HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK

That this House welcomes the belated announcement from the Government of a new, high-speed rail link connecting London and the West Midlands; believes however that this line should not stop at the Midlands but should link key regional hubs in the north of England, particularly Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester with London; believes that the new line should take the form of a Y shape which would split at Birmingham and have two linking branches, one to Leeds via Sheffield and one to Manchester, respectively; further recognises the economic benefit of connecting these key regional hubs direct with London and the beneficial impact this service would have for the environment in providing a viable alternative to air travel; recommends that the Government begins work on a feasibility study as soon as possible; and further believes that in the future as a subsequent phase these east and west coast high-speed rail branches could be extended beyond these cities to the north of England and Scotland.