Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Integrated Rail Plan on rail journey times to Scotland.

The core pipeline set out in the Integrated Rail Plan, which includes completing HS2 Phases One and 2a and completing HS2 Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, including the link to the West Coast Main Line, will help reduce journey times between England and Scotland. Birmingham and London to Glasgow and Edinburgh could be cut by between 40 and 50 minutes compared to today. In addition, the package of upgrades to the East Coast Main Line will separately improve journey times for services to Edinburgh from London King’s Cross. Journey times could be cut by 25 minutes compared to today depending on stopping patterns. The recent Union Connectivity Review also considered the reduction of rail journey times to Scotland.