Edinburgh to Glasgow high speed rail link '£60m a mile'

Published on Saturday 14 April 2007 02:06

A HIGH-SPEED rail line linking Edinburgh and Glasgow in 30 minutes would cost at least £2.9 billion, according to the most detailed study of the project yet.

A brand-new line would be required along with a 1.3 billion tunnel into central Edinburgh, consultants have reported. The route would be about 50 miles long, which works out as 60 million per mile on average.

Four trains an hour could run non-stop between the two cities at up to around 186mph - the same as the top speed on the Channel Tunnel rail link from London. However, cheaper options which would cut journey times to around 40 minutes could involve upgrading one of the existing lines at a cost of 200-220 million. The current fastest journey is 48 minutes on the main line via Falkirk, operated by First ScotRail.

A record non-stop run of about 33 minutes was achieved on the 100mph route by clearing other trains out of the way. However, this is seen as unfeasible because the line is congested and around half of its passengers use intermediate stations. The study, commissioned by the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTRAN) and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, which are regional co-ordinating bodies, said a new line would be needed for high-speed travel.

SESTRAN, which will consider the report next week, said the consultants concluded that "to provide a frequent, reliable and robust high-speed service with a journey time of around 30 minutes between Edinburgh and Glasgow - and without significant changes to current level of service provision - a complete new-build would be required at an estimated minimum cost of around 2.9 billion".

It added: "The largest elements of this would be on the approach into Edinburgh (in tunnel) and for a new alignment in open country between the two cities."

No potential route has been identified.

Labour and the SNP back a feasibility study into such a project. The Lib Dems want a 30-minute link by 2020, while the Conservatives said a 15-minute link should be investigated.

Ron Hewitt, the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said a brand-new line must be chosen. He said: "The report fully endorses the comments made by the chamber prior to its commissioning - that high-speed rail between Edinburgh and Glasgow can only be achieved by new-build.

"The study was only ever about 'could we achieve a bit faster on the existing lines?' Not true high speed. That will only happen as an adjunct to a proper London-Scotland route linking us in to the Channel Tunnel and European services, and should be engaged with as a matter of priority."

FAST-TRACKING SERVICES

SPEEDING up trains on existing lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow would only cut journeys to around 40 minutes, but cost less than a tenth of a new high-speed route, the consultants reported.

They said bypassing the slowest sections of the Shotts line, which is currently used by First ScotRail stopping services, and electrifying it, would cost 221 million.

A new ten-mile section of the Carstairs line, used by GNER and Virgin, to avoid a bottleneck and shorten the route by seven miles, would cost 200 million. However, journeys would take 40-45 minutes.

More detailed studies are expected to be sought into all the options.