Cities unite to call for 200mph trains to run north of Border

SCOTLAND'S two biggest cities have thrown their weight behind a bid to see the £32?billion high-speed rail link extended north of the Border.

Edinburgh and Glasgow city council leaders yesterday warned failure to extend the route to Scotland would damage the cities' economic futures, during a summit in Edinburgh at which Scottish transport minister Keith Brown argued the case for such a move was now "robust and clear".

The first section of the track from London to Birmingham is due to be completed in 2026, while a second section to Manchester, Leeds and possibly further north could be finished around 2032-33.

However, there are currently no guarantees that it will eventually reach Scotland.

The summit was held as a new Commons Transport Committee report warned there is a "degree of uncertainty" around the financial benefits of the entire rail project.

Mr Brown meanwhile unveiled plans for organisations to work together to press home the case for having the network north of the Border.

The summit in Edinburgh was organised specifically to discuss issues surrounding Scotland's possible inclusion.

Mr Brown warned the UK government's plans did not go far enough. He said: "The case for a high-speed rail network all the way to Scotland is compelling, robust and clear - and the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring Westminster understands that without Scotland the case is substantially weakened.

"So while we support the Department for Transport's plans to build to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, we argue that those plans don't go far enough - a UK high-speed network must include Scotland."

The minister also unveiled plans for a Scotland-wide partnership to look at possible routes and locations for stations.

Edinburgh Council leader Jenny Dawe said extension of the track to Scotland would have long-term implications.

"Failure to include Scotland in the network from the outset will damage not just our ability to compete internationally but also our ability to compete with those other regions of the UK that are (included]," she said.

Glasgow Council leader Gordon Matheson called on the Scottish Government to fund a route alignment study looking into the prospect of extending to Scotland.He added: "This is the largest and most ambitious transport project in the UK and compared to the cost of providing high speed rail, the 7?million needed for the route alignment study is a tiny figure."

But an independent report for MPs yesterday said there is "relatively little evidence presented" on the regional and socio-economic impacts of the 32bn HS2 programme.

The report prepared for the House of Commons transport committee said London was likely to benefit from HS2 "possibly at the expense of less service-orientated cities on the line".

In written evidence to the committee, the Department for Transport said analysis expect the proposed Y-shaped network to generate "monetised economic benefits with a net present value of around 44bn".

The report by consultants Oxera said: "The monetised estimates are surrounded by a degree of uncertainty.

"The overall balance of non-monetised impacts - which include landscape, carbon and changes in land use - is difficult to ascertain."

Asking the question "Who benefits?" from HS2, the report added: "There is relatively little evidence presented on the regional and socio-economic impacts of the programme."