Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Scotland about extending the HS2 route to Edinburgh.

HS2 will serve Edinburgh on completion of the Y network in 2033, with journey times reduced to 3 hours 40 minutes. In line with the joint ministerial statement on 21 March 2016, the Department for Transport, Transport Scotland, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, are working together to identify any and all options with strong business cases that could further improve journey times, capacity, resilience and reliability, with the ultimate aim of 3 hour journeys between London and Scotland’s central belt.