05/11/2010

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Deal Agreed

'High Speed 1', the Channel Tunnel high-speed rail link, is set to be bought by two Canadian pension funds for over £2bn.

The Government announced the sale of the 69-mile London to Folkestone in June as part of efforts to reduce national debt.

At a cost of £2.1bn, Toronto-based Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers' Pension plan won the right to operate the rail link for 30 years.

(BMcN/GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

16 September 2003
New Channel Tunnel rail link opened
The Prime Minister has opened the first section of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link at London's Waterloo Station today. The new section will allow trains to run at up to 186 miles per hour, reducing journey times from London to Paris to nearly two and a half hours.
30 July 2003
Eurostar smashes rail speed record
Eurostar, the fast train service linking the UK with France and Belgium, today shattered the speed record for the fastest ever train in the UK – achieving 208mph (334.7km/h) as it ran through Kent on the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The record-breaking run took place during safety testing on CTRL Section 1.
13 January 2012
Legal Action Taken Over Cumbrian Rail Crash
It has been revealed that Network rail is to be prosecuted over the Cumbrian rail crash back in 2007, which claimed one life. The rail regulation body, The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has said that they have started legal proceedings against Network Rail for a breach of health and safety law.
08 November 2011
High Speed Rail Network Gets Backing
A government committee has announced that a high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham has a "good case". The announcement comes after the Government carried out a public consultation on the proposal and the recommended route for an initial high-speed line from London to the West Midlands.
23 June 2014
High-Speed Rail Link Needed To Boost Northern England
Chancellor George Osborne has announced government plans for a high-speed rail link in the north of England to help re-balance the UK economy. Mr Osborne said a new high-speed railway would create "a northern powerhouse" in a project called by the government as the "most important investment in the north for a century".