What evidence is there that high-speed rail is the right option for investment?
Again, the reference is the Atkins High Speed Line study for the SRA, which examined the business case for: • High-speed rail • New rail routes operated at conventional speeds (no more than 200km/h) • Motorway/trunk road investment (additional lanes etc) • Upgrading existing north-south railway lines. Its thorough cost benefit appraisal established a clearly better outcome from high-speed rail than any of these alternatives. In addition, we know that the national transport networks are running out of capacity. This applies just as much to the principal rail routes as to our motorways and airports. Indeed, rail is growing faster than the other surface transport modes, faster than car use, for example. As the November 2006 National Audit Office report into the West Coast Main Line pointed out, even with substantial expenditure on the route and lengthening of trains — worthwhile investments in themselves — available capacity will be fully used up within 10 years. High-speed rail is the be
