TGV to Plymouth?

BBC NEWS | England | Rail firm considers 200mph trains
First Great Western is considering building a brand-new TGV-style line to the West of England.

However, if new lines are needed, they could cost �50m a mile, which could go up to �60m a mile if tunnelling is involved.

As yet there is no information saying how it would be paid for, when it could be achieved, or how far west the new line would extend.

There's the rub. The present line is pretty fast up to Exeter, but then takes a winding switchback route through Devon and Cornwall, with a maximum speed of 60mph over most of it. The nature of the terrain west of Exeter means there are going to be a lot of tunnels unless it does what the present line does, which is to follow the contour line.

I suspect the environmental lobby will have problems with line crossing Dartmoor. As for how far west it would go, I doubt an LGV Penzance would be economically feasible. And unless Plymouth-Penzance is electrified, a Plymouth LGV would mean curtains for through services west of Plymouth.

A Cornish MP clearly sees this:

Truro and St Austell MP Matthew Taylor said: "It ain't going to happen.

"I don't mind people looking at this, and if they can come up with a way of making it work, then fine.

"But let's actually get the reality working - the trains replaced. That's what First Great Western should have been announcing."

Seriously, if we're going to follow the French and the Japanese with new high-speed rail links, the obvious first one would be parallel to the West Coast Main Line, where the present route is at capacity already.