House of Lords written question – answered at on 12 February 2013.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will investigate whether the construction of all current High Speed Rail plans could be accelerated and completed within 10 years.
The Government are keen to make progress with the project to deliver high speed rail in the UK and are looking to speed up the timetable wherever possible. Delivering in two phases is intended to ensure rapid and early progress. By the end of this year we plan to submit the hybrid Bill for phase one and to commence consultation for phase two, earlier than previously planned. The parliamentary processes for securing powers for the construction are likely to be complex and lengthy and seeking powers at a later stage for phase two is likely to help reduce the scale of the task and speed up the commencement of construction. The Government will continue to look for opportunities to speed up the process.
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