 A 300MPH super-train connecting Liverpool to London in only 58 minutes is being planned. The Maglev train - which uses magnetic power to support carriages on a guide track and propel them up to speeds of 311mph - would connect London with Glasgow, via Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, over a 500 mile route. The UK Ultraspeed consortium behind bringing the train to Britain says Liverpool could be the first link to be established. Business leaders including the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and North West Development Agency believe the £16bn scheme could boost the region's economy and loosen the south east's strangle-hold on the nation's wealth. The Maglev - short for magnetic levitation - sits on a magnetic cushion while surfing a rolling wave of electricity and could be in place by the end of the decade. Its speeds would mean travelling from Liverpool to Newcastle would take 60 minutes, London to Birmingham 30 minutes and 100 minutes from London to Newcastle. Alan James, project leader for UK Ultraspeed, told the ECHO: "Eco-nomic development is at the core of what we are doing. "By linking Liverpool with Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, to Glasgow by a high-speed system it would create a 'greater northern' economic powerhouse to rival the south east. "It is all about access. This will balance the country." A study by Newcastle university estimated that the north west region has only 32% of London's economic potential because of a lack of transport and access for employers and potential employers. With the Maglev system that would improve to 78%, compared with London. "The challenge is not technology or funding," Mr James said.. "The public finance initiative framework is in place for funding projects such as this - the challenge is political will and planning permission." | 
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