Chris Williamson proposes Neom-informed Loop to connect northern British and Irish cities
Tom Ravenscroft | 6 February 2026

RIBA president Chris Williamson has proposed linking nine northern cities in Britain and Ireland with The Loop – a raised high-speed railway informed by Neom's megacity The Line.

Described by Williamson as a manifesto to "inspire" and "provoke", The Loop would connect the English cities of Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, with Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, Bangor in Wales, Dublin in Ireland and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

The Loop would connect nine cities

According to Williamson, who is the co-founder of UK studio WW+P, connecting the nine cities would create a northern powerhouse with a population of around 10 million that is "comparable with other major global cities".

Williamson was inspired by the ambition of The Line, a 170-kilometre-long megacity planned in Saudi Arabia, in his design for the scheme, which he estimates will cost £130 billion to construct.

The high-speed railway would be raised on stone viaducts

"Maybe I have been too influenced by the scale, the vision and the ambition of Neom The Line in Saudi Arabia, having worked on the high-speed stations running alongside the one hundred and seventy kilometre long city for the last few years," Williamson said.

"But we in the British Isles should be equally ambitious about our future," he continued. "At present, the government seems to expect each city to compete for the same investment funding, when we need to encourage connectivity and collaboration."

The Loop is estimated to cost £130 billion

The concept for The Loop was developed in collaboration with UK engineering studio Elliott Wood and would see high-speed tracks raised on an elevated stone viaduct.

According to the proposal, the viaduct arches would be made from pre-tensioned stone beams to create "a vernacular that sits comfortably within the landscape".

Trains would travel on the viaduct at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour, meaning that all the cities would be within 90 minutes of each other.

"Travel from Edinburgh to Manchester would take less time than crossing Los Angeles," said the proposal. "It would allow people to live in Newcastle and work in Glasgow."
...
The visuals are courtesy of Chris Williamson.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2e18dgvrp4o

Oh dear ...

at least they have added "at the earliest" into the detailed text.   But, agreed, it is not clever passenger information to leave it until the last minute to give the bad news of a delay in re-opening.   

I wonder - realistically - if and when we'll next see passenger trains at all three of Looe, Okehampton and Barnstaple

(I have refrained from copying any detail from the post which contains information from a Staff Brief)

I agree, this is the big problem with changes to the NRCoT, in that they are totally unadvertised. While I suspect that most people are totally unaware of the NRCoT in the first place, they will expect to be treated the same as in the past. Even those who are aware of the NRCoT, won't be reading them every time they purchase a ticket, and so may get caught out.

They need union sign off in order to operate. The depot that the DfT want Chiltern to use is currently NOT DOO, hence using DOO at Bletchley depot will mean that the RMT will be in dispute at that depot & will likely call out their members there.

On 4.  - What if you book and then find that the conditions have changed?  Yes - a little more unlikely that questions 1 and 2 which will (1) and have (2) been pertinent to my own journeys.

1. Sorry, your 'either' is correct - you are changing onto a rover ticket, STJ being a station that it is valid at?.

They need union sign off in order to operate. The depot that the DfT want Chiltern to use is currently NOT DOO, hence using DOO at Bletchley depot will mean that the RMT will be in dispute at that depot & will likely call out their members there.

1. yes
2. Not all stations are splitting stations, so unless you find one, don't worry about it.

3. Probably there for future use too enable a ticket T&Cs 'simplification'
4. Looking for them on the National Rail website - only the current version will feature

Chiltern was announced nearly 18 months ago (and probably had Heads Up many weeks before that), so why starting a service is still being discussed with DfT is a mystery to me

A local councillor said it had been due to open in the Buckinghamshire town in December 2025 but there had been a "comedy of errors", including a row over who will control the opening and closing of carriage doors.

Residents of Winslow are frustrated a new railway station completed over a year ago has still not opened.

A local councillor said it had been due to open in the Buckinghamshire town in December 2025 but there had been a "comedy of errors", including a row over who will control the opening and closing of carriage doors.

Diana Blamires, who sits on the town council, said the local community was "obviously furious" and "it makes Winslow station a laughing stock".

In a statement, Chiltern Railways - responsible for operating services between Oxford and Milton Keynes - said no date for the opening had yet been confirmed.

Blamires said: "Now we are told there are no trains and the rolling stock has gone elsewhere.

"And next the platforms are going to have to be rebuilt to make them longer because of Universal Studios coming to the area."

Winslow resident Andy Dyke said the station always came up in conversations between locals.

He said: "It is frustrating for the town."

Natalie Wheble, from the East West Rail project (EWR), told a transport meeting at Buckinghamshire Council longer trains were needed because of the expected increased demand generated by the Universal theme park, due to be built near Bedford.

She said EWR expected to run five-car trains rather than the previously planned four, which meant its plans had changed.

A spokesperson for EWR added: "This uplift in capacity has led to a review of all infrastructure requirements and in the case of Winslow station, a decision has been taken to extend the platforms, so it can accommodate the use of longer trains.

"Any work to extend platforms at Winslow would not affect the introduction of Chiltern's new services."

They said that in March last year, the government had announced that Chiltern Railways would be the operator of services connecting Oxford and Milton Keynes.

"Since then, Chiltern has been working closely with the Department of Transport and industry colleagues with the aim of introducing services on the new line as soon as possible."

No trains to Barnstaple or Okehampton for at least another week

A wheelchair user who took part in a 48-hour challenge to travel from Wiltshire to London on public transport said "more action" was needed to improve facilities.

Chris Davis, 60, from Melksham, completed the journey as part of a Spinal Injuries Association campaign to raise awareness of the barriers disabled passengers face.

"What should have been a straightforward trip became a series of accessibility failures," Davis said, after he encountered a broken down lift and tried to get a taxi which was not big enough for his wheelchair.

The Department for Transport said it was "determined" to make travel easier for everyone, including by improving step-free access at stations.

"Real life accounts like these show just how difficult it can be to travel with a disability," a spokesperson for the department said.

They added that the government had earmarked £280m to improve station access and passenger assistance, while also creating "tough new accessibility standards for buses and taxi drivers".

Davis was one of six people with spinal cord injuries who planned and completed a journey to London using at least two forms of public transport as part of the challenge.

He travelled from Melksham to London Paddington before he ended his journey at Trafalgar Square.

Davis used trains and buses on his journey to London and tried to use a black taxi to get home. However, he had to change his plans and get a train because his wheelchair would not fit in the taxi.

"Better taxi access would make the biggest difference," he said.

Emma Strain, Transport for London's (TfL's) director of customer, said being able to get around London safely and comfortably was "crucial for everyone to be able to live their lives fully".

Black cabs are legally required to take wheelchair users and Strain said all licensed London black taxis have been made to be wheelchair-accessible.

Davis said he felt "vulnerable" after arriving at London's Liverpool Street station to find a broken down lift. After asking for help, he was taken to use a goods lift.

"It wasn't particularly nice," he said. "Those kind of things can be quite challenging."

In response, Strain said TfL understood the "frustration and inconvenience" its passengers experience when there is no step-free access.

'It's getting better'

Davis said with lots of planning and a back-up plan, travelling on public transport as a wheelchair user "can be done".

"Facilities are improving, it's a bit slow, but it is getting better," he said.

"We can keep talking about these challenges, but someone somewhere needs to actually take action on improving facilities.

"I would absolutely do it again - the more involvement the disabled community has in that process the better," he added.

The Spinal Injuries Association campaign was funded by funded by the Motability Foundation.

Both charities said disabled passengers have "dramatically different" experiences on public transport and explained they are committed to "supporting robust evidence that highlights where barriers persist and what action is needed to address these."

Unless Condition 14.1 applies, if you are using a Season Ticket, daily Zonal Ticket, or another area based Ticket such as a concessionary pass, ranger, or rover, in conjunction with another Ticket and the last station at which one Ticket is valid and the first station that the other Ticket is valid are the same, then the train does not need to Call at that station for your combination to be valid.

Some Tickets specifically exclude their use in conjunction with other Tickets. This will be made clear in the terms and conditions when buying such Tickets.