BACKING FOR NORTH-SOUTH HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK

A SENIOR railway manager says a high-speed line to link the towns and cities in the north of England and Scotland with economically more prosperous areas in the South East would provide the incentive for business to relocate into the UK's regions.

Speaking at a conference in Glasgow, Richard Brown, chief executive of Eurostar, which links the South East with France and Belgium, said that Lille, on the borders of the two countries, was an example of an economically depressed area that was regenerated by the arrival of a high-speed rail line.

He also told the conference - Fast Track: high speed rail for Scotland, organised by the Railway Forum and the Scottish Association for Public Transport - that as well as bringing urban regeneration, a high-speed line would be good for the environment.

"Crucially," Mr Brown said, it would "protect the environment by encouraging travellers to switch from carbon dioxide producing short-haul flights onto environmentally friendly rail."



* The Institution of Civil Engineers has launched ‘The Missing Link’ — a report also recommending construction of a north-south high-speed rail route.

The report said the link - which could cut London to Scotland journey times by almost a half - is preferable to more motorways or airport runways.

Graeme Monteith of the Institution, said: "Once again, it is time for the train to take the strain. This would have a positive impact on the environment and play a significant role in reducing the UK's carbon emissions from transport in the longer term."



** The council leaders of Scotland's two main cities - Edinburgh and Glasgow - have jointly backed a campaign for a fast line between the two.

Unlikely to be built for at least ten years, the multi-million pound line would reduce journey times between the two cities from 50 minutes to just half an hour.

SOURCE RAILNEWS