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16/09/2003
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.
The opening ceremony at London Waterloo's Eurostar terminal was also attended by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling and Louis Gallois, Chairman of SNCF - the French national railway company.
Mr Darling said: "This is an historic occasion - the opening of the first ever high speed railway line in this country, and the first new major railway to be built here for over 100 years."
This new section - stretching for 74km from the entrance of the Channel Tunnel to north Kent - has been built under a public-private partnership contract between the government and London & Continental Railways.
When the entire link is finished it will provide a new 109km railway between St Pancras in London and Cheriton at the Channel Tunnel entrance in Kent.
The second section of the link, scheduled for completion in 2007, will include more than 15 miles of tunnelling from north Kent to the new Eurostar terminal at London's St Pancras station.
(gmcg)
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.
The opening ceremony at London Waterloo's Eurostar terminal was also attended by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling and Louis Gallois, Chairman of SNCF - the French national railway company.
Mr Darling said: "This is an historic occasion - the opening of the first ever high speed railway line in this country, and the first new major railway to be built here for over 100 years."
This new section - stretching for 74km from the entrance of the Channel Tunnel to north Kent - has been built under a public-private partnership contract between the government and London & Continental Railways.
When the entire link is finished it will provide a new 109km railway between St Pancras in London and Cheriton at the Channel Tunnel entrance in Kent.
The second section of the link, scheduled for completion in 2007, will include more than 15 miles of tunnelling from north Kent to the new Eurostar terminal at London's St Pancras station.
(gmcg)
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