HS2 high-speed rail link gets green light and 'green' tunnels An artist's impression of a high-speed train crossing the Birmingham and Fazeley canal viaduct for the planned HS2 link. The biggest leap forward in Britain's rail network since the 19th century was announced on Tuesday with a £32.7bn investment in high-speed rail linking London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. The transport secretary, Justine Greening, said the HS2 high-speed rail scheme would build critical infrastructure, providing vital capacity and faster journeys on trains carrying up to 1,100 passengers each. The network, to be running by 2026 and completed by 2033, will almost halve some journey times between England's biggest cities and make it significantly quicker to travel from the north of England and Scotland to London. Greening promised that by attracting passengers away from roads and air services, "its benefits will be felt far beyond the network." The Department for Transport unveiled several tweaks to the first stage of the HS2 route to mollify opponents in the wealthy commuter belt north and west of London. An important concession is the building of extra tunnels in the picturesque Wendover area which will minimise disruption to the landscape and everyday life. Construction work will not start until 2017 at the earliest, with the first stage of the route seeing trains in 2026. The government confirmed that a link would be created in north London to the existing high-speed line to the Channel tunnel, meaning Birmingham could see direct high-speed services to Paris and Brussels in 14 years' time. Greening said: "At the heart is the need to address capacity shortfall. Unless we take action, by the 2020s the west coast main line will be full. The last time a whole new line had been built was the grand central main line in 1899, she said. Since then, we've used the rail network in a way the Victorians would be proud of. But there comes a time when you can't just patch things up. It's clear the existing network won't deliver. We need a new line. The transport secretary admitted the high-speed option would cost "around 10%" more than the alternative of upgrading the present infrastructure and trains but said the benefits would be substantial. She likened her decision to that of postwar planners choosing motorways rather than better A-roads. Almost 55,000 people responded to the public consultation, she said, with strong feelings on both sides. The government will also be offering an improved package of measures to reassure homeowners, including streamlined claims schemes for blight and compensation, and before and after surveys for those near tunnelling work. The economic case has long been questioned by opponents, but the government - while slightly downgrading its forecast for returns on investment - insisted the budget would not increase and the new "green tunnels" would save money by reducing the amount of earth removed from the Chilterns. Greening claimed the first phase alone would create 40,000 jobs. Andrew Adonis, transport minister in the last Labour government and architect of the plan, said the economic analyses were notional figures and distracted from "the real choice: open-heart surgery on the existing lines or a proper alternative." Leading transport commentators said that while all investment was welcome, the money could have been better spent. Railway expert Christian Wolmar said: "The government is driving through this project even though the evidence suggests that there are cheaper alternatives well worth looking at that would relieve other overcrowded parts of the network, such as lines out of Paddington and Victoria." Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said it was "a profound disappointment it will go on a project for which the economic, business, social and environmental case is weak at best." He said scores of other road and rail projects would deliver greater benefits much sooner. The announcement was welcomed by business leaders and MPs in the Midlands and the north. The TUC said it was good news but demanded that the investment mean real jobs and apprenticeships. Cheryl Gillan, the Welsh secretary, had threatened to resign from the cabinet if HS2 went ahead, but on Tuesday welcomed the changes to the route, which will send future rail passengers through her constituency largely underground. She indicated she was still seeking more assurances from the transport secretary. With parliamentary legislation to build the London-Birmingham route to be introduced next year, and Labour having pledged to support it, a revolt is unlikely to upset the passage of the bill. However, Buckinghamshire county council, which has been co-ordinating an anti-HS2 alliance, said "there would appear to be nothing to dissuade us" from dropping a threat to seek a judicial review. While the Chilterns have hosted the best-funded campaigns and most vocal opposition to date, most of the 338 homes earmarked for demolition will be local authority flats around Euston station. Camden council said the plan was "incomprehensible folly." The options for the precise route north of Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester will be drawn up later this year with a full public consultation in 2014, and a final decision by December that year. The second stage will include a spur to Heathrow from the new Old Oak Common interchange in London. HS2 trains will be up to 400m long with 1,100 seats An extra 26,000 passenger seats each hour on intercity routes Trains to travel at up to 250mph Birmingham to London journeys now set to be 45 mins instead of 84 mins More than 22 miles of tunnel on the route A spur to Heathrow will be built by 2033