The Government has leant its support to plans for high speed trains connecting London and the North. Under the plans a high speed train service with trains that can reach speeds of 225 mph would run between London and the North. The network could link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds and if it goes ahead would open in 2007 with construction starting in 2015. The trains would carry up to 800 passengers and would depart every 4 minutes. It would mean that journey times would be cut greatly with a journey from London to Birmingham taking as little as 30 minutes.