Scottish Government pledges up to £9bn for high speed rail link

The pledge was made as part of a 29-year, £60bn infrastructure spending plan covering road widening, a new bridge across the Firth of Forth and reduced rail journey times between Scotland's biggest cities.

The high speed rail link with England will cost a total of £15bn, the Scottish Government said. "Ministers will continue to press for this to come to Scotland at the earliest opportunity", a Scottish Government statement said, though it conceded that decisions about the timing and route of the rail link will lie with the UK Government.

"Investing in our infrastructure is absolutely vital to grow our economy," said Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment Alex Neil. "Today's Infrastructure Investment Plan demonstrates exactly how, when and what we will invest in to deliver that goal, bringing substantial benefits for all of Scotland."

"It outlines more than 50 key infrastructure projects across a range of sectors. These are projects that will make a real difference economically - driving growth, supporting jobs and delivering a lasting legacy of generations to come," he said.

Neil said that the Government would fulfil a commitment to have 30,000 new homes built over the length of the current Parliament, which could run until 2016.

Another high speed rail project, the £32bn proposed HS2 link between London and Birmingham, is the subject of ongoing controversy. Attorney General Dominic Grieve has warned transport secretary Justine Greening that the project was having a negative impact on thousands of people's house prices, according to a Daily Telegraph report.

One proposed solution to the problem is to build a £500 million tunnel under the affected area.

HS2 link aims to cut the journey time between London and Birmingham by half an hour to under 50 minutes.