Member Article

Government minister says HS2 will be good for North East

A senior government minister has reinforced the message that High Speed Rail will benefit the North East economy.

Speaking at the launch of Newcastle International Airport’s new Business Park, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport Robert Goodwill said HS2 would help the region grow.

The Tory MP said the half-an-hour shaved off Newcastle-London journey times would be useful for North East businesses.

Mr Goodwill said: “High speed trains will not stop when they reach Leeds. They will continue on to Newcastle and that means great connectivity for the region’s businesses.”

Current timescales for the project mean high speed would come as far north as Leeds by 2032, and will cut the London-Leeds journey time from around 2 hours 10 minutes to around an hour and 20 minutes.

HS2 estimates that Newcastle-London times from around 2 hours 50 minutes to around 2 hours 20 minutes.

Mr Goodwill told Bdaily that he could not rule out high speed lines all the way to Newcastle, in the future.

He said: “We’re looking at 2035 and beyond, so it would be rather ambitious of me to predict whether that will be the case. But, if you look at other countries around the world who have started high speed before us - the networks have expanded at pace.

“I know the North East has ambitions for it’s rail link.”

The North East Chamber of Commerce have championed the HS2 link, which it says could help towards reducing north-south divide.

In a letter to Downing Street recently, the Chamber’s chief executive, James Ramsbotham, stated: “As a group of Northern chambers not all of our towns, cities or members will be connected to a high speed rail network.

“However we are united in support of the project because of the impact HS2 will have on our members and the ensuing economic uplift this will generate in the North of England.

“Future business success depends on infrastructure networks that meet demand. Rail is no exception. The UK rail network must have the capacity to meet rocketing business demand – for long-distance services, for commuter rail services, and for the transport of freight.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .