Government Approves HS2 go-ahead but what about Great Central linkage?

HS2 has a route around Brackley and veers off to the north west. No station for the town, so zero access between Old Oak Common and Solihull, some 80 miles of nil access to the railway. Aylesbury, Calvert, Brackley and Southam have all been suggested places stations on any normal railway could be placed but alas HS2 supporters claim is unique, different, even to that of overseas High Speed configurations! On the one hand it can link to Liverpool on existing lines, on the other they claim you cannot bolt on a Great Central Rail Link north of Brackley - why? I just wish there was a more inclusive, organic and collaborative approach. Sadly it has been top-down all the way, with a brash and brazen dismissal rather than open-mindedness which could have turned a nightmare into an asset. I still think it is the wrong side of #London and the lack of links to HS1 and #Heathrow and the pouring of estimated numbers to existing London infrastructure even with a working Crossrail, leaves overcrowding highly likely. So ill-thought through - can that be rectified now? I very much hope #ertarail will seek answers and get some accommodation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51461597#

Our proposal is to go more or less via old GC route to join the Nuneaton-Leicester line at Narborough via a new chord. Passenger services would feed into Leicester, freight via Knighton-Burton for Derby and diaspora from then unless going on to Peterborough. Rugby we could reopen the old station, maybe slightly reconfigured, but another idea complimenting the direct route was a new station at Willoughby and junction with a spur going off via Barby area to link the Northampton Loop Line where they diverge south of Rugby for WCML linkage and optimise the new routes capability. North of Rugby viaducts would be required and a new alignment alongside (eastern side) of M1 which sits on the course of the old railway - part of why they wanted the railway gone in 1969 (?) with a new Park and Ride Station for the Lutterworth area, intercepting A14/M1/M6 convergencies in that area. That is all we are proposing, but the way Paul Bigland, Nigel Harris, Gareth Dennis and Rail Magazine have reacted and treated me is as if we are saying 'we want the world, and we want it now'! I believe our calls are moderate, realistic and need both local council buy-in, route protection and devaition space protection and studies to both make the case and look at design features. A new station Park and Ride to serve both Southam and Daventry on the A425 as GC intercepts it about half way between the two, bearing in mind in 10 years it is likeley expansion will occur across the regions anyway. So we need as much and as many helpers, team players and supporters as we may bring together. It would be very good to meet you and work together to forward this project. Please tap into any of our meetings: https://www.ertarail.com/events My colleague Mr Simon Barber is more-than willing to meet anyone interested and find common ground please. We don't pretend to have all the answers, just an idea and more-than a hunch of what could be done and believe HS2 should entertain our views and ultimately incorporate them as in theirs and wider interests. I attach a diagram which although imperfect, reflects also something of what we wish for. I am sure for accommodation we would be flexible, as long as we get an all singing, all dancing railway.