UK Ultraspeed Part 2

[Malcolm Watt]

As part of the scheme it was proposed to build the system incrementally.
One section, to be built as stand alone before connection to the full network, was between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

In 2008 a submission was made to the Scottish Parliament Transport Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee to develop a stand alone link as a first phase of a full north south system.

The cost was estimated at £30m per Km compared with £60m per Km for a TGV style route. Emphasis was made in the lower maintenance costs of 30% to 50% of rail.

Efficiency was also claimed in that only 3 maglev units would be needed to offer a 15 minute service, non stop journey time of 15 minutes or 17.5 with a stop at Edinburgh airport compared with 43 minutes using 16 to 24 conventional rail units.

Extending the track to Glasgow airport (6 minutes from Glasgow Central) would have created a combined two runway airport for international links. Internal flights would still be required until the full UK route was set up. A further link to Stirling, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen (around 30 minutes non stop, less than 45 minutes with stops) was also possible.

This would provide a service between the Scottish airports and Newcastle, Teesside, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Heathrow.

Extending south to Gatwick was also a possibility and to Brighton to give both a fast commuter service into the city, via Heathrow and Stratford, allowing changes to the Elizabeth line, with the potential to loop to Stansted and Luton. After that internal (non profitable) flights would be redundant, leaving free landing slots for profitable international flights.