Search

The greatest use of air travel within the UK is between central Scotland and London. This paper discusses the construction of a high-speed rail link (350 km/h capability) between Edinburgh and Newcastle to reduce the Edinburgh-London rail journey time to an equivalent flight time, with the objective of achieving greatest modal shift from air to rail travel with consequent reductions in carbon emissions. The paper describes the existing rail route and its limitations. A broad specification and a possible proposed route that would utilise the existing rail network and stations at each end are discussed. The paper also covers the overall costs of relative transport modes, how these modes can be equally treated and possible sources of finance. Short-term East Coast Main Line capacity improvements and the longer-term view that an Edinburgh-Newcastle link would be only a start in the development of high-speed rail on this route are discussed. It is concluded that the UK should follow the lead of other European countries and develop a high-speed rail network, primarily as a means of reducing carbon emissions from aircraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A referendum in February 2005 saw Edinburgh citizens reject a transport strategy for the city, including a proposed congestion charging scheme. The aims of the strategy were to tackle road congestion and to provide a public transport system to match the best in Europe. Congestion charging was seen by the Council as a key tool both to reduce demand for road space and to provide a revenue stream for transport investment. This paper focuses on the context for the development of the proposals, the hurdles involved in taking them forward, and the apparent contradiction between initial high levels of support for a 'radical' transport policy and eventual rejection of the proposed means of achieving those objectives. The paper postulates a number of reasons why this rejection may have occurred, based on the author's experience in the development of the scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]