The Government has begun one of its largest public consultations ever on the proposed high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told business leaders the £32bn link will bring prosperity and employment by cutting journey times between the capital, the Midlands and on to the North of England and Scotland.
"The time for high-speed rail in Britain has come," he said.
"We must invest in Britain's future. We cannot afford to be left behind - investing in high-speed rail now is vital to the prosperity of future generations."
But a small number of protesters outside the ICC in Birmingham used a white elephant to illustrate their concerns that the new route will be an expensive failure.
Protester Gerry Marshall told Sky News: "It's ludicrous because there's a much better alternative.
"(There's) something called 'rail package two', which provides all the capacity needs we have - 135% increase in capacity for a cost of £2bn with relatively little disruption.
"It would be better to improve rail travel for the many, rather than just improve one line for the rich."
Transport Secretary Philip HammondThe consultation hopes to stimulate debate in the rest of the country to get a more balanced view.
Objections from those living along the proposed route have already seen at least half of it being altered.
Mr Hammond told Sky News: "We have to try and wake up public opinion in places like Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Scotland to the huge opportunities and economic benefits that this project will bring.
"So far it's the people living on the line of the route... (who) are obviously the ones most aware of this project.
"The consultation hopes to stimulate debate in the rest of the country to get a more balanced view."
Initially the high-speed route will link London and Birmingham, with plans to then extend the line to create a Y-shaped network to Manchester and Leeds.
The Government estimates the link will generate £44bn in economic benefits over 60 years.
The consultation process will last until the end of July, with events taking place in towns and cities along the 140 mile route.
A small group of protesters against the proposed rail link in Birmingham
If the consultation goes well the Government is keen to bring a bill before Parliament in 2015, just prior to a general election.
That may well cause problems for the 16 Conservative MPs whose constituencies would be crossed by the high-speed line.
Cross-party support can also no longer taken for be taken for granted.
The Labour Party, which originally championed HS2 while in government, has now said it cannot make a "cast iron" commitment to the scheme.
The Government insists high-speed rail is essential if Britain wants to compete with other European countries.
It says the route will add much needed extra capacity to the busy West Coast main line, with 14 trains an hour, each with more than 1,000 seats.
Once completed the route will cut journey times between many cities to a level which it is hoped will dissuade people from taking domestic flights.
Last week 70 of Britain's most high-profile bosses gave their backing to the project.
However, the Government knows there is a well-organised network of opposition groups along virtually the entire route, meaning the project is unlikely to be given an easy passage prior to its construction beginning.
