High-speed rail link vital for economy

HIGH-speed rail links between Edinburgh and London would provide a major boost to Scotland's economy, it was claimed today.

Writing in the Evening News, former East Lothian council leader David Berry said it was vital that Scotland was included in plans for a high-speed rail (HSR) network.

He said: "HSR would link Scotland's central belt firmly into the heart of Europe's booming business environment.

"In this time of economic turbulence, we may envy the prosperity of Scandinavian neighbours, but geography plus Chunnel engineering offers rapid access to the heart of our export target market that they would envy."

He added: "What we need is that fast link of direct access HSR that south-east England already enjoys so that there will be no need to stop the world so that Scotland can get on."