High Speed Rail 2

 Transport policy statement 10/01 

In its programme for government, the Coalition confirmed its intention to establish a high-speed rail network for the whole of Britain as part of its measures to create a low-carbon economy. Given financial constraints this is to be achieved in phases, with an initial London-West Midlands link starting work in 2017, expanding into northern England and Scotland at a later date.

 

Further to our first policy statement on high-speed rail after the creation of High Speed Two Ltd (HS2) in January 2009, this new document follows the publication of the previous Government’s Command Paper in March 2010, and looks more closely at issues of route, speed, engineering skills and investment.

Key recommendations

The Institution recommends that:

• Commitment should be made to connecting the major cities in the North of England with London at the earliest opportunity.
• The Government should initiate a project to provide a high-speed rail link to provide a direct connection between the UK north of London and the Channel Tunnel.
• The average speed for HS2 should be kept to 240kph (with a maximum of 320kph) until a truly decarbonised electricity supply mix is available.
• The transfer of skilled engineers between Crossrail and HS2 should be planned in advance, to maximise the benefits and minimise the costs of creating an engineering workforce for HS2.

Download the full policy statement

 

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