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Channel Tunnel: Channel Tunnel Rail Link
built 657 days ago
A high-speed rail line has been in operation on the French section of the Eurostar rail link since the Channel Tunnel's opening in 1994, carrying trains at 300 km/h (186 mph). A similar high-speed line from the French border to Brussels opened in 1997. In Britain, long-distance trains have had to share track with local traffic, limiting average speeds and limiting the number of services that can be run. In addition, the general state of Britain's rail infrastructure has caused frequent and unpredictable delays, reducing the appeal of the Eurostar service.
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Full UK Government approval was granted in 1996 for the two sections of the 69-mile (108km) high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL). The opening date of the first phase, 43km, was 28 September 2003, with the rest four years afterwards. Speeds of up to 186mph (300km/hr) make the journey time from London's Waterloo International station to Paris, Lille and Brussels up to 20 minutes quicker (fastest journey times of 1hr 40min to Lille, 2hr 20min to Brussels and 2hr 35min to Paris).
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A Eurostar train has since broken the record for the fastest train in the UK, reaching 208 mph during safety testing of Section One of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link in July 2003. This Section was completed ahead of schedule in December 2003.
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Eurotunnel has a concession from the British and French governments to run the tunnel until 2052, charging railway operators for access. Through-trains for foot passengers are operated by Eurostar, a joint venture of the British, French, and Belgian national railways. Eurostar trains travel at up to 140 km/h (87 mph) in the tunnel. In 2007, when the final section of the high-speed rail link was constructed, the journey time between London and Paris was set at two hours 15 minutes, while the London to Brussels journey was set at two hours.
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In 1993 a high-speed rail link opened from the French-side Tunnel portal to Lille, and from there to Paris and (more recently) Brussels. Eurostar trains had to "crawl" through Kent at 70 miles an hour on normal suburban lines, speeding up once they reached the Tunnel and racing through the French countryside.
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Channel Tunnel Rail Link