WELSH Secretary Cheryl Gillan is facing calls to resign after opposing a high speed rail line between London and Birmingham and her failure to secure electrification on the South Wales to London line.

The £32 billion High Speed 2 (HS2) scheme planned to link England's biggest two cities would cut through swathes of the English countryside, including parts of Mrs Gillan's Chesham and Amersham constituency in Buckinghamshire.

Supporters say the track would spark economic growth north of London, with a possible extension of the line to Leeds and Manchester.

But opponents in counties affected by the planned track say the cost is too high and would spoil too much landscape with few guaranteed rewards.

Mrs Gillan, facing ongoing anger among Welsh MPs over her failure to secure the electrification of the Great Western mainline from London to Swansea, has reportedly vowed to resign her Cabinet post if HS2 is approved.

Speaking at Welsh Questions in the Commons, Labour's Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) said: "I have heard of trains cancelled because of snow and leaves on the line, but never before because of the Secretary of State on the line.

"HS2 would bring great benefits to Wales, but our Buckinghamshire-based Secretary of State opposes this.

"If our Secretary of State won't stand up for Wales, why won't she resign?"

Mrs Gillan thanked Ms Jones for her "close interest in my career", and said: "The Government is currently consulting on a new, national, high-speed rail network programme of modernisation of the rail network, including electrification of the Great Western mainline to Cardiff."

Shadow Wales Office minister Owen Smith pointed to Mrs Gillan's resignation threat, telling MPs: "We in Wales are very grateful for the offer but when will the precise date be to trigger it?

''We are a generous people, we would very much like to give her a good send off."

He added: "Would the Secretary of State be happy to resign over the failure to deliver electrification of the rail line to Swansea and the Valleys, as she is happy to resign over matters in her own constituency?"

Swansea West MP Geraint Davies asked Wales Office Minister David Jones what discussions there had been with the Transport Secretary about securing European funding to reduce the cost of the scheme.

Previously the Labour MP has argued that if convergence funding is available from Europe, then it would cover more than half of the cost of extending the line, with the UK and Welsh governments paying the rest.

He also claims electrification could also be justified for Swansea if the number of services could be increased to more than one an hour off-peak, including services that stop in Bath or Bristol.

Mr Davies said: "The Minister will know how disappointed businesses and people in West Wales and Swansea are about the lack of electrification to Swansea.

"Will he and the Secretary of State ensure in their discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport that there is every prospect costs may be reduced by European funding and that benefits may be increased by greater frequency on the back of Premier League status for Swansea City?"