Britain’s leading transport designer has unveiled his concept for the UK’s new high speed train in a pre-emptive move to persuade the government of the urgent need to move forward as soon as possible with the project. Paul Priestman of Priestmangoode believes that the new high speed train is vital for the future of Britain, both as the low-carbon, sustainable transport of the future and as a crucial opportunity to champion British design and engineering in an increasingly competitive global economy.

Currently working with Sifang to design high speed trains for China and the rest of the world, Priestman believes that whilst the economic and political benefits of a world-class high speed rail network are clearly understood, having a train to be proud of is equally important. He believes that an iconic design is imperative in order to show Britain’s credentials to the world and in the battle to make Britain’s transport infrastructure more sustainable – by persuading people to leave their cars at home, eschew domestic air travel and make rail their first choice.

In an effort to create a design as immediately recognizable as Concorde, the exterior of the train would be 400m (1,312 ft) long with an extended nose section that would be one of the most extreme in the world. A feature the designers say is vitally important for the aerodynamics of a train which will travel at 225mph (362km/h).

The images of the interior and exterior of the train that Priestmanngoode has provided certainly look like it would appeal to passengers, but whether it’s enough to convince the UK Government to invest in the concept remains to be seen.