HS2

Conservatives outline high speed rail plans

The Conservative Party has hit back at those who have questioned their plans over high speed rail, by outlining proposals which could see construction begin by 2015.

Speaking at a civil engineering conference yesterday, shadow transport minister Stephen Hammond said that if his party came to power, they would take on board suggestions made by the HS2 report, but would also consult its own advisors.

Mr Hammond also said that construction work could begin as soon as 2015, with the service being operational by 2027 at the very latest.

He also said that the party would stand by its £19.7 billion budget for the work to be carried out, funded by both the public and private sectors.

It is hoped that the construction of a high speed rail network throughout Britain, would create thousands of jobs in rail, including construction and maintenance rail jobs, jobs in rail administration, train driver jobs and customer service rail jobs.

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