Adonis announces high-speed rail plans

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has announced plans for high-speed rail services linking London to Birmingham, Manchester, the East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds. With trains running at up to 250 miles an hour, the proposals will "revolutionise" Britain's rail network, he said.

The development of a 335 mile 'y'-shaped network is likely to bring the West Midlands within about half an hour of London and deliver journey times of 75 minutes or under from Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester to the capital. Connections on to existing tracks would be included, allowing direct high speed train services to be operated to such cities as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Liverpool as soon as the line opens.

The first step in building such a network would be a high speed line from London to Birmingham and the government has just published details of High Speed Two Ltd's (HS2 Ltd) recommended route. Full public consultation on the route and the longer term strategy for high speed rail will start in the autumn while detailed planning work will begin on the route options from Birmingham to Manchester and to Leeds to allow consultation on these routes in 2012.

Adonis said: "The time has come for Britain to plan seriously for high-speed rail between our major cities. The high-speed line from London to the Channel Tunnel has been a clear success, and many European and Asian countries now have extensive and successful high-speed networks. I believe high speed rail has a big part to play in Britain's future."

He added: "Over the next 20 to 30 years the UK will require a step-change in transport capacity and connectivity both to promote and respond to long-term economic growth. However, this must be delivered sustainably, without unacceptable environmental impacts, and in line with the government's strategy to promote a low carbon economy. High-speed rail would be by far the most effective way to achieve this step-change, offering a balance of capacity, connectivity and sustainability benefits unmatched by any other option."