UK Ultraspeed was a proposed high-speed magnetic-levitation train line between London and Glasgow, linking 16 stations including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle and six airports. It was rejected in 2007 by the UK government, in favour of conventional high-speed rail. The company behind the proposal ceased efforts to promote it in early 2013.
Proposal
The 2005 UK Ultraspeed proposal was submitted as part of the UK's general effort to upgrade train service. German company Transrapid, developers of the only operational high-speed maglev system, backed the Ultraspeed group to promote their technology as an alternative to conventional high-speed train sets like those being used on High Speed 1. Transrapid is a joint venture of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, both major suppliers to the transportation industry.
The proposed route would have served cities currently served by both the West Coast Main Line and East Coast Main Line, with a spur serving Liverpool. Three stations were to serve London: Heathrow Airport, a Park and Ride at the M1/M25 junction, and either Stratford or King's Cross station. The route roughly followed the West Coast line from London to Manchester, then turned slightly east towards Newcastle before roughly following the East Coast line to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Inter-city speeds would be as high as , reducing a London-Manchester trip by half, from about 128 minutes to a claimed 54. The savings in time were possible due to rapid acceleration, new station locations, and greatly simplified loading and unloading procedures. These advantages would reduce total trip time to below that of regional aircraft serving the same route. The projected total cost was £29 billion including all guideways, land and 27 train sets.
Ultraspeed was deliberately aimed at the same market as the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2). HS2's mainline runs from London to Birmingham, with branches to Manchester and Leeds. In spite of being much shorter, at , HS2 was estimated to cost between £52 billion (UK Government) and £80 billion (Institute of Economic Affairs).
Initial support
The proposal caught the eye of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was said to be clearly excited by it. This led to comments from the transport minister, Alistair Darling, that the issue of north–south links had to be re-considered. This was the latest in a series of flip-flops on the matter, which started with a 2004 report from the Strategic Rail Authority that stated that new high-speed line was "urgently needed", a report that the government had attempted to bury. Blair was noted as saying that a cross-country link of this sort would "bring Britain together", although this was called "pie in the sky" by critics. Alan James, director of UK Ultraspeed, took the opportunity to claim that it was the fastest and safest system in the world.
Competing political interests initially claimed that Blair's sudden support for the issue was nothing more than electioneering. However, this was soon followed by a Commons All-Party Rail Group visit to China and Japan to visit the maglev systems there. Shadow transport secretary Chris Grayling returned "positively bouncing with enthusiasm", noting that even at full speed the train was quieter than a Virgin Voyager. This led to full party support for the proposal on both sides of the aisle. Blair's support led to an official study into the Ultraspeed concept, as well as competing long-distance lines using TGV-like equipment.
This was all taking place just after the well-reported opening of the Shanghai system, and the announcement that the Chinese government was examining a 170 km extension of that line. Transrapid was also actively pitching the system for several other lines. It appeared that the maglev's day had finally come. It was also noted that the maglev system had originally been invented in the UK, and the first maglev system built and operated there – the Birmingham Maglev of 1984.
Scepticism
Shortly after James' comments on safety, the Transrapid test system in Emsland suffered the fatal Lathen train collision in late 2006. This quickly revealed "major safety failings" and led to the German transport minister asking "Whether the Transrapid's safety measures were adequate". The company quickly responded by noting the accident had nothing to do with the technical aspects of the system.