Maria Eagle: High speed rail is too vital to be shunted aside

BRITAIN’S major rail lines are full. As anyone who travels on the East and West Coast main lines will know, we are facing an increasingly severe capacity crisis.

In many ways, rail is a victim of its own success with passenger numbers continuing to increase, with ever greater consequences for over-crowding.

Many passengers already face the unacceptable situation of being forced to stand for lengthy journeys, despite often paying eye-watering prices for a ticket.

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Many others simply cannot get on the peak time train on which they want to travel.

In government, we took a bold decision that the only way to meet this capacity challenge was to build a new rail line linking our major cities.

We also decided that, if we were to build a new line, it made no sense to do anything other than use the latest high speed technology to slash journey times along the route.

In opposition, we looked at this issue again and tested it against every possible alternative, including upgrading existing lines.

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Again, we came to the clear conclusion that there was simply no credible alternative to building a new high speed rail line.

The horrendous experience of upgrading the West Coast main line at the same time as attempting to keep it in use is still fresh in the minds of many passengers.

We simply cannot go through that again, and certainly not expect businesses to take such a hit in the current economic climate.

Labour is therefore absolutely clear. A new high speed rail line between London and Yorkshire must be built, and there must be no delay to the timetable we set out in government.

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I have been clear that we will give the Government 100 per cent cross party support to get the legislation through Parliament, enabling this project to go ahead.

The green light for the project was expected to be given before Parliament breaks for Christmas, but worryingly the new Transport Secretary has slammed on the brakes.

The reason? Objections from Tory MPs, including in the Cabinet, that the line is to take a route through the most sensitive part of the Chilterns’ countryside. Now there is talk of spending £500m to put more of the track in a tunnel.

More cost. More delay. More uncertainty on this vital project that could bring so many economic benefits to Yorkshire.

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Labour has put forward a solution that would resolve the disputes over the route, while keeping the project on track. Under our plan for high speed rail, the line would still connect London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds on a Y-shaped route.

However, we would move the extra stop planned for the West of London from the Government’s proposed site at Old Oak Common to a location by Heathrow Airport.

This would bring a number of advantages.

First, it significantly improves the connectivity between the new line and the existing rail network by connecting it directly with the Great Western Mainline, opening up access to high speed rail for the South West and Wales.

Second, it will improve access to our major hub airport, opening up new passenger markets as short haul flights are increasingly squeezed out. By going via Heathrow from the start, the planned separate rail link to connect Heathrow with the high speed rail line can be axed, saving the taxpayer billions.

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Third, by taking the line via Heathrow, a new alignment will be created between London and Birmingham that enables better protection of the Chilterns, resolving the disputes that are holding up the scheme.

All of these benefits could be realised without hitting the planned shorter journey times between London and Yorkshire, because not all services would need to stop at Heathrow whereas every train is intended to stop at Old Oak Common.

The Government should accept our alternative plan for high speed rail. It would bring to an end many of the divisions and arguments that are putting the project at risk.

They should then finally agree to our call for the entire route from London to Yorkshire to be taken through Parliament in a single Bill, and look at the case for beginning construction at both ends of the line.

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We hope that Ministers listen to the case we have made on the route, on the need to take this forward as a single project and on the potential for beginning construction in Yorkshire as well as London.

While continuing to make our case, we will do nothing to hold up delivery of the project. High speed rail is too important for Yorkshire to simply be shunted into the sidings by Tory Ministers.