HS2 rail debate: MPs Cheryl Gillan and Stuart Andrew

The east and west coast rail lines were "very close to full capacity" and the HS2 rail plan was one solution to stop travellers standing on long-distance trains, said Conservative MP Stuart Andrew who co-chairs a group of MPs interested in high speed rail.

But fellow Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan, whose constituency would be affected by HS2, said it was "a £33bn-plus way of solving a bit of overcrowding on a couple of railway lines" and would take longer than its estimated 2033 completion date.

The pair debated the project - initially running from London to Birmingham, and later northwards - which has large support from Labour and the coalition, after a Daily Politics interview with David Tice speaking about the New Economics Foundation report on HS2

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