High speed link to cut through Chilterns could pass through Gerrards Cross

That's the view of Paul Fullwood of Passenger Focus, the independent statutory watch dog for rail passengers.
He said: "There are a number of options and these will be reported on in December. What route is chosen depends on how much the Government is willing to spend."
He said the cheaper option would be to use existing rail way lines, such as the Chiltern Line, but that trains would be able to travel faster if, as in France, Germany and Spain, new land was used to create an entirely new route without significant bends. Speeds could reach up to 250mph.
He said: "We are certain that the Chiltern Line is one of the options being discussed."
The corridor between the Chiltern Line and the M40 motorway was stated as a preferred route in a 2007 report drawn up by Greengauge 21, a pressure group of 21 organisations including Network Rail and Transport for London, which was set up with the aim of persuading politicians to to make high speed rail policy, which the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and now Labour have now done.
The report, called High Speed Two: A Proposal, said the best route for a north-south high speed rail link would begin at St Pancras, travel west through London along the West Coast Main Line alongside the Central Line, before going into a tunnel at Northolt to get to Heathrow. The report said: "The line would follow the existing Chiltern Line and M40, with a tunnelled section under the railway alignment through High Wycombe." It would then rejoin the existing Chiltern line north of Princes Risborough eventually coming into a new high speed airport at Birmingham International Airport, it said.
Greengauge21 argues that the case for High Speed Two is compelling, and not only because the Government needs it in order to achieve its CO2 reduction target. Its report states it would benefit commuters in and out of cities such as London, by attracting some travellers off commuter lines.
Mr Fullwood said: "This has happened at Ashford and Ebbsfleet on the high speed one line (Eurostar). Some commuters are willing to pay a premium to travel on the high speed line, and this has freed up space for other commuters."
The line to the north would cost £7billion to £29billion, the Government has said. It wants to build the Birmingham line by 2020. Mr Fullwood said work could not start before around 2012 due to the planning process.
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