HS2 alternative to dwindling oil

Aug 4 2010 Buckinghamshire Advertiser

IT IS better to reduce the pressure on oil and on space by providing a comfortable, safe, fast and sustainable alternative to road and air travel than to increase taxation, as Chris Smith suggests (Local gain from HS2 is minimal, Letters, June 17).

I understand that the Department for Transport's High Speed Rail report is available at, among other places, Amersham Library, and there is a summary in Chesham Library. It was published in March.

Further analysis of road and rail travel, and assessments of future needs, are obtainable from D&J's library in Wetherby, Yorkshire. Its telephone number is 03001 231 102.

The rationale is, however, the greater good of the greater number, including future populations.

We cannot go on using oil as if there were no tomorrow. We need a model shift towards sustainably powered travel.

Electricity can be generated from tides. The Gulf of Mexico oil tragedy illustrates the danger of using remote, dodgy sources as the readily available oil is used up.

JIM WHITEHEAD Belmont Road

Chesham