Architect and RIBA president Chris Williamson has unveiled an ambitious concept for a state-of-the-art high-speed rail line. The project, called The Loop, aims to connect key cities in the northern part of the British Isles into a single transport and energy system.
The project envisages the creation of a continuous high-speed rail line that will form a loop around nine major city centres – from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, including Dublin and Belfast.
According to Williamson, this new infrastructure network will transform individual cities into a connected metropolis with a total population of nearly 10 million people. According to the concept, trains will move through tall, elegant arches, at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour, offering a departure frequency of every 5 minutes.
The Loop is not just a railway project, but a concept for an integrated transport and energy system. It is planned to transport electrical energy generated by wind farms, supported by small modular nuclear reactors at key points, along the same route.
According to preliminary estimates, the investment is worth around £130 billion, and would also bring approximately £12 billion in annual economic benefits to the regions it covers.
Williamson stresses that the project is a response to the political and economic challenges facing cities – including pressure for separate investment and insufficient regional connectivity. However, critics say this vision is extremely ambitious, and the policies and budgets for building such networks remain complex and controversial.
The plan comes at a time when Britain is working on another large-scale rail project – High Speed Two (HS2), which has, however, been criticized for high costs and delays.