High-speed rail will be Britain’s new transport system for the 21st century

Building on the success of High Speed 1, which provides high-speed international and domestic rail services between the Channel Tunnel and London St Pancras, there is a compelling case for developing a national HSR network to serve all of Britain.

With HSR, high-speed trains will operate between our major cities at speeds over 300 km/hour (around 200 miles per hour), dramatically cutting journey times and providing vital connectivity that will boost our economic competitiveness and shrink the north-south divide. With over 1,000 seats per train and service frequencies of more than 15 trains per hour in each direction, HSR will deliver the additional long-term transport capacity that we will need as our existing road and rail networks fill up. And HSR is the sustainable transport alternative: not only does it have a strong economic case, but the carbon emissions of travel by HSR only one-quarter of those of car and air travel.

Greengauge 21 is a not-for-profit organisation, established in 2006 to research and develop the concept of a high-speed rail network, as a national economic priority. We do not have any vested commercial interests in the development of HSR.

On this website you can read about Greengauge 21, learn about the case for high-speed rail and download our publications. Read our blog for up to date comment on emerging issues and share your views via Twitter or Facebook.

In 2012, Greengauge 21 established a HSR Industry Leaders Group to bring together industry expertise to help ensure that Britain’s high-speed rail network is delivered successfully to world-class standards.