By Richard Johnstone
One of the key advocates for future high speed rail developments in the UK has told Holyrood that the potential sites for any future network need to be protected “urgently”.
Jim Steer, the former head of strategic planning at the Strategic Rail Authority and director of Greengauge 21, which has been established to promote the case for high-speed rail and foster debate, said that protecting such sites was “what we need to do, and I don’t think that we should be afraid of it”, when asked if such action was a matter of urgency.
His comments came after the Conservative party announced plans for a high speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, instead of a third runway at Heathrow airport.
Steer said: “We want to see if we can get clarity on if we’re going to have high speed rail, and Glasgow or Edinburgh, wherever it is, this is how we’d choose to do it,” as part of Greengauge 21’s Public Interest Group report, which aims to look at the strategic planning of the nation’s high-speed rail network, and report by June next year.
Steer added: “And if we can get clarity on this, let’s get on and do it, because it’s the efficient and sensible thing to do, and what’s more, other people can then start planning round it.
“If you know that there is a proposition that this site is earmarked for a high speed rail terminal, even if there’s no commitment to it being implemented, or when it’s going to be implemented, or when it’s going to be funded or built, it [still] makes a difference, and after all what we’re trying to do here, in part, is to get the economic growth and stimulus benefits out of high speed rail, and that’s one way of doing it.”
Responding to the comments, Iain Ferguson, Policy Executive at CBI Scotland, said: “Mr Steer is right to highlight the immediate need to protect potential sites for high-speed rail within the UK. Although any decision on whether to progress with what would be an ambitious and desirable major infrastructure project is not going to be made in the immediate future, it would be sensible and would prove beneficial should the project progress.
“CBI Scotland continues to support a high-speed rail link, connecting central Scotland with major English conurbations and, ultimately, mainland Europe via High Speed 1. There are a number of benefits to Scottish business which we have identified within our submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee inquiry into high-speed rail.”
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