Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 18, 2007

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) is a project to construct a 108 km high-speed railway line from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel. 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 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. Originally, the whole route was to be constructed as a single project. However, in 1998 it ran into serious financial difficulties and with its future looking uncertain the project was split into two separate phases. The second section of the CTRL, traveling across the River Thames and into London St Pancras is scheduled to open on 14 November 2007. Once open, it will cut 20 minutes from the current Eurostar journey times, making it possible to travel from London St. Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord in 2 hours 15 minutes and to Brussels in 1 hour 51 minutes. On 14 November 2006, London and Continental Railways adopted the branding High Speed 1 (HS1) for the completed Channel Tunnel Rail Link.