Hard shoulders to be opened in rush hour to ease congestion

Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, is planning to tackle Britain's chronic motorway congestion by opening the hard shoulder of the busiest routes to motorists.

He revealed that trials of the proposal would begin on the M42 surrounding the West Midlands conurbation next year. Under the plan, the hard shoulder would be opened to drivers during rush hours and when breakdowns had caused gridlock. The initiative could be followed soon afterwards on sections of the M5, M6 and the M25 around London.

The move is likely to run into fierce opposition from safety organisations and environmental campaigners, who may argue that it represents more motorway building by stealth.

But trials of a similar scheme on Dutch motorways have persuaded the Department of Transport that the measure could be a success in the UK, which has some of Europe's busiest motorway routes.

Mr Darling tells the Financial Times in an interview today that he is determined to push through the idea as soon as possible. He said: "One of my exasperations is we plan something for two years, we trial it, then we think about it for another year. But I want to do this in a wider way in the next couple of years or so."

He also revealed that the Government had planned a new programme of road building, including widening major arterial routes. He said the areas could include the M25 and parts of the A1(M). Mr Darling added: "We are not against road building. We would be mad to take that position.''

The minister, who has been accused of sitting on the fence over the merits of Ken Livingstone's congestion-charging scheme in London, said other cities could follow, but probably not for another 10 to 15 years.

Mr Darling's interview marks his first anniversary as Transport Secretary following the resignation of Stephen Byers. Appointed as a "safe pair of hands'', he has found himself under increasing fire. Plans for a rail link between north London and the South Coast and to extend the East London line seem to have collapsed.