HS2 'could close the wealth gap'

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The transport secretary has said the north-south divide in Britain could finally be closed by the planned high speed rail link.

At departmental questions today Philip Hammond said the line, that will link London to Birmingham and then later to Manchester and Leeds, will "drive economic growth and prosperity".

Helen Grant (Con, Maidstone and the Weald) asked if it will also "bridge the wealth divide between north and south".

Hammond said Britain can only maintain prosperity in the future if it can "close the growth gap between the north and the south".

"Governments for the last 50 to 60 years have wrestled with this and we haven't succeeded yet," he told MPs.

"Investing in strategic infrastructure, is the last, best chance to achieve it."

Lilian Greenwood (Lab, Nottingham South) said there is "a very strong business case" for developing the east coast line.

Hammond said the "complex engineering" of getting train tunnels dug under London for HS2 forms the first part of the project.

"In engineering terms, once we're out of the tunnels it's pretty much plain sailing to complete the remainder of the construction," he told the Commons.

Adrian Sanders (Lib Dem, Torbay) complained that the south west suffers from slower trains and high fares and asked for more investment in that region's rail network.

Hammond said the electrification of the Great West mainline will improve services in terms of both speed and comfort.

Also at departmental questions this morning transport minister Mike Penning told the Commons that the government may consider raising the speed limit on motorways to 80 miles per hour.

Penning said he had received "a variety of representations" on the matter.

He said he must weight up safety and enforcement against any benefits a higher speed limit might bring.

Stephen Mosley (Con, City of Chester) said it would deliver economic benefits, while Julian Huppert (Lib Dem, Cambridge) raised the matter of extra fuel usage.

Shadow transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said a higher speed limit might help the UK hit its CO2 targets.