HS2 & Greenford - The Parish of Greenford Magna

HS2 & GreenfordLondon Wildlife Trust have given copyright consent for Magna to use their map.To view this map in colour please download (page 18) http://tinyurl.com/sshs2lwtYou will have seen, in the press, announcements that a new, high speed rail service is proposed, from London(Euston) to Birmingham, and eventually further north. There has been mention of it before in Magna.The propose route is adjacent to the existing Central Line tracks, on the North side - The proposal includesthat there will be up to 14 trains per hour. The line will be constructed to allow a maximum speed of 250 kmper hourThere are arguments for and against High Speed Rail, and for – and against – this particular route.The detailed implications for Greenford are unknown, although there was a consultation exercise at theGreenford Hall in May 2011, and noise simulations there suggested that the noise would not be much differentfrom the present Central and Chiltern Line services. But the frequency would be considerably greater and thevalidity of those simulations has been challenged as the detail of the locomotive and rolling stock are not yetknow, so their noise profile cannot be accurately modelled.

One thing that is certain is that, if the route as proposed goesahead, there will be massive engineering works including newbridges at every point that the route crosses a road(Mandeville Road, Northolt, Oldfield Lane North, Lyon Way,Greenford Road, Horsenden Lane South, Bideford Avenue,Alperton Lane, Hanger Lane (at a recent public meeting it wassuggested that this would be closed for 18 months, with localdiversions) – this is likely to cause huge traffic disruption. Andnew bridges will be needed over the Grand Union Canal andthe River Brent too.There are also reports that properties close to the route arenow reduced in value and will be more difficult to sell.Even though the route has been announced by JustineGreening, the Secretary of State for Transport we are toldthat is it is not a done deal and there is still a possibility ofchanges to the route …thanks to a vigorous campaign duringthe “consultation” phase, the route was changed in Ruislip,where it will now be tunnelled. There needs to be furtherconsultation, impact analysis, an Act of Parliament, before itcan progress. If the project plan is followed then constructionwill commence in 2016, and the line will open in 2026. Thereare bound to be test trains before then.There is a local campaign - Northolt, Greenford & Perivaleresidents are now campaigning either for the route to bechanged, or at the very least tunnelled through the area. Atunnel would reduce the impact, although it would still need tobe dug, so there will be noise and disturbance etc whilst thework is in progress.You can also find more information on the HS2 websitehttp://www.hs2.org.uk/ - and there's a website for thenational campaign against the project - http://stophs2.org/and, locally a Twitter Campaign,https://twitter.com/#%21/StopHS2_LDN .Andy Pedley