Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the planning assumptions for bringing into service high-speed train connections to the HS2 route from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The current plans for HS2 Phases One and 2a will see Glasgow connected to the high-speed rail network between 2029 and 2033. Journey times between Glasgow and London will fall by 45 minutes from 4hrs 30min at present to 3hrs 45min.

On completion of HS2 Phase 2b, Edinburgh will become connected to the high-speed rail network, reducing journey times to London from the current 4hrs 19mins to 3hrs 48min.

New high-speed rail infrastructure is planned from London to Manchester via Birmingham and Crewe. Classic-compatible high-speed trains running to Scotland will connect to the West Coast Mainline (WCML) in north-west England and these will use the existing conventional rail network to serve both Edinburgh and Glasgow.