Sir – There has been much comment on the HS2 link, but what has been proposed is by no means the only route possible.

Putting the link near Luton, Milton Keynes and Welwyn Garden City would put a million people within easy reach of it and save making many tunnels. These towns are modern industrial centres, which would greatly benefit from good travel connections to Europe. The high-speed line could also be linked directly to Stratford along the Lea Valley. This saves making another new station in London. Also as trains cannot travel as fast in tunnels, the service would be much quicker.

A high-speed link with these features would be of great benefit to the country, as it would be faster, give a better service to more people, have less visual impact on the countryside and save as much as £10bn.

Even if this plan is not adopted I feel that it should at least be very widely discussed before committing a colossal amount of money to a project which to many is harmful and even second rate.

Mark Hardinge, Worcester