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1.02pm:
Khan says there will be 10,000 construction jobs created and 2,000 permanent jobs.
He says one of the reasons beginning construction in 2015, as the Tories propose, is “daft” is because they would lose the skills that could be transferred from the Crossrail project. There have been a number of questions about whether there are sufficient skilled workers.
In response to another question about the impact of the rail link on people living on/near the proposed route Khan says it is precisely because of those concerns that nothing will be finalised until the government has properly consulted.
12.58pm:
Here’s a department of transport map which provides a useful overview of the route:
12.55pm:
Former health secretary Frank Dobson who is MP for King’s Cross says the changes to Euston would have a devastating effect on his constituents. He asks if Khan accepts that six or seven blocks of affordable housing would have to be demolished.
Khan says “all the evidence suggests” that Euston is the best site. He says 27 possible locations were looked at and says everything will be done to minimise impact on constituents.
Khan has taken a series of questions, including from Aylesbury MP David Lidington, on the impact this is going to have on constituents.
12.50pm:
Khan says “all options are being considered” in respect of funding.
In response to Baker’s question about international links, Khan says they are looking into the possibility of linking Euston to King’s Cross (where the Eurostar departs from).
12.47pm:
Enter the Lib Dems’ transport spokesman Norman Baker who is, in contrast to Villers, asking plenty of questions. He wants an assurance that the money for the rail link should not be taken away from other rail projects. He also touts Vince Cable’s proposals for a national infrastructure bank as a way of funding the new network.
12.44pm:
Back in the Commons shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers also has words about the third runway, saying the high-speed rail network “should be in addition to a third runway, not an addition to it”.
She also repeats Hanham’s criticism accusing Labour of failing to commit to an interchange at Heathrow.
Khan responds by saying he finds her criticism “incredible” and shows the Tories are not fit to form a government.
The speaker John Bercow intervenes saying it has been an unusual exchange. Bercow says Khan’s statement was over-long and Villers unusually did not ask any questions in her response
12.37pm:
Back in the Lords, Lord Smith the former Labour cabinet minister says there are issues to be ironed out but the “economic and social incremental benefits will be well worth it”.
But he asks Adonis if now is not a “golden opportunity” to consider reversing the decision of his predecessor to allow a third runway at Heathrow.
Adonis unsurprisingly makes no commitment of the sort.
12.31pm:
Incidentally, Network Rail maintenance workers have voted today in favour of strikes. If signallers also vote to strike, parts of the rail network could shut down over Easter.
12.27pm:
Transport minister Sadiq Khan is now announcing the details of the high-speed rail strategy in the Commons.
He is repeating Adonis’s statement as far as I can tell, talking of this being a “once in the lifetime opportunity”.
Capacity for consumers and freight would be released on the west coast mainline as a result of the new network.
It would be 70 minutes from Birmingham to Canary Wharf and 1h 40mins from Leeds to Canary Wharf.
He says the network would have the potential to be extended to other cities.
12.20pm:
Adonis rejects Hanham’s criticism that the government has reject an on-site station at Heathrow. He says there does not appear to be a business case for an on-site station at the moment, which is why he has asked Mawhinney to look into it. The peer will report in three months time on the business case and “where it [the Heathrow station] would be placed”.
Adonis points out that the Conservative proposal, based on that of the engineering firm Arup, does not provide for a station that is actually on-site but one that is 2.5 miles from the airport, requiring all passengers to undertake a transit journey.
12.13pm:
For clarification London to Glasgow/Edinburgh would be 3 and a half hours, according to Adonis.
12.11pm:
Responding to opposition questions Adonis says the project would have to be state-led but there could be “significant contributions” from the private sector, particularly with respect to stations.
Adonis says that if the correct parliamentary procedures are followed 2015 as a construction start date is unfeasible.
The Tory speaker was Baroness Hanham by the way.
12.07pm:
The Tories are pleased that Mawhinney has been appointed to look at the possibility of a station at Heathrow as they had been at odds with the government over the location of the station linking the airport to the network.
12.02pm:
The Tory peer says the proposals “lack cost detail”, contain “no viable route options” and there is no indication of when detailed planning will begin.
12.00pm:
Here’s the detailed route:
11.56am:
The reports can be found on the Department of Transport website.
Adonis has stopped speaking.
A Conservative peer (sorry, not sure of her name) says she “half-congratulates” the government.
11.55am:
The main London terminal would be Euston, while in Birmingham it would be Curzon Street.
Former transport secretary Lord Mawhinney has been appointed to investigate whether a new station should be built at Heathrow as part of the network.
An estimated 10,000 jobs would be created.
11.53am:
Adonis confirms construction would not begin until after Crossrail completed (i.e. 2017)
Estimated cost of between £15.8bn and £17.4bn for first 120 miles of network from London to West Midlands. Total cost for the Y-shaped network would be £30bn. Adonis says there would be £2 of benefit for every £1 spent.
He says it would “sustainable” because there is less carbon per passenger compared to air travel.
11.48am:
Journey times from London to the west Midlands would be reduced to between 30 and 50 minutes depending on the stations used.
Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield would be brought within 75 minutes of London, down from around two hours now. The journey time of these cities to Birmingham would also be halved.
London to Edinburgh would be about three hours.
11.44am:
The government’s view is that a high-speed rail network “could be the most efficient and sustainable way to provide transport” between London and the West Midlands.
The network will be capable of carrying trains travelling at 250mph. It could triple capacity.
11.40am:
Here’s Adonis
Transportl networks are the “life-blood” of UK trade he says. We need a “high capacity” and “efficient” network.
11.38am:
Still waiting for Adonis. The Mail suggests the government can’t afford the rail link.
This is the Conservatives’ preferred route from Arup:
11.16am:
The Tories would take the high speed link closer to Heathrow (approximately two minutes closer) and take begin construction in 2015 (two years earlier).
They say:
Labour have got high speed rail wrong for the economy and wrong for the environment. Their line to Birmingham leaves the North, Scotland and Wales out of the massive social, economic and regeneration benefits of high speed rail. And failing to take high speed rail through Heathrow, would be a big mistake and a major lost opportunity for the environment. Labour’s deeply misguided support for a third runway has distorted their approach to high speed rail.
11.12am:
It’s rare to have good news stories regarding transport in the UK, but today might fit the bill. As rail workers and BA staff prepare to strike, the transport secretary, Lord Adonis, will stand up in the Lords at 11.30 to announce plans for a high-speed rail network, including a London to Birmingham route.
The announcement has been widely previewed – here is a good ITN curtain-raiser video, and Adonis wrote about his plans in the Times – but there are plenty of details to be confirmed. They include:
• The precise speeds and journey times.
• The cost and how it will be funded.
• When construction will begin (2017 is considered the earliest date).
• The environmental impact; it will go throught the Chiltern hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty in England and Wales.
• The route beyond Birmingham and estimated timescale for the V-shaped network touted to run through Manchester to Glasgow on the west side of the UK, and Leeds and Edinburgh on the east side.
The journey (if you were the train driver) would look something like this, although not quite as fast.
The Tories, incidentally have called the plans a “big mistake”. More on that to follow
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