Rail Compensation Scheme Begins

A compensation scheme has been launched in order to compensate people affected by the proposed High Speed Rail link between London and Birmingham. This has affected a large amount of people who may need to urgently sell their home, although the proposed line has decreased the chances of this happening. These people will now be able to apply for the Government to buy their homes. An impendent panel is to be set up which will assess the applications on a case by case basis. Although many home owners in the areas affected fear that the criteria may be too strict, this may lead to some missing out. When planning permission for the track was granted, residents of homes found out whether their homes would be bulldozed or whether they would have a 200 miles per hour track at the rear of their garden. The route of train is planned to go from Londons Euston Station, running just south of Aylesbury, between Coventry and Kenilworth and then into a new planned state in the Eastside area of Birmingham. The track is planned to be built with the purpose of holding trains capable of 250mph, reducing the current travelling time by half to 49 minutes. The trains will be 400 metres long and will be capable of holding up to 1100 people, present plans are there to be 14 trains an hour. Although the building of this track will lead to many people losing their homes and also many businesses also being affected. The current route of the track is only a provisional route which was announced by the former Labour government. The new government plans to hold consultations in order to establish the best route for the track.