In an attempt to establish the current route of the High Speed 2 link to Birmingham I have listed below the various points in the Government’s assessment outlined in the Department of Transport’s document ‘High Speed Rail Summary’ of March 2010.
Map showing route of HS2 indicating path of new viaduct
Government’s assessment is (pertinent points only):
6. That Britain’s initial core high speed network should link London to Birmingham, Manchester, the East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds, and be capable of carrying trains at up to 250 miles per hour. This Y-shaped network of around 335 miles (see indicative map on page 10) would bring the West Midlands within about half an hour of London, and deliver journey times of around 75 minutes from Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester to the capital. HS2 Ltd’s work has shown that as a first step a high speed line from London to Birmingham would offer high value for money as the foundation for such a network, delivering more than £2 of benefits for every £1 spent;
8. That the capacity released through transferring long-distance services to this network should be used to expand commuter, regional and freight services on existing lines, with particular benefit for areas expected to see significant housing growth including Milton Keynes, Luton, Northampton, Peterborough, Kettering, Corby and Wellingborough;
9. That HS2 Ltd’s recommended route for a London-Birmingham high speed line (‘High Speed Two’), which would run from a rebuilt Euston station in London to a new Birmingham City Centre station at Curzon/Fazeley Street, is viable, subject to further work on reducing specific impacts on the local environment and communities;
12. That effective integration with London’s current and planned transport networks is crucial, and that this is best delivered through the combination of a Euston terminus and a Crossrail Interchange station sited between Paddington and Heathrow, which would also provide a link to the Great Western Main Line;
14. That high speed rail access to Heathrow is important, and should be provided from the outset through a fast and direct link of about 10 minutes via the Heathrow Express from the Crossrail Interchange station;
From the points above it seems that we can assume the following:
The line would run from London Euston, mainly in tunnel, to an interchange with Crossrail, west of Paddington, thence along the New North Main Line (Acton-Northolt Line) past West Ruislip alongside the Chiltern Main Line with a four-kilometre viaduct over the Grand Union Canal and River Colne,then from the M25 to Amersham in a new 9.6 km tunnel.
This places the route squarely through West Ruislip and Harefield between West Ruislip Main Line and Tube Station and the M25.