BC-EU--Britain-High-Speed Rail,0130
UK government announces high-speed rail plan
LONDON (AP) -- The British government says it plans to start building a high-speed rail link from London to Scotland in 2017, with an estimated cost of 30 billion pounds ($45 billion).
The plans announced by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis envision trains running at up to 250 mph (400 kph) on the 335-mile (540-kilometer) link. The first part of the line, costing up to 17.5 billion pounds (about $26 billion), would run from London to Birmingham, the nation's second-largest city.
The announcement comes just weeks ahead of a national election, probably in May. The opposition Conservative Party said Thursday that it didn't necessarily accept the proposed route, but endorsed the idea of high-speed trains and said it would start construction two years earlier.