On track for continental travel
MICHAEL DARE
We have been travelling to and from Europe for thousands of years on boats and ships. Then, in 1994, the channel tunnel was completed. It takes passengers under the Channel and into Northern France through a 31-mile (50km) tunnel on the sea bed. We are now getting ready for the next stage of the Channel crossing.
The Channel Tunnel rail link extension project is a high-speed railway line that will stretch from Folkestone, through Kent to London. The train will go at speeds of up to 108kmph. A section will go across the river Thames and into London’s St Pancras station. Once opened, the rail link will be able to take people from St Pancras to the Gare du Nord, Paris, in two hours 15 minutes and to Brussels in one hour 51 minutes.
A new station, Ebbsfleet International, is to be built on the Channel Tunnel rail link near Dartford. The most exciting part for the residents of Medway is that it’s only a short drive away and gives us direct transport to the continent. Ebbsfleet will be the main Eurostar terminal bringing four trains per hour during peak times. From December 2009, domestic trains will be running taking passengers from Ebbsfleet direct to London in only 15 minutes. There will also be 9,000 car parking spaces stretched over six car parks with 3,000 spaces available for domestic passengers.
During the 2012 Olympics, Eurostar trains won’t stop at Stratford International station (which is in the Olympic Park) due to congestion expected from Olympic Javelin Shuttles. Instead, they will stop at Ebbsfleet.