Highland Council backs high speed train link
HIGHLAND Council is supporting a campaign by Glasgow and Edinburgh councils to ensure that high speed trains run north of the border.
The two authorities want to push the case for the project to be extended to Scotland’s two biggest cities beyond the links which will initially run to Birmingham, and later be extended to Manchester and Leeds.
Members of the council’s transport, environmental and community services have given their support to the bid which will be made to the UK Government.
Links to Scotland would be included in the network but these would be on existing track infrastructure.
It means that the train service would not deliver the sub three-hour journey time between the Cenrtal Belt and London that the council believe is required to ensure a shift of passengers from air to rail.
As part of their campaign, the two councils have written to leaders of Scotland’s other cities seeking their support for the high speed network to be expanded.
They have claimed there would be significant environmental benefits and a reduction in air travel from Edinburgh and Glasgow could free up landing slots at London’s airports for other Scottish cities – notably Aberdeen and Inverness.
Councillor John Laing, Highland Council’s Chairman of the TECS Committee, said: "Members have agreed to send a letter of support to the campaign to include Glasgow and Edinburgh in the development of a high speed rail network for the UK.
"We can see how having such a link could bring economic benefits to the whole of Scotland and it is important we ensure tourists to the UK are not put of travelling north of the border.
"At the same time we will be continuing to press for improvements to our own local rail and air services and to expand the overall transport network for the Highlands and its links with the rest of the UK and beyond."
Mr Kenny Macinnes, the council’s economic advisor within the planning and development service, said: "Both cities fully support the construction of a high speed rail network in the UK but wish to persuade the Government that it is in Britain’s future economic interest to commit to extending that network to Scotland."
He added: "Omitting Scotland from the high speed rail network could seriously affect the country’s competitiveness."
Transport Scotland has agreed and said that tourism in particular would suffer if the country was not connected by HST.
