Residents in northern England and Scotland have taken a step closer to a high-speed railway route to London, thanks to the approval of the first stage between the capital and Birmingham.
The fast train, known as the HS2 project, has been in the pipeline for many months and was finally given the go head by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition. Transport Secretary Justine Greening made the announcement in parliament, revealing at the same time that more sections than previously thought of the London-Birmingham route would be covered by tunnels.
This may go some way to placating opponents of the scheme who are concerned because the newly built railway line will have to pass through some of England’s most beautiful stretches of countryside. However, it will still be many years before you can buy your ticket for the HS2 as the first stage, which is estimated to cost around £16 billion, will not be ready until at least 2026. Commuters could then expect to make the journey from Birmingham to the heart of London in just 50 minutes.
If successful, the project will be expanded to northern cities including Manchester and Leeds, with the possibility of further additions to Newcastle and across the border within 20 years. Scots would see their journey time to the capital cut to an impressive three and a half hours; the journey currently takes around seven.
Even Labour are supporting the new transport project, though critics argue that the projected £32 billion is very ambitious and that the government should be spending its money on more important schemes in this time of financial austerity.
However, supporters argue that the current railway system in the UK will be unable to cope with demand in a few decades and the HS2 project will actually benefit the country’s economy to the tune of almost £50 billion over the next 60 years.
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