Scotland must not be cut out of high speed rail plans

5 January 2010

John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, today warned that Scotland must not be cut-out of any proposed high speed rail link.

All the major parties at Westminster have now given their support for a high speed link, although there is uncertainty about how far north the rail line would stretch.

The official Government-backed report on high speed rail is due to be published in March 2010.

John Barrett said:

“A high speed rail link that did not include a spur to Scotland would go down as a huge missed opportunity.

“In other European countries where they already have high speed rail they will tell you that their biggest regret was that they did not go further and include more major cities in the route.

Mike Crockart, Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh West at the coming general election added:

“High speed rail would be of massive benefit to Edinburgh, helping businesses and tourism and would be a big boost for the environment by cutting down on polluting short haul flights between central Scotland and the South East.

“It is time for a commitment from politicians on all sides to a high speed future for Scotland.”