JOURNEY times between London and Glasgow of two and a quarter hours are on the horizon following the publication today of Network Rail’s plans for a new high-speed link.
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By 2030, trains running at over 200mph would almost halve the current time taken to reach Scotland’s major city, with similar time savings made along the west of Britain route.
Despite the multi-billion pound investment needed for the ambitious scheme, there is a good chance of it getting the go-ahead, since both major political parties back a new generation of high-speed trains on the model of France’s TGV network.
“This report makes a powerful case for high-speed rail in Britain,” said current Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.
For the Tories, shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers said: “Today’s announcement provides further evidence that we need to take high speed rail to the north.”
As well as the huge reduction in London-Glasgow journey times, Network Rail also calculates that the London-Birmingham route would be slashed from one hour, 22 minutes to just 45 minutes and the London-Manchester one from two hours and six minutes to one hour and seven.
