3-year wait for high speed deal

A DATE for bringing the proposed high-speed rail line to Scotland should be fixed in three years’ time, UK and Scottish ministers agreed yesterday.

UK Transport Secretary Justine Greening agreed to the move as part of talks in Edinburgh yesterday with infrastructure secretary Alex Neil and transport minister Keith Brown.

It followed friction between the two governments over what Scottish ministers claimed was a lack of commitment to extending the line north of the Border.

Ms Greening has so far agreed to build the line from London to Birmingham in 2026, with a second stage to Manchester and Leeds in 2033.

Mr Brown said: “I welcome the commitment from Justine Greening that the UK government will engage with the Scottish Government on routes and options for the delivery of high-speed rail in Scotland with a view to agreeing a timescale for bringing high-speed rail to Scotland by the end of this [Westminster] parliament [in 2015].”

Ms Greening said the work would start in earnest after she announced the preferred route of the second stage this autumn. However, she said committing to a line to Scotland would still depend on affordability and value for money.