HS2 Journey From Manchester To Glasgow Will Be SLOWER Than It Is Now

12 February 2019, 08:45 | Updated: 12 February 2019, 08:46

LBC has been told that the journey from Manchester to Glasgow on HS2 will actually be slower than current travel times.

Economist Liam Halligan, who made a TV programme looking at the business case for the controversial train line, revealed that the new HS2 rolling stock will have to travel more slowly than current Pendelino trains.

Speaking to Iain Dale, he said: "This is one of those great little scoops we got that we didn't manage to get on air.

"From Manchester into Scotland, the HS2 rolling stock, because it will be on conventional train lines, will go slower than the existing Pendelinos.

"HS2 will deny that. I've stood that fact up with numerous train engineering experts.

"The HS2 rolling stock from Manchester to Glasgow will be on existing lines and it will go slower than current trains."

That will make the journey times from the North up to Scotland will be longer than current times.

But former Transport Secretary Lord Adonis insisted the overall travel time from London to Glasgow will still be reduced under the scheme - down to just over three hours.

And he believes that will make the journey competitive with flying to Scotland.

Recent reports have suggested that Ministers are pressuring the Prime Minister to cancel HS2 over spiralling costs.

Last week, LBC revealed that the cost for phase one of property purchases is five times higher than originally predicted.

In 2012, HS2 Limited estimated that land and property acquisitions would cost just £1.1bn. By 2015, the National Audit Office said that figure had spiralled to £3.3bn. LBC understands this figure could now reach £4.96bn.