High-speed rail consultation closes

Date: 1/8/2011

Members of the public and businesses in the UK have had their last chance to be part of the consultation on high-speed rail.

The Department for Transport noted that the deadline for registering views on its proposals was on July 29th.

Claiming that this was one of the biggest consultations it had ever undertaken, the Department stated that 31 public roadshows have been held on the issue, along with regional seminars being conducted within the vicinity of where the proposed network would run.

The HS2 project would see a Y-shaped track being constructed that would link cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, along with hubs such as Heathrow Airport and the Channel Tunnel.

Estimated to cost £32 billion to build, the train network would generate £44 billion over 60 years, according to estimates.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: "High-speed rail has the potential to transform the economic map of our country, create jobs, drive regeneration and deliver the additional rail capacity we so badly need."

He added that should the plans go ahead, the next step will be to draft a hybrid bill, which he estimated would take until autumn 2013 to be deposited at Parliament.

In March, a TNS-BMRB revealed that almost half of Britons polled supported the HS2 proposals.

Posted by Mary Treen