Plans have been unveiled for a futuristic high-speed rail network that could connect major cities across the UK and Ireland. Chris Williamson, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), has revealed designs for a circular rail line dubbed ‘The Northern Loop’.
He said the proposal would establish a “new global city” which is “dispersed but connected”. It’s thought The Northern Loop would cost a whopping £130 billion to build but create significant economic benefits. The network would link eight cities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as the Irish capital of Dublin.
Mr Williamson told the Architect’s Journal that 50-metre trains would “run every five minutes at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour” — around 100mph quicker than the UK’s current fastest trains.
He said the carriages would travel on an elevated viaduct, designed to reduce disruption at ground level.
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The speed of the trains means all nine cities would be within a maximum of 90 minutes of each other.
The proposal for the plan reportedly states: “Travel from Edinburgh to Manchester would take less time than crossing Los Angeles.
“It would allow people to live in Newcastle and work in Glasgow.”
Mr Williamson said the ambitious plans have drawn inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s huge 105-mile desert city, The Line, having worked on high-speed stations running alongside the project.
He said: “But we in the British Isles should be equally ambitious about our future. At present, the government seems to expect each city to compete for the same investment funding, when we need to encourage connectivity and collaboration.”
The Northern Loop would need to require crossing the Irish Sea twice —once between Glasgow and Belfast and once between Dublin and Bangor — requiring either tunnelling or bridges.
The concept for the project has been developed in collaboration with engineering firm Elliot Wood.
Mr Williamson has submitted the Northern Loop proposal to this year’s Royal Academy summer exhibition.