Transform has today written to the UK Department for Transport expressing concern at the scrapping of a section of the HS2 project that would have provided faster journey times to Scotland and provided a realistic alternative to short-haul flights from the Scottish Central Belt to London.
In the letter to Westminster transport secretary Grant Shapps MP, Transform’s rail spokesperson Paul Tetlaw said:
“To remove this link to the West Coast Main Line without any apparent alternative will seriously damage the prospects for the future success of high speed rail services to Scotland. Not only will journey times be lengthened but capacity on the WCML will also be compromised resulting in fewer services being able to run.”
Transform have asked:
- What alternatives are now to be considered? In particular, what further upgrades to the rail network are to be undertaken to ensure that a journey time of 3 hours from Central Scotland to London is achievable by HS2 services?
- What timescales are envisaged for this work?
