Eurostar to speed ahead
Eurostar will aim to smash the British rail speed record this week on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link line.
On Monday, the high-speed train will depart from Ebbsfleet, Kent, in the south of England, to the tunnel’s entrance and back again, expecting to reach 170 mph.
On Tuesday, it is forecasted the train will reach 205 mph on the same journey and at a speed three-and-a-half times faster compared to trips on the UK’s older tracks.
The speed test is part of the 46-mile, 1.9bn pound, first phase of the high-speed link.
The second phase of the line requires a tunnel built beneath London from St Pancras to Stratford in East London. Its cost is 3.3bn pounds.
The new line, planned for completion in 2007, will run from St Pancras station to Gare du Nord in Paris.
The journey time will be reduced by around 45 minutes from the current three hours to two hours 15 minutes.
Eurostar is owned by French railway firm SNCF, a majority shareholder with 62.5 per cent. Eurostar UK owns 32.5 per cent and Belgium’s national railway, SNCB, has 5 per cent.
The world record for the fastest speed on a passenger train is 319 mph, set in France.
