In January 2006, when Greengauge 21 was launched, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) in the UK was incomplete, and there was no expectation that it would be followed by further high-speed lines. For European Railway Review, Jim Steer – Director of Greengauge 21 – the not-for-profit organisation established to research and develop the concept of a high-speed rail network as a national economic priority – explains that with colleague Director Julie Mills, the organisation set themselves the challenge of bringing the question of a national high-speed rail network into the domain of public debate.
