The controversial £32 billion HS2 high-speed Rail project is set to be given the green light today by the Government.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening will give the go-ahead to the scheme which, in its first phase, will run through picturesque Tory heartlands from London to Birmingham.

It is thought she will announce more measures to mitigate the worst effects of the line which will see passengers travelling at 225mph as the London to Birmingham journey time comes down to 49 minutes.

Initially put forward by Labour, HS2 has been strongly supported by the coalition Government, the rail industry and big business.

The Government has argued that the scheme, including the second phase Y-shaped extension to Manchester and Leeds, will generate £44 billion of benefits to the economy over 60 years.

But residents in the Chilterns as well as some local authorities and Tory MPs have been vehement in their opposition to the project which will see the first phase completed by around 2026, with the extension north of Birmingham completed by around 2032/33. The creation of HS2 will mean some homes will be demolished and some households suffer from noise.

Those against the scheme have stressed that the UK would be better off enhancing the existing rail network, particularly the London to Scotland West Coast Main Line (WCML). But in a Government-commissioned report, Network Rail said that improving existing rail lines would not solve the problem of overcrowding.

The long run-up to the announcement has been studded with reports from various organisations pointing out the various pros and cons of the scheme. While Government, train companies and some businesses have produced figures to support HS2, opponents have announced their own statistics pointing to the whole scheme being a waste of money.

Adam Marshall from the British Chamber of Commerce said the project would benefit the UK's economy.

Asked why so much money needed to be spent, he told ITV's Daybreak: "Our railways are running out of space and if we don't have some radical moves like this project what we are going to see is fares getting higher, overcrowding getting worse, more commuters not getting to their jobs, freight not getting to where it needs to go, so this would be a radical break and would stop the process of make do and mend which has characterised the way we handle our infrastructure here in our country for so long."