"Bullet train" links for Scotland's main cities ∞
According to The Scotsman newspaper, the Lib Dems now back a bullet train link for Scotland’s main cities.
Stephen’s conversion appears to have been triggered by a visit to Shanghai in China earlier this month, where he travelled on the revolutionary 300mph Maglev train. The trains have no wheels and float above an electromagnetic field.A Lib Dem source said: “Nicol has always been of the view that improving infrastructure is key to business success, and what he saw in China really enthused him about the need to do similar things here. There is a real need to help our competitive edge.
“We are considering the bullet train as part of our manifesto for 2007. The business case stacks up and the environmental case stacks up as well.”
Journey times between Edinburgh and Glasgow could be cut from the current 50 minutes, to something approaching 10! This would of course require a new purpose built track, and there would be technical limitations on the route, so getting the land will be a challenge. Hopefully the Government will have the clout to achieve this, as it would drag Scotland’s transport system into the 21st century.
Japan is a much more crowded island, and they have the added challenge of earthquakes, and have managed to achieve world-leading trains. Why can’t we take the lead again in a field that we brought to the world?
I really fear that this is just talk, and nothing will come of this bar an expensive feasibility study, before the politicians find another pet project and concentrate on that. Let’s hope I am wrong!
Update:
The very next article on the Scotsman website, was Transport Schemes go nowhere, outlining that things are not improving, and in some cases are getting worse. I think they are getting at the exact same point as me, politics is all talk and no real decisive action.