NEEF hears case for North East high speed rail link
THE case for a new high speed rail link serving the North East dominated the morning session of today's North East Economic Forum conference.
Two senior government ministers indicated their support for the ambitious project which could see journey times between Newcastle and London cut to 90 minutes and 45 minutes between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Business Secretary Peter Mandelson was speaking in response to a call from rail company boss Susan Goldsmith who said that the existing East Coast main line would have hit capacity by 2020.
The managing director of National Express East Coast said a new line was the only long-term option and said the company would be willing to develop a business case for such a project.
Let's be blunt - if this region is to fulfil its true potential it needs to build a new railway for tomorrow, today, she said.
Speaking at the dinner on the eve of the conference, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon said he believed there was a good case for any high-speed link to go up the east coast rather than the west.
Mr Mandelson, meanwhile, said that Conservative leader David Cameron's suggestion that such a railway should only go as far north as Leeds was not good enough.
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