Government assesses "viable and realistic" high-speed rail plans

The government is pressing ahead with plans to build a high-speed rail link between London, northern England and Scotland as part of its strategy to cut emissions from road transport and domestic flights.

According to documents released to The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act, the plans for a 200mph link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow would cost up to £29bn, while plans for extending the network to include to Leeds, York and Sheffield would cost an additional £10bn.

The network, which could carry double-decker carriages modelled on the French TGV trains, would slash journey times between London and Manchester to one hour and 22 minutes and reduce times to Glasgow to two hours and 42 minutes.

Transport minister Lord Adonis welcomed the study, which was undertaken by consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton, arguing that it proved a "high-speed line is a perfectly viable and realistic option".

"We are looking seriously and urgently at the potential for high-speed rail in the UK," he said. "Britain invented the railways and exported the technology to the rest of the world. It would be great if we were able to take a lead in high-speed rail technology in the 21st century."

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, a spokesman for the Department for Transport said that £39bn was likely to be at the "bottom end" of the final cost estimates for the project as the government is considering building entirely new lines, rather than upgrading sections of track as anticipated by the study.

He added that High Speed Two, the government-backed company set up to manage the development of high-speed rail in the UK, was now assessing the feasibility of new lines and would report on its findings before the end of the year.

Political consensus is growing with both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats stating that they would authorise the building of a high-speed rail link instead of expanding capacity at Heathrow.

However, the plans could face major opposition at the planning stage. The government has not disclosed the precise routes under consideration, but the study estimates more than one million people would be affected by higher noise levels. It suggests £2bn worth of measures to reduce noise from the line, as well as £1.4bn worth of tunnels or diversions to avoid environmentally and culturally sensitive sites.