Scottish HS2 report to be delivered by year’s end

A report on connecting Scotland with HS2 is to be delivered by the end of the year, and identify potential route options to connect with Phase 2 of the new railway.

The study was commissioned by Transport Scotland (TS) and the Department for Transport (DfT), and will allow Scottish Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown to announce the next steps in serving the country with high-speed rail, in February 2016.

Fast Track Scotland, a report by Civic Scotland, earlier found that high-speed rail could provide £25 billion of economic benefits to Scotland by providing faster journey times between principal cities in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Speaking before his address to a high-speed rail conference in Glasgow on September 3, Brown said: “The Scottish Government has long made the case, with support and strong advocacy from Scotland’s civic and business communities, that we must be fully included in any plans for high-speed rail."

Brown was backed by Gareth Williams, of the High Speed Rail Scotland partnership, who added: “The HSRS partnership believes that the investment case for high-speed rail is strong, but it is even stronger when Scotland is included. A journey time of less than three hours between both Glasgow and Edinburgh and London is key to delivering the full economic and environmental benefits, including increased availability of slots at London airports for north of Scotland air links.”