Gordon Brown backs extended high speed rail line

Nov 24 2009 By Jonathan Walker

GORDON Brown gave firm backing to an extended high speed rail line running to the north of England and Scotland as well as Birmingham, in his final speech to the CBI conference before an election.

The Prime Minister called for the creation of a European-wide service linking destinations across the UK with cities such as Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam.

Labour has formally committed itself only to building a new high speed line between London and Birmingham, although a Government inquiry is also looking at how the service could be extended.

There have been reports that funding for even a limited network was not guaranteed, and Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, was said to be pushing Mr Brown to include a firm pledge in Labour’s general election manifesto.

Conservatives, meanwhile, have been promoting far more ambitious plans for a wide-ranging high speed network, linking Birmingham to Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds as well as London – although they have also not revealed exactly how the scheme would be funded.

But Mr Brown appeared to promise a full national service, connected to Eurostar channel tunnel.