The UKÔÇÖs Department of Transport has unveiled plans for a ┬ú30 billion railway network designed to slash journey times between the capital and cities in the north.
The plans for the 335-mile network laid particular emphasis on serving the East Midlands, Yorkshire and north-west England. The London to Birmingham route would cost between £15.8 billion and £17.4 billion, and would start from Euston station, which is set to be rebuilt. The London to Birmingham journey time would fall from 84 minutes to 49 minutes.
North of Birmingham, one line would head to a station in the East MidlandsÔÇöSheffield and LeedsÔÇöfrom where the journey time to London would be one hour and 20 minutes. The other line would head towards Manchester, from where the journey time to London would also be one hour and 20 minutes.
From these stations, trains would then continue on to the conventional rail network, allowing cuts in journey times to Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The London to Glasgow journey would shorten by one hour, down to three hours and 30 minutes.
Construction of the London to Birmingham section would start only after completion of the £16 billion London Crossrail scheme in 2017, with the section unlikely to open before 2027.
The project would be state-funded but boosted with substantial contributions from the private sector.
According to Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, high-speed rail would be the best way of facilitating the significant increases in travel likely to occur over the next 20 to 30 years.
He said that the UKÔÇÖs motorway network had reached its limit and the task of taking millions more people between the countryÔÇÖs cities would be undertaken by fleets of trains travelling at up to 250 miles per hour.
The changes would increase capacity on the railway, Lord Adonis said, as well as saving time and being more environmentally sound than building new motorways or encouraging expansion of domestic aviation. He said it would also spur regional growth, regeneration and help bridge the north-south divide.
ÔÇ£High speed rail is a long term strategic project to equip Britain with the transport infrastructure it needs to flourish in the 21st century,ÔÇØ Lord Adonis said, announcing the plans. ÔÇ£Now, as we emerge from recession, is the right time to be planning.
ÔÇ£The GovernmentÔÇÖs view is that high speed rail could play a crucial role not only in meeting reasonable future transport capacity requirements, but also in transforming the connectivity between our major cities, regions and economic centres.ÔÇØ┬á
He concluded: ÔÇ£High speed rail is a policy of huge strategic significance for the country.┬á The time has come to create a credible plan, and for this to be a national cause.ÔÇØ
A hardship fund has been set up for owners of the 440 houses set to be demolished under the London to Birmingham scheme.
The UK government is seeking to minimise the environmental impact of the project through a combination of tunnels and plans to follow existing rail and road corridors.
