Further extending the proposed HS2 project would put ‘rocket fuel in the economy’ to help Britain’s economy thrive. A leading transport think-tank has suggested connecting the UK mainland through HS2 by the year 2050 would see huge economic opportunities unlocked and could provide a massive boost in the creation of jobs and housing.

Greengauge 21, the transport think-tank behind the claims, says in their Beyond HS2 report that the improved connectivity that HS2 would provide would help close the gap between countries such as Germany, Italy and France in terms of productivity, as it suggests an extension to Edinburgh to improve the train journey times between the English and Scottish capital cities. The proposed idea would have to see a significant upgrade to the East Coast Mainline and would help reduce the reliance on London and allow other Northern cities to flourish and thrive.

The report from Greengauge 21 says that boosting national productivity should be the guiding priority for redesigning the rail network. Jim Steer, Director of Greengauge 21, said: Britain lacks a long-term national railway strategy beyond HS2. We need a plan to put rocket fuel into our economic productivity and this report sets out proposals to do so.”

The suggestion of extending the HS2 network into Scotland is something which is backed by the Scottish Government, with Transport Spokesman for Scottish Labour Colin Smyth saying: ”We need to reignite Labour’s original vision of a unifying railway.”

The other key highlights within the Beyond HS2 report includes:

  • An upgraded fast route from Birmingham to Bristol Parkway – carrying HS2 trains, continuing to the South West and South Wales.
  • A huge upgrade to the East Coast Mainline, the first since the 1980s.
  • New high speed lines in Scotland – allowing for travel time between Edinburgh and London to be reduced to 3hours and 15minutes.
  • Development of new lines in East Essex and Anglia, alleviating the West Anglia and Great Eastern Mainlines, both of which are at capacity.
  • Create an effective and powerful economic unit in the North through connectivity of Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Bradford, Sheffield, Newcastle and Hull.

We’re set to hear much more about the huge opportunities which HS2 can bring to the economy at the HS2 Economic Growth Conference in November, which is supported by HS2 Ltd. With the current HS2 line proposals the economy is set to grow by over £14bn, with the creation of over 260,000 new jobs, 30,000 new homes and over £4m m2 of new commercial space.