Rail passengers could see 30-minute Glasgow to Edinburgh link by 2024 A high speed rail link that would see journeys between Glasgow and Edinburgh take less than 30 minutes could be in place by 2024. The Scottish Government claimed this timetable for the route would see it brought in ten years ahead of when it would be built by the UK Government. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the SNP government is pressing ahead with its plans for the HS2 project in Scotland, as she headed up a delegation of politicians and rail experts to put pressure on Westminister over the project. The Department for Transport has so far revealed plans to see the new high speed line go from London to Birmingham and then Manchester and Leeds by 2033, although Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin has agreed to continue talks to involve Scotland at some stage. On Monday Ms Sturgeon said: "The Scottish Government is happy and proud to take the first steps to ensure Scotland has a high speed connection bringing us into line with the most forward-thinking transport systems in the world. She added: "We now know that within just 12 years, we could build a line which will see journey times between our two major cities cut to less than half an hour. That will benefit our businesses, our jobs market and also our tourism industry. And it will put us up there with the world's greatest transport networks." A report by the Scottish