UK's high-speed rail to cost US$50b
Source: Agencies |
January 11, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITAIN gave the green light yesterday for a 32.7 billion pound (US$50 billion) high-speed rail network linking London, Birmingham and cities further north, delighting business groups but angering opponents along its route who say it is unneeded and will scar some of the country's prettiest countryside.
The first part of the route cuts through the Chilterns area to the northwest of the capital, a region of farms, woodlands and small towns, normally a heartland of support for Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservatives.
"This is an immensely bad decision for Britain," said Martin Tett, chairman of an alliance of local councils fighting the scheme.
The line crosses the constituencies of several Conservative ministers and lawmakers in the area, who will be under pressure from local voters to rebel against the government when parliament finally considers the plans.
But the long-expected announcement was welcomed by trade unions seeking a boost to jobs at a time when unemployment is rising as the economy stagnates.
Government backing for the project was delayed from last December to give more time for Transport Secretary Justine Greening to consider ways of addressing the worries of opponents of the line.
To meet some of their concerns, extra parts of the route will be sunk into tunnels.
Greening said she was confident the project would survive any legal challenges or judicial reviews sought by opponents.
"I think in parliament there is now a consensus in seeing this need to address capacity on our railway network," she said.
The network extending to Manchester in the north west and Leeds in the north will be built in two phases.
The first part of the route cuts through the Chilterns area to the northwest of the capital, a region of farms, woodlands and small towns, normally a heartland of support for Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservatives.
"This is an immensely bad decision for Britain," said Martin Tett, chairman of an alliance of local councils fighting the scheme.
The line crosses the constituencies of several Conservative ministers and lawmakers in the area, who will be under pressure from local voters to rebel against the government when parliament finally considers the plans.
But the long-expected announcement was welcomed by trade unions seeking a boost to jobs at a time when unemployment is rising as the economy stagnates.
Government backing for the project was delayed from last December to give more time for Transport Secretary Justine Greening to consider ways of addressing the worries of opponents of the line.
To meet some of their concerns, extra parts of the route will be sunk into tunnels.
Greening said she was confident the project would survive any legal challenges or judicial reviews sought by opponents.
"I think in parliament there is now a consensus in seeing this need to address capacity on our railway network," she said.
The network extending to Manchester in the north west and Leeds in the north will be built in two phases.
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