New £32bn UK high speed rail link 'to be approved'

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A new high speed rail link between London and Birmingham is set to be approved, according to reports.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening is supposedly set to give the High Speed2 (HS2) the green light next week.

The 100-mile connection would be built between 2016 and 2026, and aims to cut the journey time to 49 minutes, reports the BBC.

It would be the first phase of HS2, which would cost £17bn, with extensions to Manchester, Leeds and further north by 2033, with a total cost of £32bn.

The decision has been made after Network Rail rejected two other options put forward by opponents to the HS2 sheme.

Some have been pushing for the existing West Coast Main Line to be converted to a high speed route.

But Network Rail said this would not deal with the long-term problems of overcrowding and passengers would have to face years of engineering works.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport told the Mirror that Network Rail had carried out a "carried out a sober and independent analysis of the alternative solutions to upgrading and future proofing our railways and concluded that patchwork upgrades to the existing rail network simply will not resolve the huge capacity challenges we face.

"Our plans for a new high speed rail network would increase hugely the number of seats for passengers available on Britain's intercity railways as well as freeing up space on current railways for more trains to operate and all with minimal disruption to the existing railway."

Critics have also suggested the planned routes cross through areas of outstanding natural beauty, which will damage the environment.


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