Aylesbury Vale District Council has agreed to contribute almost £5.4 million towards the East West rail project over the next 15 years.
The £500m project is mainly being funded by the Government, but as part of the deal local authorities agreed to provide £50m with Bucks County Council also providing £15.52m.
The train line, due to be opened in 2017, will mean people can travel from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes in just 35 minutes while also providing better links with Oxford and Bicester. It is also set to provide a new station at Winslow.
Lib Dem councillor Paul Hughes backed the contribution and said Aylesbury had a few years to prepare: “This is what I’d call a no brainer. When spending council money and taxpayers money this has got to be top of the list.
“We’ve got a few years to get the town centre sorted because if not people will get on the train to go to Milton Keynes to go shopping.”
Payments will be spread over 15 years, with the district council paying with money from the New Homes Bonus scheme – cash from new housing developments.
Conservative councillor Jackie Phipps praised the project but said she wanted council to explore what mitigation will be available to anybody affected by the train line.
She said: “There will be things we would like mitigation on. I don’t expect it to be as bad as HS2 but there’s bound to be things we need.”
