New high-speed Channel link opens

© 2003, NCI, Inc.
Destination Freedom
Newsletter of the National Corridors Initiative, Inc
Vol. 4 No. 37, September 22, 2003
Used with permission

The first train has traveled on the high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) through Kent. The £1.9 billion, 46-mile first half of the line opened on September 16 with a ceremony at Waterloo station.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the completion of first part of the CTRL should give the UK "some optimism and some spur" for similar projects in the future.

The new section runs from the tunnel near Folkestone, to Fawkham Junction in north Kent.

The new section of line will cut journey times from London to Paris and Brussels by 20 minutes. Trains will operate from London to Paris in 2 hours, 35 minutes. The first passenger to operate over the line will run on September 28.

The gentle curves and gradients and computerized signaling mean Eurostar trains on the line will finally be able to reach their full operating speeds - 186mph.