No rethink on high-speed rail link pledges new Minister

Patrick McLoughlin, who was handed the transport brief in last month’s Cabinet reshuffle, 
made it clear yesterday that there will be no re-think of the flagship policy as a result of his appointment.

Mr McLoughlin said details of the line’s exact route between Birmingham, Sheffield and Leeds will be unveiled within weeks, and that he wants his officials to investigate taking the line beyond Manchester and Yorkshire to Scotland.

“I will get cracking on High Speed Two, not just to get faster journeys but to free up space on our overcrowded tracks, get freight onto rail and heavy trucks off the M6 and M1,” he said.

“I hear those voices who say High Speed Two is too costly, who say we can muddle through. And yes, the easy option would be to do nothing – it always is.

“But my answer is that we can’t afford not to build it. Our competitors around the world are investing in the best transport. We must too.”

Mr McLoughlin pledged to “compensate those affected” properly and said “the very best technology” would be employed to limit the new line’s impact on homes and the countryside.

“No big infrastructure project is ever done without great controversy,” he said. “But once they are built, people rely on them.

“So here’s my action plan. At the start of this year, the Government committed to build a new line not just to Birmingham, but on to Manchester and Leeds.

“Soon, I’ll publish detailed plans for the route north of Birmingham. But I want even more parts of our country to benefit.

“So we’re launching a study on the way to get fast journeys further north still.”