Mr Baldry said: “Under the Labour Party’s proposal, HS2 would emerge into the Chilterns from a long deep tunnel.

“But the ludicrous nature of the proposed route becomes apparent in relation to Bicester and Banbury. I am not entirely sure whether the Labour Party think there is spare land between the motorway and Banbury and Bicester, but either way the suggestion is quite simply undeliverable.”

The current proposal for the HS2 route would cut across the north-east corner of Oxfordshire between Finmere and Mixbury.

Ms Eagle said: “Following the cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow, it is vital that we take the opportunity that this new line offers to provide greater connectivity to our major hub airport. It could lead to a new route that makes better use of existing transport corridors and avoids an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.”