A plan for high-speed rail in the UK, connecting London with the North of England, has been announced by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.
The proposed links would connect the capital with Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield and would also allow for further links to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Liverpool.
Public consultation for the line between London and Birmingham will begin later this year along with detailed planning for the lines further north, paving the way for consultation in 2012.
Lord Adonis said the time had come for the UK to think seriously about high-speed rail given its success in Europe and Asia.
"The UK will require a step-change in transport capacity and connectivity to promote and respond to long-term economic growth. However, this must be delivered sustainably, without unacceptable environmental impacts," Lord Adnois said.
Once completed, a journey from a revamped Euston station in London to a brand new station in Birmingham city centre would take just 30 minutes.
Journey times further north would also be slashed with trains travelling from Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield to London in under 75 minutes.
"Building this network would not only revolutionise Britain's transport, but would also present significant new opportunities for the UK's design, engineering, construction and manufacturing sectors," Lord Adonis said.
Interchange stations would also be introduced in London to connect with the Crossrail link to Heathrow and in Birmingham for Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).
High Speed Two(HS2), the company set up by the government to develop high-speed rail in the UK, estimates the cost of the whole project to be £30bn ($45bn).
Infrastructure UK, which audits all projects using public money, has announced it will look into cutting these costs, which are considerably higher than for similar projects elsewhere in the world.
For example, the Beijing to Shanghai high-speed link and the LVG between Paris and Strasbourg cost only $12bn and $7.5bn respectively.
The Airbourne Operators Association has called the plan a starting point not an alternative, especially for cities not on the proposed route.
AOA chairman Ed Anderson said there are some short-haul flights in the UK that cannot be replaced by a rail link.
Construction on the line is likely to start when the Crossrail project, which costs £16bn ($24bn), finishes in 2017 with tentative predictions for phased opening in 2026.
