Construction work on a new high speed rail network which will see the journey to London reduced to three hours is due to start later this year.

UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin made the announcement at the Conservative Party conference.

Under the scheme, the £34bn High Speed 2 project would be extended over the Scottish border and would cut journey times to London by an hour.

Mr McLoughlin said: "I want even more parts of our country to benefit. We're launching a study on the way to get fast journeys further north still, with the aim of getting the journey from Scotland to London to under three hours and making sure the north-east benefits too, because this will be a scheme for every person in Britain."

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A study examining the prospects for the running of 250mph trains to Scotland is to be completed early in 2013, although it has been reported that Scottish Government officials are unaware of it.

Mr McLoughlin’s announcement comes as Prime Minister David Cameron vows to fight to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.

But the announcement also follows a shaky week for the Department for Transport.

The government was forced to abandon the award of a £13bn contract to First Group, which would have seen the transport operator run West Coast passenger trains between Scotland and London.

Now First Group are debating whether to launch legal action against the government.

Commenting on the new rail network, Mr McLoughlin said: "We can't afford not to build it. Our competitors around the world are investing in the best transport and we must too."

(IT)