I couldn’t blog today without briefly mentioning the new Conservative commitment to a high-speed rail link to Manchester and other northern cities:
Theresa Villiers has laid out plans to introduce the next phase of high speed rail to the UK, in what she described as a “momentous step forward for Britain’s transport infrastructure”.
A Conservative Government would build a new high speed rail line between Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London, which would cut journey times between Birmingham and London to 40 minutes and between Leeds and London to less than an hour and a half.
Theresa, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said that high speed rail would have many benefits for the UK:
She announced that a Conservative Government would say no to a third runway at Heathrow, and concentrate instead on the advantages of our high speed rail plan:
“It will leave a lasting legacy for the future - and it will lay the foundations for a high speed network that I believe will one day stretch across the country.”
We will target construction of the new high speed line to begin in 2015, with full completion by 2027.
This is a fantastic development and shows a long-term commitment to our transport infrastructure in the North-West which has been sadly lacking from the Labour Government.
I’m coming to the end of my alloted time on the webcafe so I’ll make a further comment later, but in the meantime David Ottewell has some comment.
I’ll believe that when I see it - given the Conservative Party’s previous record on public transport provision, I’m not holding my breath….
Iain, just reading the comment page of the MEN. Seems if you plan a £12 billion rail investment ’some may view it as pie in the sky’. £3 billion, with unsupported borrowing, with a weak transport bill and an unpopular congestion charge and they are all for it.
I see also this morning that buses may be cut from Oxford Road, I believe to ‘ease congestion’. Just wondered what you thought.
Mr Ottewell, if your listening I would still like to discuss the issues with you. I may not wear a red rose but we opposition arnt all bad.
That was Oxford Road in London.
…Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers told the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham: “No more using the Transport Innovation Fund to bully our towns and cities into congestion charging.
“Instead, we’d free up that funding for innovative local solutions on issues like buses and cycling which have so much potential to provide alternatives to the car.”
Ahh.. Looks like the Conservatives would scrap the TIF Bid and force Greater Manchester to fight it out for significant funding for our public transport agaisnt every other major economic area in Britain… again!
Ironically the ‘business case’ for a new London-Birmingham-Manchester high-speed rail link seems largely to hinge NOT on the economic development of the ‘provinces’, but on the need to free capacity on the existing West Coast Main Line for commuting from the West Midlands, Northants & Bucks into London. Still, who’s complaining!
Anyone interested in the fine detail of what’s possible could do worse than check-out this website: http://www.greengauge21.net/
Greengauge advocate a Heathrow spur to the route, together with an end-on connection to the Channel Tunnel line (in order to divert transfer passengers for UK & European destinations onto rail, instead of short-haul flights). Of course, if the new high speed line had a station at Manchester Airport….
Ahh, “northern” cities. Nice to see the open recognition of two separate nations!
I thought for a millisecond the tories were proposing electrifying the line to Aberdeen…
It now appears that the Tories would fund the high speed rail link by cutting the rail budget that deals with things like commuter trains or station improvements like Walkden. Still at least their friends in the city will get to Manchester quicker while the commuters on the Manchester local Network suffers.
Adam,
Ahh.. Looks like the Conservatives would scrap the TIF Bid and force Greater Manchester to fight it out for significant funding for our public transport agaisnt every other major economic area in Britain… again!
This is not correct. Barring a snap General Election, the TIF decision will be made by the present Labour administration. As reported by David Ottewell here, Theresa Villiers has made it clear that a future Conservative Government will abide by the decisions made by local residents in December and then by Government following on from that.
The TIF money you refer to is I believe an as yet unbid for (and smaller) pot from 2012 onwards.
John - I would love to see a source for that because as far as I am aware it is a straightforward Labour untruth and not really worth debating any further.
The source according to the Guardian today is a tory document I would be pleased if it were not true but I suggest you do some checking
Well I’ve trawled the Guardian website and the only reference similar to your comments is in their editorial and is as far as I can see pure speculation. Certainly the documentation published at Conference says no such thing.