London to Scotland 'in two hours' by train
Updated on 26 August 2009
Network Rail unveils ambitious plans which could see a high speed rail network connect London and Scotland in just over two hours at a cost of £34bn.
With 200mph trains there would also be significant journey time reductions to other destinations on the line which would run from central London, via Birmingham, Manchester, Warrington, Liverpool and Preston to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Opting for a westerly route for the line, National Rail's (NR) ambitious plan would not be complete until 2030.
Planning and building the line will take at least ten years and the whole scheme will need approval from the government which has already set up its own high speed rail link (HSR) study.
NR said that creating a new HSR station in central London would be a major challenge and that passengers using the line might have to pay a 30 per cent fare premium.
National Rail chief executive Iain Coucher said HSR could "transform Britain" and it was vital to start planning for it now.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said the government's HSR study group - High Speed 2 - would take full account of the NR report and submit its own proposals for a high-speed line to the government by the end of this year.
Train companies, passenger groups and politicians north and south of the border all welcomed the NR plans and called for the money be found for HSR.
NR's report today outlined plans for 54 ten-carriage and 20 five-carriage trains running north from London.
Birmingham could be reached from London in just 46 minutes, with London-Manchester times coming down to one hour six minutes and London-Warrington also being reduced to one hour six minutes.
The London-Preston time would be one hour 13 minutes and the line would then head further northwards, splitting to go to Glasgow (two hours 16 minutes) and Edinburgh (two hours nine minutes).
NR said such a scheme would generate almost £55bn of value, thus paying for itself 1.8 times over.
The NR plan does not include a direct link to Heathrow airport in west London, with the company believing that such an increase in costs would outweigh the benefits and revenue.
However NR said a spur to Heathrow could be possible but the company ruled out a connection to Leeds through Manchester, reckoning that Leeds should have its own high-speed link with London.
NR did not give a precise route for the new line but said it could offer up to 16 trains an hour to and from London and provide 9,100 seats per hour into the capital.
There would be eight new stations with 400 metre-long platforms, more than 1,500 miles of track, 34 miles of tunnels and 32 bridges over motorways.
New city centre terminal stations in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh would be located close to existing city centre stations.
But NR warned that London itself "could present an engineering, planning and affordability challenge that delays or prevents the (high-speed) programme being progressed".
NR envisages the line being built by a similar consortium that came together to build the London to Folkestone Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Mr Coucher said: "High-speed rail can transform Britain. It can promote economic growth, regeneration and social inclusion.
"It is a low carbon option - cutting domestic flights and taking cars and lorries off the road. It will release capacity on the existing rail network and revolutionise passenger journeys."
Lord Adonis said the report made "a powerful case for high-speed rail in Britain", while shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the report provided further evidence that HSR rail should extend north of Birmingham - a move supported by the Conservatives.
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker MP said promises of a new HSR line needed to be backed up with a clear indication of how it could be funded.
Scottish politicians also welcomed the report as did business organisations, while rail watchdog Passenger Focus said it was crucial that new funding be found for the line.
"Passengers won't want to see money taken from other areas of the railway to pay for this ambitious development," added Passenger Focus chief executive Anthony Smith.
