20.000 new job and huge revamp of Euston station for high-speed rail London to Birmingham. Nearly three miles of extra tunnelling under London and thousands of new job were pledged to buy off protest as the High Speed Rail line to Birmingham. The announcement means a complete redevelopment of Euston Station, creating 2000 jobs in offices and shops. Backer said 20.000 jobs would be created at the major new Old Oak Common interchange near Wormwood Scrubs, saying it would do for west London regeneration what the Olimpics is doing in the east. [photo  mirror.co.uk]

Plans for a £33billion high-speed rail scheme were approved by ministers yesterday – despite massive public opposition and Tory warnings that it will prove a costly ‘white elephant’. Transport Secretary Justine Greening faced down protests from her own MPs in the Common to confirm she will press ahead with the HS2  High Speed 2 line from London to Birmingham and, eventually, Manchester and Leeds. The cost of just one tunnel in Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan’s threatened constituency has been estimated at up to £500million The HS2 scheme will involve trains travelling at up to 250mph, halving journey times between Birmingham and London to 50 minutes.

But some peoples are no happy , Stop HS2 protest signs in Wendover, Buckinghamshire Labour transport spokesman Maria Eagle accused the Government of ‘committing significant expenditure to prevent a Cabinet resignation’. But Miss Greening claimed the overall impact of changes to the 140-mile route – more than half of which will now be in tunnels and cuttings – would be to reduce the cost by about £250million. Miss Greening announced measures to help limit the damage done to Wendover, but many residents are still unhappy Miss Greening announced plans for an unprecedented compensation scheme for homeowners whose properties are destroyed or blighted by the scheme.

Owners will even have the option to sell their home to the State and rent it back on favourable terms, while those living above tunnels will be given permanent indemnity against subsidence. More than 400 homes will have to be demolished and thousands more will be affected by increased train noise.

It will also involve a complete revamp of Euston Station, the line’s London terminus. Pam Garner, 63, said she would never vote Tory again, adding: ‘We won’t even benefit as we won’t be able to get on a train here. This is supposedly an area of outstanding natural beauty but that seems to have been just ignored.’ Labour said it backed plans for a high-speed rail network, but had concerns about the route and likely ticket prices. [photo Miss Greening ]

Miss Eagle said there was a danger the new network would become a ‘rich man’s toy’ many people cannot believe the Government is planning to spend £130million per mile on a single railway that will only benefit a tiny number of people when so many are struggling. It will destroy great tracts of irreplacable English countryside and all for nothing.’