The transport secretary has called on the railway industry to calm its criticism of the HS2 project.

Patrick McLoughlin insisted the scheme was vital to improving the capacity problem on the UK's  rail networks. Railnews reports the minister drew comparisons between the proposed high-speed system and the London to Birmingham line.

He claimed that when the first Bill for the project was submitted to Parliament in the 1830s, it was immediately thrown out and disregarded. Now, he said, the West Coast Mainline has become the busiest of its kind in Europe.

Mr McLoughlin added the UK was becoming too fixated on benefits/costs ratios (BCR) and losing sight of the bigger picture. He said: "The BCR for the Jubilee Line extension through Docklands was less than one per cent. But without that line there would be no Canary Wharf. No world-class regeneration in East London."

The transport secretary also stated the extreme weather that affected large parts of the UK over the winter was a clear sign HS2 was vital to the nation. He claimed during this period, only the HS1 system did not experience any disruption. This, he said, was a testament to modern engineering standards.