Greg Barker has welcomed the Government’s announcement that the proposed high-speed rail route (HS2) linking London to the West Midlands and the north of England will go ahead.
Adding up to 26,000 more seats for rail passengers, and slashing journey times by as much as half, HS2 will help create jobs, growth and prosperity for the country as a whole.
Commenting, Greg said:
‘This is great news for Britain. This project will support 40,000 jobs in the first phase alone, provide a boost to growth and deal with growing congestion on our railways.
‘I am pleased that the Government took more time to make this decision in order find additional mitigation which now means more than half of the London-West Midlands line will be out of sight in tunnels or cuttings.
‘And I am now certain that this strikes the right balance between the reasonable concerns of people living on or near the line, who will be offered a generous compensation package, and the need to keep Britain moving.’
Secretary of State for Transport, Justine Greening, added:
‘A new high speed rail network will provide Britain with the additional train seats, connections and speed to stay ahead of the congestion challenge and help create jobs, growth and prosperity for the entire country.
‘HS2 will link some of our greatest cities – and high speed trains will connect with our existing railway lines to provide seamless journeys to destinations far beyond it. This is a truly British network that will serve far more than the cities directly on the line.
‘More than a century ago the Victorians built railways that continue to serve us to this day and just over 50 years ago the post-war generation chose to invest in motorways, bringing higher road capacity and faster journeys to millions. Both transformed the economic and social fabric of this country: HS2 is our generation’s investment in Britain and our children’