Picture courtesy Rail Images | www.railimages.co.uk

Plans for a £33bn high-speed rail network have finally been approved by the government (Tuesday 10 January 2011)

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said she had agreed to a new "railway revolution in Britain".

"A modern and reliable and fast service between our major cities and international gateways befitting the 21st Century will transform the way we travel and promote Britain's economic and social prosperity," she said in a statement to the House of Commons.

The British Chambers of Commerce said the plan would be welcomed by "businesses up and down the country".

Critics of the scheme say the route will be a "white elephant" cause damage to the environment and dispute figures showing projected benefits of up to £47bn

Ms Greening said there would be extra tunnelling along the 140-mile first phase in an attempt to offset environmental concerns.

Phase one of HS2, between London and Birmingham, should be running by 2026, later extending to northern England, she said.

That will be followed by a second phase of the Y-shaped route reaching Manchester and Leeds by about 2033.

A consultation on the second phase will begin in early 2014, with a final route chosen by the end of that year.

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said she wanted to see a commitment now for the second phase of the line. "While I welcome the commitment given today to the whole HS2 scheme, there will be disappointment that the government's announcement has stopped short of a commitment to legislate for the entire route to Manchester and Leeds in this Parliament," she said.

Stop HS2 campaign co-ordinator Joe Rukin said: "There is no business case, no environmental case and there is no money to pay for it.

"It's a white elephant of monumental proportions and you could deliver more benefits to more people more quickly for less money by investing in the current rail infrastructure."

Craig Bennett, director of policy and campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: "We need to revolutionise travel away from roads and planes, but pumping £32bn into high-speed travel for the wealthy few while ordinary commuters suffer is not the answer.

But John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Britain cannot continue to 'make do and mend' when it comes to its substandard infrastructure.

"Fundamentally, our global competitiveness is at stake."

With speeds of up to 250mph, passengers will be able to commute from Birmingham to London in 45 minutes, reducing the current journey time of one hour and 24 minutes.

A Birmingham to Leeds journey will be reduced from two hours to 57 minutes and a Manchester to London journey from two hours and 8 minutes to one hour and 8 minutes.

The first phase of HS2 will include a connection to mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. On completion of HS2 the network will include a direct link to Heathrow.

The government estimates that the project could eventually result in 9 million road journeys and 4.5 million journeys by plane instead being taken by train every year.

Justine Greening said changes to the plans meant that "more than half the route will now be mitigated by tunnel or cutting", including:

A longer tunnel through the Chiltern Hills from Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire, to the M25

A new 2.75-mile (4km) tunnel to avoid impacts on communities in Ruislip, north-west London

A longer covered cutting, known as a green tunnel, past Chipping Warden and Aston le Walls in Northamptonshire

A curve in the route to avoid heritage sites around Edgcote, Northants

Longer green tunnels at Wendover and South Heath, Bucks

The Department for Transport said that 22.5 miles of the first phase would now be enclosed in tunnels or green tunnels - up from 14.5 miles for the route that went to consultation - and a further 56.5 miles of cuttings would significantly reduce "visual and noise impact".

A green tunnel is basically a deep cutting with a tube put into it, over which grass, trees and soil are placed. It is not as deep as a normal tunnel, and reduces construction costs.

In addition, around 56.5 miles of the 140 miles of the London to West Midlands line will be partially or totally hidden in cutting.

In the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) just over 1.5 miles of the route will be visible.

HS2 trains will be up to 400m long with 1,100 seats and will provide an extra 26,000 passenger seats each hour on intercity routes.