Fast London-to-Scotland rail line

Network Rail has announced a £34bn high-speed London-to-Scotland rail line that will cut journey times to Edinburgh to just more than two hours.

According to the rail operator, the line will allow trains to travel at speeds of 200mph (322km/h), making it the UK’s second high-speed rail link after the Eurostar service from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel.

The route will run from central London to reach Manchester in one hour and six minutes, while a diverging route will cut journey times to Birmingham to just 46 minutes. The line will then continue to Warrington, Liverpool and Preston before reaching Edinburgh in two hours and nine minutes and Glasgow in two hours and 16 minutes.

The decision was based on a year-long study that analysed more than a dozen different options, including routes that would have travelled through the Midlands and the east of England.

The study concluded that a high-speed line running to Scotland via Manchester would provide the public with a greater incentive to switch from air to rail travel, as well as to ease pressure on Britain’s existing airways.