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The ‘Eddington Transport Study’ was released in December 2006 and has set the framework for the Department of Transport’s subsequent policy. It was cautious — but again not completely dismissive — of high-speed rail.
The Eddington Transport Report had actually concluded that new line capacity might be the right way to tackle some capacity challenges, but it was going to be necessary to follow a rigorous process of problem identification and a comparison of options across the modes before the right answer would emerge.
In front of the House of Commons Transport Committee in April 2007, Sir Rod explained that his view was that new technology such as MAGLEV may be superficially impressive but it was not suitable for the key interurban corridors in Britain. On the other hand, when pressed on the issue of conventional high-speed rail he saw this as being fully appropriate. Indeed, he even concluded that planning work should be starting right away.
The Rail White Paper, published in July 2007, set out a 30-year strategy for the railways, and put a clear priority on increasing capacity.
The White Paper was helpful is saying what Government was not prepared to take forward to expand capacity. It ruled out a separate route for railfreight, building new tracks immediately alongside existing lines and a new line with MAGLEV technology.
This leaves the option of building new routes. The White Paper saw this need arising only in one corridor — London to the West Midlands and the North West. This is consistent with the Greengauge21 High Speed Two proposition, but ignores any need for capacity uplift in other corridors.
The Rail White Paper also considers whether any new rail capacity should be build for high speeds (300 km/h) or at today’s line speeds (200 km/h). It concludes that it would be better to settle at today’s linespeed although the analysis underpinning this has major flaws, as highlighted in Greengauge21's ‘The Next Steps for High Speed Rail in Britain’.
Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Supporting Economic Growth in a Low Carbon World
In October 2007, the Department for Transport published its response to the Stern and Eddington reports. The document explained that the DfT is to carry out an integrated, across-the-modes form of strategic transport planning for Britain. The London — Birmingham — Manchester corridor is highlighted as an example of a corridor to be assessed.
There are three important points made in relation to these corridor assessments: