Secret talks on London bullet train

A MULTI-billion-pound plan to build a high-speed train link between Scotland and London is back on track following secret talks between the UK and Scottish Governments.

Rail ministers from Edinburgh and London met last week for preliminary discussions on laying down the spine of Britain an entirely new line, which could cut journey times from north to south to just three hours. The talks have been kept private in a bid to dampen public expectation, with ministers on both sides of the border balking at the vast cost of the scheme.

Consultants estimate that it could cost up to £30bn to build a line capable of handling the Eurostar trains, which could travel at speeds of up to 220mph. However, rail industry bosses and pressure groups are now increasing the pressure on ministers to act, claiming the economic and environmental benefits of the line would outweigh the initial costs.

The meeting last Wednesday between UK rail minister Tom Harris and SNP Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson marks the first time that the UK Government and the SNP administration have met to discuss the rail project. The meeting was called by SNP ministers, who want to maintain strong transport links with England. The new momentum behind the project follows the successful bedding in of the new high-speed Eurostar link between London and Paris and Brussels, which opened in November 2007.

Journey times between London and Paris have been cut to two hours and 15 minutes, half the time it takes to get from London to Glasgow. Engineers believe it would take a decade of planning and building before the trains could be used, by which time the current network is likely to be overwhelmed by demand.

Pressure groups say the high environmental cost of short-haul air travel, plus the need to link up Scotland and the north of England with the new London Eurostar service requires a "High Speed Two" link down the country.

A feasibility study into a new high-speed line by the consultants Atkins in March concluded that either a west coast or an east coast line – which would cost between £9bn and £12bn – would produce huge economic benefits to the country. A third option – building a £30bn network down both east and west Britain – would bring economic benefits of more than £60bn, it added. The report concluded: "High-speed operation is required to attract sufficient passengers to switch from road and air."

Only this, it added, would "make construction of a new line economically or financially viable".

Despite the anticipated boost to the economy of the line, both Holyrood and Westminster administrations are facing major financial problems.

There is also a potential problem in the discussions because

industry sources suggest Scottish ministers would not only have to pay for the line in Scotland, but would also have to meet a substantial part of the costs in the north of England, as there is little incentive for UK ministers to build a line north of the heavily populated Manchester-Leeds corridor.

On the positive side, Gordon Brown is under pressure from Labour MPs and MSPs who say that a north-south high-speed line could become a "grand project", demonstrating the Prime Minister's support of the Union.