High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 3:13 pm on 26 June 2013.

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Photo of Mark Lazarowicz Mark Lazarowicz Labour, Edinburgh North and Leith 3:13, 26 June 2013

I did not quite catch my hon. Friend’s answer to Mr MacNeil, who asked about taking the line north of Leeds and Manchester. Will she confirm that we would wish to see the high-speed services and line taken north of Leeds and Manchester in due course? It is not just a question of speed, however; it is also a question of capacity, because, as she pointed out, the construction of high-speed lines further south will free up capacity on existing lines, but that will lead to capacity problems if all the high-speed trains end up going on the existing lines further north.