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High speed rail for North East?

A bid to bring the world’s fastest train line to the North East has been unveiled.

Plans for double-decker trains travelling at speeds of up to 225mph through the region could become reality over the next 12 years.

Transport bosses want to build a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland, which would leave from the capital’s suburb. The frequent service could carry passengers to Birmingham in 30 minutes and Manchester in one hour. The North East branch would then travel through Leeds and on to Edinburgh.

The trains would carry up to 800 passengers, and leave the capital every four minutes.

The chairman of High Speed Two, the Government-owned company planning the link, said the aim was to have four tracks instead of two to double the capacity of the route.

Sir David Rowlands said the UK needed to plan ahead for predicted growth in rail travel. He wants to open the first part of the line, from London to the West Midlands, in 2020.

Sir David said: “We are looking at four tracks because two tracks could quickly be filled. It is much cheaper to safeguard the land at the start rather than having to go back in another 20 years and build another two tracks.”

Most of the 225mph trains would run non-stop from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, then on from there.

Asked whether he believed a future Government would pay for the line, Sir David, a former permanent secretary at the Department for Transport said: “It’s a huge challenge but I believe it will eventually happen because the railway is full.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .