MARTIN WILLIAMS and TORCUIL CRICHTON
The case for a new high-speed rail service between London and Scotland is to be considered by a new company created by government.
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, who told MPs yesterday that a controversial third runway would be built at Heathrow, said that the company - High Speed 2 - would develop proposals which would involve the creation of a high-speed rail hub at Heathrow.
But while there was widespread support for the principle, there was concern among industry bodies in Scotland about high-speed links being developed south of Birmingham first.
It is believed that even if the high-speed rail link is approved, any development north of Birmingham would be 20 to 30 years away, if it is developed at all. Although not committing funding for the link, Mr Hoon said there was a "strong case" and the company would report back by the end of the year.
The rail industry is sceptical funding can be found for a project previously estimated at £31bn, leading to concerns a cheaper option will be sought.
The new company will be asked initially to develop a proposal for an entirely new rail line between London and the West Midlands, which would enable faster journeys to other destinations in the north of England and Scotland using both existing lines and a new high-speed rail network.
Government advisers believe any high-speed link that would cut the journey time from London to Scotland to three hours would boost the Scottish economy by at least £7bn.
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh Chambers of Commerce who say the Heathrow rail hub and third runway is crucial to Scotland's global business interests, are concerned that any high-speed line should be developed as a whole rather than in part.
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Richard Cairns said: "Glasgow and Edinburgh are major cities and I don't think any UK government should regard these cities as an afterthought. It is unacceptable. We expect equality of access to the UK's transport infrastructure."
Graham Bell of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce added: "If you build a bridge, you don't start at one bank and build to the other. You have to start on both banks."
Niall Stuart of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry added: "We are talking about a time scale of 20 to 30 years before the link would reach the central belt and that is far too long."
Glasgow City Council leader Steven Purcell called for a "firm commitment in the near future" regarding constructing a high-speed railway linking London, Glasgow and Manchester, along the West Coast main line.
Mike Weir MP, the SNP's Westminster environment spokesman said clarity was required over Mr Hoon's "vague" references to the development of new high-speed rail services between London and Scotland.
"Scotland needs a high-speed rail link to London, and we need to be certain that Geoff Hoon's warm references to public transport and rail improvements are a serious commitment rather than a cynical attempt to make the third runway proposals sound more palatable," he said.
In a statement announcing his package of transport and environmental improvements, Mr Hoon brushed off concerns over the environmental impact of a third runway at Heathrow which should be built by 2020, would take the number of flights from the current 480,000 a year to 605,000 and increase annual passenger numbers through the airport from 66 million to around 82 million.
He said the construction of the new Heathrow strip would create up to 60,000 jobs.
Something of the spirit of the Heathrow protest manifested itself in the Commons chamber yesterday when Labour MP John McDonnell, whose constituency covers the airport, took out his frustration on the ceremonial mace.
With Mr Hoon at the dispatch box Mr McDonnell, who had complained loudly that the decision was an "absolute disgrace" made his way from the back benches.
Mr McDonnell picked up the mace from the table in front of the Speaker's chair and placed it on the Labour benches, bringing proceedings to a halt.
With the chamber in uproar Mr McDonnell was "named" by the Deputy Speaker and was barred from the chamber for five days.
The 'ultimate protest' an MP can make By convention, the mace symbolises the authority of Parliament and the Commons cannot sit without it in position.
Removing the mace is considered the ultimate protest for an MP in the Commons.
Michael Heseltine earned his Tarzan nickname for swinging it above his head in 1976 as Labour MPs insisted on singing the Red Flag during the passage of an aircraft and shipbuilding bill.
Ron Brown, the former Labour MP for Leith, grabbed the mace and threw it to the floor in protest over the poll tax in 1988 and was ordered to pay £1500 for its repair.
In 1930, Labour MP John Beckett was ordered out of the Commons when he grabbed the mace in protest at the suspension of another member.
With the chamber in uproar yesterday Mr McDonnell was "named" by the Deputy Speaker.
Mr McDonnell attempted to apologise for his protest, but Deputy Speaker Sir Alan Haselhurst ordered him to leave "without further comment". Mr McDonnell later said he had nothing to apologise about.
Click here to comment on this story...
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article