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Scotland has to be fast-tracked

IN the 1760s, it could take a fortnight to travel between Edinburgh and London by coach.

A century later, in the age of rail, it had come down to 10.5 hours, due to the introduction of an express train that would become known as the Flying Scotsman.

It might seem churlish, then, to regard a journey time of just three hours and 40 minutes as disappointing, yet in truth, this saving of up to half an hour on the London to Edinburgh or Glasgow routes, is but a small benefit for Scots from the massive investment to be made in HS2. While the populations of Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham will enjoy reductions of nearly 50% in their journey times to London, and reap the economic rewards of closer links to the metropolis, this supposed engine of growth rapidly runs out of steam north of Manchester.

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