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Appendix3 30

Sharon Wood from Transport Scotland responds to Mike Fawcett from the UK Department for Transport regarding Lord Mawhinney's review of connecting Heathrow Airport to the UK's proposed high speed rail network. While Transport Scotland sees the proposed connections to Heathrow via the existing Heathrow Express and London Crossrail as workable, it recognizes arguments for including a direct high speed link. However, it stresses that the focus of high speed rail development should be investing first in core inter-city travel between major UK cities to deliver the best timetables. Transport Scotland reiterates that fully realizing the environmental benefits of high speed rail in the UK requires linking Scotland's major cities to London with a high speed line.

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Appendix3 30

Sharon Wood from Transport Scotland responds to Mike Fawcett from the UK Department for Transport regarding Lord Mawhinney's review of connecting Heathrow Airport to the UK's proposed high speed rail network. While Transport Scotland sees the proposed connections to Heathrow via the existing Heathrow Express and London Crossrail as workable, it recognizes arguments for including a direct high speed link. However, it stresses that the focus of high speed rail development should be investing first in core inter-city travel between major UK cities to deliver the best timetables. Transport Scotland reiterates that fully realizing the environmental benefits of high speed rail in the UK requires linking Scotland's major cities to London with a high speed line.

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Rail Policy Team

βχ
Strategy and Investment

Buchanan House, 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow G4 0HF


Direct Line: 0141 272 7580 Fax: 0141 272 7560
[email protected]

Mike Fawcett Your ref:


«Yourref»
Department for Transport
Room 3/26a Our ref:
Great Minster House «Ourref»
76 Marsham Street Date:
London 14 April 2010
SW1P 4DR

Dear Mike,

Heathrow Airport High Speed Rail Access Review

Thank you for your letter of 26 March, inviting evidence to assist Lord Mawhinney in his review
of the case for connecting Heathrow Airport to a proposed high speed rail network in the UK.

We see that the connection to Heathrow proposed as part of the Government’s command paper,
linking high speed services with both the existing Heathrow Express service and London
Crossrail, offers a workable alternative to direct high speed services to Heathrow.

However, the Scottish Government recognises that opposing cases for inclusion of high speed
links to a ‘Heathrow Hub’ in any development of high speed lines between London and the West
Midlands have been made, and notes that campaigning for the development is likely to continue.
We welcome the opportunity to contribute to Lord Mawhinney’s review.

In our submission to High Speed Two, we noted that the Scottish Government does not take a
strong view on the inclusion of a Heathrow stop as part of a UK wide high speed rail network.
However, we do see that when developing high speed rail in the UK the key focus must remain
on investment to deliver core inter-city travel in the first instance, and to deliver the best possible
timetables between the major cities across the country.

High speed rail offers a unique opportunity to redraw the UK’s economic map, bringing greater
economic opportunity to the whole of the UK.

We restate our position that it is only by linking Scotland to London with a high speed line that
the environmental benefits claimed for high speed rail in the UK will be realised. With high
speed rail, the modal shift from aviation on the UK busiest domestic routes (between Edinburgh
and Glasgow to London) would free valuable capacity at London’s airports.

It is imperative that any UK Government recognises the case for further investment in a UK
network, encompassing major cities in the first instance, and before committing to investment of
the magnitude required to connect to Heathrow.

www.transportscotland.gov.uk An agency of αβχδεφγηιϕκλμνοπθρστυϖωξψζ


I hope this contribution is of assistance.

Yours sincerely

Sharon Wood

p.p Claire Keggie


Head of Rail Policy

www.transportscotland.gov.uk An agency of αβχδεφγηιϕκλμνοπθρστυϖωξψζ

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