Try Again

The line would serve Birmingham and Manchester, getting passengers from Glasgow to London in just two hours and 16 minutes, the rail firm said.

It rejected several alternative routes, including the east of England.

The government said assessments of the costs and environmental issues involved needed to be carried out before it could approve any plans.

It is currently conducting its own rail network review and said it hoped to be in a position to make a decision next year.

If given the go-ahead, Network Rail said it would take up to five years to decide on the exact route and complete the planning stages.

It wants the first section of the line between London and Birmingham to be completed by 2020.

The line would become the country’s second high-speed rail link after the line that runs from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel, run by the Eurostar service and connecting to high-speed lines in continental Europe.

New line

Network Rail’s proposed new line linking Glasgow and Edinburgh with London, on which trains could travel as fast as 200mph, would also serve Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and Birmingham.

A spokesman for one of Manchester’s biggest employers, Kellog’s cereals, said: “This is great news for business in Manchester, just as London is going to be more accessible for us, Manchester will be for those in the South East.”

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