Photo of HS1 by Shirley Judges.
Nearest station: Birmingham Interchange (near Airport/NEC). Destination: London Euston or Old Oak Common, West London (interchange for Heathrow).
Closest road in Cubbington village to proposed HS2 line: Thorn Stile Close, 545 yards (500 metres). Others outside the village will also be close to the line. See the HS2 Ltd map
- Two tracks, two concrete zones, service roads, viaducts, noise barriers, fences and overhead gantries for cables.
- Deepest point of Cubbington cutting: 55 ft. (17 m.). Greatest width: 330 ft. (100 m.)
- Trains running at 225 mph initially, 250 mph in future.
- Up to 1100 passengers per train; trains running 5 am – midnight.
- 28 trains per hour (eventually 36) in both directions.
- Length of each train: up to a quarter of a mile.
- Costs: £17 billion quoted (March 2010) for building line only, not rolling stock etc. Total costs for proposed network up to Manchester and Leeds: over £30b.
- Visual impact of embankment + 200m. viaduct across unspoilt river Leam valley.
- Many residents will experience noise nuisance 19 hours a day as high speed trains are much noisier than conventional ones, more like aircraft on rails.
- Disruption to local communities and traffic during building work: up to 7 years.
- Destruction: much of South Cubbington Wood, peaceful countryside, footpaths and wildlife.
- Our 250 year old champion Wild Pear Tree will be axed
