Isra-Mart srl:Future of UK's high speed rail network revealed

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-mart srl news:

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond unveiled the route for the next generation of high speed rail in the Commons yesterday.

As expected, a consultation published alongside his statement confirms the route from London to Birmingham will link to Crossrail and the High Speed 1 line, which connects London and the channel tunnel, during the first phase of construction. A second phase of construction will then link the route to Heathrow airport.

The route travels west out of London through the Chilterns, taking it directly through Conservative heartlands, before skirting Leamington Spa and winding into Birmingham. Later phases will extend in a Y-shape towards Leeds and Manchester before heading towards Scotland.

Hammond said that by linking with existing inter-city routes, the network would bring Glasgow and Edinburgh within three-and-a-half hours of London, inducing a "major shift of passengers from domestic aviation".

He said concessions had been made to alleviate environmental concerns, including the creation of additional bridges and tunnels to limit visual impact and avoid severing public rights of way.

In all, around half of the line has been changed in some way since the government published its plans over the summer, he said.

Those whose property values will be affected by the line will also be offered some form of compensation, with a range of options published in the consultation.

However, he was adamant that the local costs would not outweigh the national benefits generated by the project, insisting the financial case for HS2 was sound.

"It is my view that a high speed rail network would deliver a transformational change to the way Britain works and competes in the 21st century," Hammond said. "It would allow the economies of the Midlands and the North to benefit much more directly from the economic engine of London, tackling the North-South divide more effectively than half a century of regional policy has done, expanding labour markets and bringing our major conurbations closer together."

However, green groups remain unconvinced by the government's proposals. Friends of the Earth pointed out that only 1.6 per cent of UK transport emissions are from domestic flights, while the government's own figures show that only 16 per cent of HS2 passengers will be people who would otherwise have travelled by air or car.

"We urgently need investment in faster, better rail travel - but current high- speed rail plans will do little to cut climate-changing emissions or entice people out of planes and cars," said Friends of the Earth's transport campaigner, Richard Dyer. "The Government's priority should be to upgrade our existing overcrowded rail network - so ordinary travellers can benefit from better commuter and longer-distance services."

He also warned that any extension of high speed rail had to be supported by a huge increase in the UK's renewable energy capacity.

"High-speed rail could play a part in a low-carbon transport network, but only if it is powered from renewable sources and backed by action to make rail travel cheaper and more attractive than flying or driving," he said.