ALTERNATIVES TO HIGH SPEED 2 (No. 1)

That this House believes that there is a range of sensible alternatives to High Speed 2 for railway investment which would bring great benefit to the travelling public, to rail freight capacity, to the nations and regions of the UK and to the economy as a whole; urges the Government to give serious consideration to the specific alternative of electrifying and upgrading the Birmingham Snow Hill to London line, linking it to Crossrail at its southern end, thus providing fast and direct passenger services between the business centre of Birmingham, the City of London and Canary Wharf, and Heathrow Airport; and notes that this upgraded route could be linked easily to the West Coast Main Line providing for direct services from the North to Crossrail and linking Birmingham and Heathrow Airports with a fast shuttle service.