Northern high speed rail link could be approved within months

ondon to Scotland high speed rail link could be approved by March

A proposed high-speed rail link connecting Scotland and London could be agreed upon by as early as March, according to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.

The agreement would come after approval of a study commissioned by the UK government into a 200mph rail connection that would reduce travel times to the north of Britain by half, to just over two hours.

However the rail link is estimated to take many years to construct at a cost of about £34 billion.

The proposed plans are to be made up after Lord Adonis received a report yesterday from High Speed 2, the company which the government has set up early last year to draw up plans for a high-speed north-south link.

Lord Adonis told reporters that the report was the most detailed look-into high speed rail to ever have taken place in the UK.

He pointed out that the UK was far behind many other European countries, and that there was no connection between any other cities, however the report could change that.

The HS2 report will provides details for a connection for the first stage to be constructed between London and the West Midlands, with the option to extend the link further north to Scotland.

A public consultation on the plans would take place later in 2010, but with a general election likely in May, the possible change in government could further delay the plans, particularly as radical expenditure reductions are required to boost the nation’s recovery to economic stability.

However the Conservatives are in favour of the planned high-speed link on environmental grounds.

The UK only has 68 miles of high-speed rail connecting London to the Channel Tunnel to France.

Adonis highlighted the fact that the rest of Europe has 3,600 miles of high speed rail in operation, with another 2,000 under construction, while China would have 6,000 miles running by 2012.