High Speed 1 (HS1)
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), now known as High Speed 1 (HS1), was the first new mainline railway to be built in the UK for a century and was constructed by London and Continental Railways. After a lengthy process of route selection and public enquiries in the second half of the 1990s, work got under way on Section 1 from the Channel Tunnel to west of the Medway in 1998 and the line opened in 2003. Section 2, continuing the line to London St Pancras, started soon after Section 1 and was opened to the public on 14 November 2007.
The HS1 line was finished on time and under budget. The reduction in journey times and increase in reliability achieved through the opening of Section 1 enabled Eurostar to capture 71% of the total London-Paris market and over 80% of the leisure market and Section 2 has increased these figures further. Additionally, the connections provided to the WCML, MML and ECML by Section 2 may see growth of hitherto marginal markets, by finally allowing Regional Eurostars to operate, at least on the electrified ECML and WCML. Eurostar's chief executive stated that the company believes it can take 50% market share even on 4½-hour journeys, a journey time that would put Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds within reach of mainland Europe.
Market share statistics of Eurostar on London-Paris (punctuality between brackets):
- September 2006 (July–September 91.4%)
- August 2005 71.03% (January–September 87%)
- May 2005 69%
- August 2004 67.87% (January–December 84%)
- July 2004 65.88% (January–June 89%)
- October 2003 65%
- July 2003 60.23% (January–June 77%)
The completion and successful operation of CTRL Sections 1 and 2 spurred much discussion and several proposals for new lines in the UK and many interested parties are hoping to capitalise on the momentum given to these ideas by the completion of the complete CTRL. These proposals are discussed below.
The construction of High Speed 1 also permitted the introduction of a new domestic high-speed service when in 2009 Southeastern launched its high-speed route between London St Pancras and Ashford International. Operated with a fleet of British Rail Class 395 trains, the service reaches a top speed of 140 mph (225 km/h). Southeastern High-Speed is currently the only British domestic high-speed service allowed to run above 125 mph (201 km/h).
Read more about this topic: High-speed Rail In The United Kingdom
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