The government believes the UK needs HS2 as it will be unable to meet upcoming transport demand without it.

As it publishes new evidence today (October 29th) outlining the strategic case for the development, it has suggested the country's rail system will be overburdened even when including the upcoming £50 billion transport investment in the next six years.

These new findings suggest, by 2026, 40 per cent of passengers will be standing during evening services into London.

Transport secretary of state Patrick McLoughlin said: "We need a radical solution and HS2 is it. A patch and mend job will not do - the only option is a new north-south railway.

"HS2 brings massive benefits to the north, is great for commuters and the alternatives just don't stack up."

The government has also updated its benefit to cost ratio (BCR) for the scheme to 2.3, or £2 worth of benefits for each £1 spent, which it argues makes it similar to Crossrail and better than the Thames Link and Jubilee Line extension projects. It also argues the BCR will rise to 4.5 if rail demand grows until 2049.

A previous report published this week by Atkins and Network Rail suggested an alternative to HS2 would bring 14 years of weekend delays and closures to make improvements.