Brown hails first high-speed rail service

Gordon Brown today hailed the start of the UK's first full domestic high-speed rail services and promised to invest £20 billion in railway infrastructure in the next few years.

The Prime Minister also announced that the Government would publish plans by the end of March for a North-South high-speed rail network.

The Prime Minister, just back from a tour of Afghanistan, was speaking at St Pancras International Station in London, where the first weekday services of the full Javelin train operation run by the Southeastern train company started today.

Mr Brown greeted his Transport Secretary Lord Adonis and double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes, who had travelled on one of the Javelin trains today.

The 140mph Japanese-built train has drastically reduced journey times from Kent into London, although Southeastern passengers are all paying more, both to use the service and in other fares to pay for the investment.

Mr Brown, speaking on one of the Southeastern platforms at St Pancras, said: "This is a great day for St Pancras and for Kent, rail services in this area and for the UK.

"This is also a momentous day in the long and glorious history of British railways."

Mr Brown said the railways have been essential for Britain and will always be essential to the country.

He said: "I know some people who think this is not the time to be investing in infrastructure but I believe it is essential to do so and we will be investing £20 billion in our rail infrastructure in the next few years."

HS2, a Government set-up company to look into the feasibility of a north-south high-speed rail line, is due to report to the Government with its findings by the end of this month.

Mr Brown said today that following receipt of the report, the Government would be publishing its plans for a high-speed line by the end of March.