HS2 trains 'ready to happen' and will run by next decade

High-speed HS2 trains linking London with the north are "ready to happen" and will be running by the next decade.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling insisted the controversial High Speed 2 rail link, which will cost around £55.7 billion to build, is "going to happen".

Mr Grayling told a HS2 conference in East London that the UK had achieved a "great track record over the last 200 years".

And he described HS2 as potentially creating an Elizabethan age of British rail.

"It is ready to happen, it is going to happen, and it's going to make a massive difference to our country", Mr Grayling said.

"We will see it though to completion with the first trains running in the next decade".

Mr Grayling said it would be a "fantastic career opportunity", promising that it would support a further 100,000 jobs - 75% of which would be outside London.

"We need HS2 now more than ever", he added.

The first phase of the railway is planned between London and Birmingham by 2026.

Mr Grayling said the Government would provide £30 million of funding for improving road safety and £40 million to support communities affected by the line to the Midlands.