West Coast Railway Line: Speed Limits
Transport
Written answers and statements, 4 November 2009
Eric Martlew (Carlisle, Labour)
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether there are plans to improve the signalling on the West Coast Main Line to enable 135 mph running speeds.
Chris Mole (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Transport; Ipswich, Labour)
The Government have no plans for 135 miles per hour (mph) running. The West Coast Main Line was recently modernised and resignalled to permit significantly more 125 mph operations across the route. This has significantly reduced journey times and provided more frequent services for millions of passengers every year.
In January the Government established the High Speed Two company which, by the end of the year, will make a proposal for an entirely new line between London and the West Midlands and advise on the potential development of the high speed network to the north of England and Scotland.