David Higgins, chief executive, said: “Parts of our national rail network are straining at the seams and in little more than a decade our busiest, most important inter-city rail artery - the west coast main line - will be unable to cope. We will be turning people and goods away and this will have a serious economic impact on the UK - we cannot allow this to happen.

“A new high speed line, capable of creating a massive boost in capacity and relieving the west coast main line, is essential. HS2 must go ahead - it is vital for the economy and for the transport network.”

In 2008 Network Rail published its ‘New lines Study’ which contained a vast amount of analysis to understand the long-term capacity issues facing the railway. The conclusions were stark. Within a decade the west coast main line will be full with other inter-city lines following not far behind (midland main line and east coast main line).

By this point, the restricted capacity of the rail network between major cities will have become a significant brake on, and barrier to, sustainable economic growth. Costly and disruptive upgrades of the existing infrastructure are not the answer with only the building of new lines as a realistic solution - with high speed delivering the greatest benefit.

The analysis concluded that building of HS2 would not only transform travel between our major cities, it would also release 13 train paths per hour on the existing west coast potentially transforming the commuting for communities not well served by today’s services (e.g. Northampton, Milton Keynes). It would also release significant extra capacity for freight on Britain’s busiest freight corridor.

Mr Higgins concluded: “We recognise that this scheme has its opponents but we are firmly of the view that the step-change increase in rail capacity that HS2 would provide is essential for the long-term wellbeing of the nation as a whole.”

City.Mobi

Also in Europe today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to London.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

London.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.