Reaching out: how high-speed rail will benefit our economies and our communities

By Andrew Pakes

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis officially launched the new Javelin service yesterday, putting in place the next piece of the jigsaw in Labour”s modernisation of the railway. The new service will bring high-speed trains to the UK rail network and halve journey times from Kent into London. This advent of a new high-speed rail service is not just something to be celebrated by the train anoraks; it’s also part of a wider story of transport infrastructure at the heart of economic renewal.

By investing in the rail network and pushing a vision for high-speed rail, Labour talks to an understanding of regional development and future prosperity simply not recognised by the Conservatives. The new Javelin service will help bring Kent closer to London, opening up new business opportunities and giving the region a boost coming out of the recession.

It is this focus on regional development that Lord Adonis has placed high on Labour”s agenda for high-speed rail across the UK. You only have to look to our European neighbours to see how high-speed rail links, coupled with a modern network, have been central to the economic revival of regions once hit by the decline of major industries. In Spain it was the determination of the Gonzales Government in the 1980s that led to the creation of the high-speed network that is being expanded today by his successor, Prime Minister Zapatero. The Transport Minister in the Spanish Government, Jose Blanco Lopez, makes the point that had the Government listened to its opposition, high-speed rail would never have been built. The arguments against high speed rail in Spain sound very similar to today’Â’s Conservative mantra for cuts and an end to the big state.

Do we really think that Conservative rhetoric on high speed rail will last beyond their first Â’Emergency BudgetÂ’ and calls for massive cuts in spending? If you listen to the rumours, not even Crossrail is safe under a future Conservative government, let alone high-speed rail. I am sure the policy ambitions will remain and, no doubt, make it into a few conference speeches, but the reality is that the investment required to bring high-speed rail to fruition is an outcome derived from a positive belief in the role of the state.

We still face huge challenges to bring our rail network into line with public expectations but we will not meet those expectations without a long term vision for the future. The Javelin service is the next step in that journey. If we want to create a sustainable economic future based on a balanced and strong role for our cities and regions then high speed rail is a necessary part of that picture.

In the New Year, the Government will report on the next stages for high-speed two. The success of the project will require both the financial means and political will to see it through, despite the detractors. It is a policy which we should all be supporting from the frontline.