North not on the fast track to high speed rail
Don't hold your breath if you're waiting for a high speed rail link to the North East and Cumbria, appears to be .
There's only one concrete plan for a new high speed route.
That's from London Euston to Birmingham, with work starting in 2017, and completion due in 2026.
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But no date is set, and the only real extensions talked about are to Manchester and Leeds.
The news is bound to cause consternation in the North East.
and the regional have both talked about the economic case for bringing high speed rail to the area.
They tworry he North East will lose out on investment and jobs if it's not connected to the network.
Mind you, the news doesn't mean the region wouldn't benefit from high speed rail at all.
That's because connections would be built between the existing East Coast Line and then high speed link.
That would allow you ge on the high speed train in Newcastle, even if it could only begin travelling at the high speeds of 250mph south of Leeds.
- not a quantum leap but of some benefit, even if that could be 20 to 30 years into the future.
It doesn't though match a full high speed link to the North East. That would cut journey times to London to two hours from Newcastle, and 100 minutes from Teesside.
Cumbria though may miss out in every way, as the even if a line is built through the county, it seems unlikely to stop there.
But the other danger is the amount of infrastructure money that could be sucked up by high speed rail plans.
The initial line to Birmingham could cost between £15bn and £17bn.
That's money that couldn't then be spent on improving existing rail services.
So although there are plans to improve the East Coast Main Line, will any government be able to afford to make significant improvements to regional rail services if so much money is being ploughed into high speed?
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also have plans for high speed rail, but again with no cast iron commitment or confirmed timetable to bring it to our region, so this may not become an election issue.
Of course though the one route that is definitely being proposed does pass through a lot of key marginals in the South and Midlands.
We're talking to North East Minister Nick Brown about this on the this Sunday.
I'm Richard Moss, the 91Èȱ¬'s Political Editor for the North East and Cumbria. Welcome to my irreverent - but hopefully insightful - northern take on reporting politics for Look North and the Politics Show.
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