High-Speed Rail should be a Government priority

3.32.00pm GMT Thu 11th Jan 2007

High-speed rail offers a viable alternative to air travel from central Scotland to London

Jo Swinson has criticised the Government for showing a lack of interest in a Glasgow to London high-speed rail link.

A high-speed rail link would deliver journey times of under 3 hours from Central Scotland to London. 90% of passengers from Glasgow to London and 80% of passengers from Edinburgh to London currently use domestic air travel.

Ms Swinson said:

"High-speed rail would give passengers from East Dunbartonshire a means of traveling from Central Scotland to London in under three hours. It represents an attractive alternative to air travel, and a means to achieving vital cuts in CO2 emissions from aviation.

"With the West Coast Main Line set to reach capacity by 2015, congestion on our rail network will become a critical problem unless high-speed lines can be introduced to ease pressure on existing routes.

"The Government should be pursuing high-speed rail as a matter of priority. Instead, they are displaying a worrying lack of interest in a project favoured by business and representing a realistic, sustainable solution for our future transport needs."

The West Coast Main Line is undergoing an £8.6billion upgrade. In November 2006 the National Audit Office revealed fears that the line might not be able to cope with current levels of growth beyond 2015.