THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT has unveiled its vision for a new High Speed project today, which sets out a plan for a line starting from Scotland rather than London.
The idea has been welcomed on both sides of the border.
High Speed campaigning group Greengauge21 described the new plan as 'enormously encouraging'.
Greengauge21 director Julie Mills said: "They have identified clearly the potential benefits of high-speed rail in boosting the economy through better connections between our great cities.
“Greengauge 21 has always been clear that the transport and economic case for building a cross-border high-speed rail link between Scotland and England is very strong. We are very pleased to see that our analysis has been built on by the Scottish Partnership Group to demonstrate that building high-speed rail from Scotland has an even stronger case than building the first stages of HS2 from London.”
The report points out that a High Speed line linking Scotland and London would reduce journey times to under three hours, which is said to be the critical point at which air becomes less attractive than rail.
The pressure group Transform Scotland also greeted the plan with enthusiasm.
Spokesman Paul Tetlow said: "We support the case for high speed rail links from England to Scotland. This could bring about significant modal shifts from the car and the plane to the train.
"Anglo-Scottish high-speed rail services could help us meet important environmental targets by knocking out carbon-intensive short-haul flights.
"The clear challenges posed by climate change and depleting world oil supplies means that we need to improve both capacity and journey times by rail. We need rail investment as climate change targets start to bite and oil becomes more scarce and more expensive.
"The existing rail network does not have the capacity for the growth that will be required in the future for journeys from Scotland to London, the Midlands and the North of England. New lines and upgrades to existing routes are clearly required. "