Work to deliver faster rail journeys between Scotland and London will begin in 2017, it has been announced.

Both the UK and Scottish Government's have agreed to further work which will cut the journey time for passengers to three hours.

Key features of the project include:

• Aim to bring train journeys between London and the Central Belt down to three hours or less.

• Ease the severe congestion on cross-Border routes

• Create jobs, investment opportunities and economic and environmental benefits for the whole of Scotland.

The move comes as a recently released HS2 report, 'Broad options for upgraded and high speed railways to the North of England and Scotland,' sets out various options for the programme, including upgrades or new routes to deliver the three-hour journey time.

Work is now planned to be carried out in 2017 to identify options, with the best business case for implementation from 2019 onwards.

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Scottish Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown welcomed the HS2 report alongside UK HS2 Minister Robert Goodwill at a reception in Edinburgh's Waverley Station.

He said the publication was a "major milestone" on plans to deliver high speed rail in Scotland.

"I now have a firm commitment that development work will begin during the current control period towards getting journey times between Scotland and London down to three hours or less," he said.

"High speed rail will bring billions of pounds worth of benefit to Scotland's economy and an infrastructure project of this magnitude – possibly the biggest Scotland's ever seen - means jobs, investment, benefits for the economy and benefits for the environment.

"This plan will bring to life our target of three hours or less Glasgow and Edinburgh-London train journeys, which will lead to a significant move from air to rail, bringing big reductions in carbon emissions."

HS2 Minister Robert Goodwill added: "We can't afford not to build high speed rail. Doing nothing is not an option. The main routes between Scotland and England are at capacity and the necessary improvements to address the capacity constraints on these existing routes would be substantial.

"High speed rail is as much about new rail capacity as it is about speed.

"There is a real danger that Scotland's rail connectivity will be strangled without that additional capacity built into the system. This plan gives us the opportunity to future proof at the same time."

To view HS2's 'Broad Options for Upgraded and High Speed Railways to the North of England and Scotland' report, visit here.

(LM)