Transport Minister Paul Clark was due to meet the the City Council's Portfolio Holder for Transport and Area Working, Councillor Jane Urquhart; City Council Chief Executive Jane Todd and other local representatives at Nottingham train station today to outline the Government's plans in more detail.

The plans involve the development of a £30 billion, 335 mile 'Y'-shaped network starting with the construction of high speed line from London to Birmingham.

After Birmingham, the Government's proposed strategy would see the new high speed line running on to Manchester and separately to the East Midlands, Sheffield and Leeds.  

Depending on the outcome of consultation and Parliamentary timescales and approval, construction could start from 2017 with the high speed network opening in phases from 2026.

Councillor Jane Urquhart, City Councillor with responsibility for Transport said:

"We are delighted that the East Midlands is very much on the new National High Speed Rail map announced today by the Government. To have a potential journey time to London of less than an hour would be truly transformational, and we are very keen to see more detail on how this may be achieved.

"We have been making the case for years that Nottingham as the regional capital needs to be centrally connected at the heart of the country's national and international rail system, and today represents a really important step forward, connecting the East Midlands not just to London but also other major Cities in a low carbon, sustainable network.

"We are very keen, however, to start detailed work with Government and HS2 to prove that Nottingham deserves a world class City centre High Speed Rail interchange which will act as a sound, sustainable, and value for money investment. City centre stations provide around twice the economic benefits of out of town parkway facilities, and Nottingham is the largest destination on the existing Midland Mainline. We are confident Nottingham will contribute a major part of the High Speed Business Case to justify our place on the network.

"It will be important, however, to make sure that these exciting plans do not slow down momentum or divert resources from the immediate priorities to sort out the existing Midland Mainline, both in terms of the Government delivering on our 'Nottingham to London in Ninety minutes' ambition, and securing electrification at the earliest opportunity"