To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in the last five years on the potential effect of high-speed rail on demand for air travel; and what plans it has to commission further research. (137566)

The Government made a manifesto commitment to look at the feasibility and affordability of a new north-south high-speed link. The Department has committed to take this forward in the development of a long-term strategy for the railways.

In so doing the Department will draw on a range of evidence and commissioned work, including Sir Rod Eddington’s advice on the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK’s productivity, stability and growth. The Department will release the evidence alongside our conclusions as part of the long-term strategy for the railways to be published in summer 2007.