High Speed Rail Network from London to Birmingham

Network rail are trying to link the Midlands with London and the North; it could reduce commuting times from Birmingham to London to just 40 minutes. Bullet trains are all the rage in places like Japan and France and this could bring Britain’s railway traditions back into the limelight.

Under Tory plans a high speed link from St Pancras to Heathrow would be extended north to Birmingham before heading onto Manchester and Leeds. Conservatives support this option above building a third runway at Heathrow; they say their plans could replace almost 70,000 flights a year. It will leave a lasting legacy for future. It will lay the foundations for a high speed network that will one day stretch across the country.

The government has rejected the bullet train as politically opportunistic, economically illiterate and damaging Britain’s national interests. Robert Cochrane (adviser to the Department for Transport) told The Guardian recently that Britain could not assume the success of high speed rail networks in Europe would be repeated here.

The cost of the 180mph train project is put at round £20bn with construction beginning in 2015 and being completed 12 years later. In light of the current economic situation, do we need to go that fast? In short, it’s good for commuters but bad for the countryside and the Chancellor’s purse strings.

Rianne