Calls for high-speed rail link

Mar 11 2010

A high-speed railway proposed by the UK Government must be extended to Scotland from the outset, business leaders said.

Pressure for a northern link commitment came after Lord Adonis, Westminster's transport minister, published proposals for a line from London to Birmingham. The Labour peer gave his backing to a future extension north along a 335-mile cross-border link but only set out details for the initial section. There were further calls that the north of Scotland must not be left out of improvements elsewhere.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: "Scotland must be a part of our national high-speed rail network from the outset and this announcement does not go far enough for Scottish businesses. Independent research has estimated the economic benefits of high-speed rail to Scotland to be in excess of £7 billion, and there are significant environmental and productivity benefits to be gained from the modal shift from air to rail that such an investment would bring to Scotland."