LONDON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- British transportation officials say they are proposing a new high-speed rail link between London and the West Midlands.
Transportation Secretary Andrew Adonis has submitted plans for what would be the fastest railway in Europe and ministers are hoping to have the proposal on the ballot for voters in the next general election, The Times of London reported Wednesday.
The newspaper said that under the proposal, construction on the high-speed link would start in 2017, with the first trains rolling by 2025. The project, it reported, would cost tens of billions of dollars.
"In terms of new policy, high-speed rail is my top priority over the next three months," Adonis told The Times.
The plans reportedly call for trains traveling at up to 200 mph. An exact route would be decided upon by March, when the government hopes to publish a white paper setting out the details of the first phase of construction and overall vision of extending a high-speed rail network running north of Birmingham to Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and on to Scotland, the newspaper said.
