The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a study assessing the benefits HS2 will bring to Scotland.

This comes after the project was given the go-ahead to start spending in parliament yesterday (October 31st), supported by 350 votes with only 34 against.

DfT believes Scotland will benefit from HS2 trains smoothly transitioning to the West Coast Main Line, improving connections when the scheme opens in 2026. It argues this will be felt more greatly in the second phase, where the rail goes as far as Manchester and Leeds, cutting as much as an hour off of train times from Scotland to London.

Transport minister Baroness Kramer said: "However, we want to see if more can be done and so we are commissioning this study from HS2 Ltd with the support of the Scottish government to consider how these benefits could be extended further."

The government, after talks with Transport Scotland, has also tasked HS2 with finding ways to improve capacity and journey times between northern England and Scotland for both passengers and freight options.