High Speed 1 is now open for business and the signs are that the Government is prepared to contemplate constructing new rail capacity. It is now time to consider the case for a strategic high speed rail network for Britain, to ensure the benefits of high speed rail are extended across the country.

Greengauge21 has identified five potential corridors for high speed rail:

• London — Birmingham — Manchester
• London — Cambridge — Northeast
• London — Bristol/Cardiff
• Trans–Pennine
• Anglo-Scottish

Potential corridors for high speed rail

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Such a network would need to be developed in stages, but it is important to have a long-term vision from the start, to allow efficient planning. The Government aims to develop a long-term transport plan by 2012 and the role of a potential high speed rail network for Britain should be set out in that long-term plan, integrating thinking on high-speed rail with other plans and policies.

This strategic network and the issues that would need to be considered in each corridor are discussed further in the Greengauge21 publication, ‘The Next Steps for High-Speed Rail in Britain’.

The report also sets out some of the tasks that should be undertaken in 2008, alongside the development of the Government’s long-term transport plan:

• A strategic high speed rail network assessment;
• The development of suitable technical standards for high speed rail in Britain;
• Identification of key sites, especially in city centres, that should be protected for high-speed rail developments;
• A programme of consultation on the work that has been done to date on high-speed rail;
• An assessment of the options available for private sector funding and financing of HSR schemes, and of the role that the private sector should play in their development.

Read more about ‘The Next Steps for High-Speed Rail in Britain’ in this Greengauge21 publication.