HIGH SPEED RAIL LINK SOLUTION TO LESS DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

4.22.50pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 20th Aug 2007

A leading Liberal Democrat MSP has called on the Government to back proposals to build a high speed rail link between Scotland and London.

Glasgow MSP, Robert Brown has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament demanding that a new rail link is built between Scotland and London so that the journey time can be cut to less than three hours.

In a statement Mr Brown said:

"A high speed rail link between Scotland and London, offering a journey time of less than three hours, would be genuinely competitive with domestic flights from Scotland to London.

"The UK Government's plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport have ran into protests, both from the environmental lobby and also local residents.

"The development of high-speed rail links which will slash rail journey times between London, the north of England and Scotland in particular provides an attractive and sustainable alternative to many short-haul air flights within the United Kingdom.

"A high speed rail link could lead to a significant reduction in the number of flights from Scotland to London and combined with more flights direct to overseas destinations could eliminate the need for the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

"Critics may suggest that this proposal is overly ambitious or that it will cost too much. But with countries from Germany to Malaysia building high speed links I say that what we cannot afford is to be left behind.

"I have lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for the UK Government to develop and support proposals for such a high-speed rail link from London to Scotland immediately.

"This is a key matter for the Scottish economy and a key area for the Scottish Executive to work in partnership with the United Kingdom Government to benefit the whole of Britain. It is a great pity that the SNP administration in Holyrood has damaged their credibility in this area by showing themselves so obsessed with road building and so hostile to the railways."

Ends.

Notes to editors:

The following motion has been lodged in the Scottish Parliament by Robert Brown MSP:

S3M-365 Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD) : High Speed Rail Links- That the Parliament notes the current protest in London against the UK Government's proposal to develop a third runway at Heathrow Airport; believes that the development of high-speed rail links which will slash rail journey times between London, the north of England and Scotland in particular provides an attractive and sustainable alternative to many short-haul air flights within the United Kingdom, which may obviate the necessity for a third runway at Heathrow, and urges the government to develop and support proposals for such a high-speed rail link from London to Scotland as a matter of urgency.