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Tories accuse Labour of 'betraying' high-speed rail vision
11 Mar 2010The Conservatives today accused Labour of "betraying" the vision of high-speed rail which they set out three years ago.
Ahead of the Government's announcement about HSR today, shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said Labour was making a "big mistake" in not taking HSR through Heathrow airport in west London.
She said a Conservative government would begin work straight away to create an HSR line connecting London, Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
Ms Villiers said work on the line would begin in 2015 - two years earlier than the planned start under Labour's plans.
She said: "Labour have betrayed the vision we set out three years ago for HSR. Their line to Birmingham leaves the north of England, Scotland and Wales out of the massive social, economic and regeneration benefits of HSR.
"And failing to take HSR through Heathrow would be a big mistake and a major lost opportunity for the environment.
"Labour's deeply misguided support for a third runway (at Heathrow) has distorted their approach to HSR."
Ms Villiers continued: "The next Conservative government will begin work immediately to create an HSR line connecting London and Heathrow with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, with construction to begin in 2015.
"This is the first step towards achieving our vision of a national HSR network to join up major cities across England, Scotland and Wales."
Reader views (7)
Nobby - you can get on a train at Birmingham and Manchester, but not at Glasgow.
The Scottish Parliament axed the plan 3 months ago, so it's everyone on the bus. Doh!
And John C from Ashstead makes some very valid points about how successive UK governments have had their heads in the sand, while the French have got on with it.
- Thomas Watson, London SW1, 11/03/2010 22:42
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Why would anyone want to get to Birmingham QUICKLY?You can understand wanting to get out of Birmingham QUICKLY!
waste of money.
- Jonny, London, 11/03/2010 15:50
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This is a perfect example of just how useless our two leading parties are. Between them they have been in power since before 1979. Since that year, high-speed rail has spread out across Europe and Japan. In France, Germany and many other countries, links between most major cities are now high speed. Here in the UK, we have just one stretch of high speed rail, from London to the Channel Tunnel. Even that did not become operational until several embarrassing years after the opening of the undersea link.
Here we are in 2010 when at best work on our first intercity high-speed line will not commence until around the time of the election following this one and the precise route has yet to be decided.
Can we seriously vote for another five years of this ConLab shambles?
No "safe" seats!
- John C, Ashtead, UK, 11/03/2010 15:46
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Well if they win the election I'll look forward to seeing this happen, and if it doesn't we know who to blame.
- Jacqui Smith'S Dvd Collection!, Hackney, London, 11/03/2010 13:22
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If HSR does not include Heathrow, it might as well not be built.
The business case for the third runway at Heathrow was based on there being a high speed rail link to the rest of the UK, thus negating the need for domestic flights.
If passengers have to get a train from Heathrow to the backside of West London to then get another train to where they really want to go, they won't bother. Look at the potential for missed connections and delays.
However, if you can step off an international flight and get straight on a train to Birmingham, Manchester or Glasgow, it suddenly becomes more attractive to use the train.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 11/03/2010 12:19
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You go to Heathrow Airport to catch planes which could cause problems landing in central london!!
You dont go to Heathrow when going to Manchester by rail because unless you live their you will spend longer getting there than the journey to Manchester!
Mrs Villiers could not answer a question on how rail electrification is paid for she has failed to do her homework and she know nothing...
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 11/03/2010 12:18
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Is this the same Shadow Transport Secretary that is refusing to even look at Labour's plans for a high speed rail link by any chance? I think that this silly hissy fit says all we need to know about her Party's real commitment to rail.
- Carl, London, 11/03/2010 11:32
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