London: The British government on Thursday
announced a plan to start building a high-speed rail link from
London to Scotland in 2017, with an estimated cost of 30
billion pounds (USD 45 billion).
The plan announced by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis
envisions trains running at up to 400 kph on the 540-kilometre
link. The first part of the line, up to 17.5 billion pounds,
would run from London to Birmingham, the nation's No 2 city.
The announcement comes just weeks before a national
election, probably in May. The opposition Conservative Party,
currently leading in opinion polls, endorsed the concept of
high-speed trains and said it would start two years earlier,
in 2015.
But the Conservatives reserved judgement on the proposed
route, which is likely to generate opposition in communities
along the way.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 23:39