High Speed 1

Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA · EN · 04/10/2026

High Speed 1 (HS1), officially the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 109.9 km high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.

It is part of the line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; it also carries domestic passenger traffic to and from stations in Kent and east London, and continental European loading gauge freight traffic. From the Channel Tunnel, the line crosses the River Medway, and tunnels under the River Thames, terminating at London St Pancras International station on the north side of central London. It cost £6.84 billion to build and opened on 14 November 2007. Trains run at speeds of up to 300 km/h on HS1. There are intermediate stations at in London, Ebbsfleet International in northern Kent and Ashford International in southern Kent.

International passenger services are provided by Eurostar International, with journey times from London St Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord in 2hours 15minutes, and London St Pancras International to Brussels South/Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel Zuid in 1hour 51minutes. As of 2026, Eurostar uses a fleet of 8 Class 373 multi-system trains capable of 300 km/h and 17 Class 374 trains capable of 320 km/h. Domestic high-speed commuter services serving intermediate stations and beyond began on 13 December 2009. The fleet of 29 Class 395 passenger trains reach speeds of 225 km/h. DB Cargo UK run freight services on High Speed 1 using adapted Class 92 locomotives, enabling flat wagons carrying continental-size swap body containers to reach London for the first time.

The CTRL project saw new bridges and tunnels built, with a combined length nearly as long as the Channel Tunnel itself, and significant archaeological research undertaken. In 2002, the CTRL project was awarded the Major Project Award at the British Construction Industry Awards.

Route

The high-speed railway operates as a "seven-day railway", with full availability on all days. Heavy maintenance is performed overnight.

, track access charges were capped at approximately £71.35 per minute. In 2008, the cost of running a train along the full length of the line between St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel was £2,244; with lower costs of £2,192 for a domestic service to Ashford International, or £1,044 for St Pancras to Ebbsfleet International. A discounted rate of £4.00 per kilometre was made available for night-time-only rail-freight operation until 31 March 2015.

Section 1

Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, opened on 28 September 2003, is a 74 km section of high-speed track from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in north Kent with a maximum speed of 300 km/h. Its completion cut the London–Paris journey time by around 21minutes, to 2hours 35minutes. The line includes the Medway Viaduct, a 1.2 km bridge over the River Medway, and the North Downs Tunnel, a 3.2 km long, 12 m diameter tunnel. In safety testing on the section prior to opening, a new UK rail speed record of 334.7 km/h was set. Much of the new line runs alongside the M2 and M20 motorways through Kent. After its completion, Eurostar trains continued to use suburban lines to enter London, arriving at Waterloo International.

Unlike most LGV stations in France, the through tracks for Ashford International station are off to one side rather than going through, partly because the station pre-dates the line. High Speed 1 approaches Ashford International from the north in a cut-and-cover "box"; the southbound line rises out of this cutting and crosses over the main tracks to enter the station. The main tracks then rise out of the cutting and over a flyover. On leaving Ashford, southbound Eurostars return to the high-speed line by travelling under this flyover and joining from the outside. The international platforms at Ashford are supplied with both overhead 25kVAC and third-rail 750VDC power, avoiding the need to switch power supplies. Within Ashford, the speed limit on HS1 is 270 km/h.

Section 2

Section 2 of the project opened on 14 November 2007, and is a 39.4 km stretch of track from the newly built Ebbsfleet station in Kent to London St Pancras. Completion of the section cut journey times by a further 20minutes (London–Paris in 2hours 15minutes; London–Brussels in 1hour 51minutes). The route starts with a 3.1 km tunnel which dives under the Thames on the edge of Swanscombe, then runs alongside the London, Tilbury and Southend line as far as Dagenham, where it enters two long tunnels to reach St Pancras. The two tunnels (much of which is directly under the North London Line) are 10.1 km and the 7.5 km in length, split by a 1 km stretch that runs close to the surface to serve Stratford International and the Temple Mills Depot. The new depot, to the north of Stratford, replaced the North Pole depot in the west of London. In testing, the first Eurostar train ran into St Pancras on 6 March 2007. All CTRL connections are fully grade-separated.

History

Background and planning

A high-speed rail line, LGV Nord, has been in operation between the Channel Tunnel and the outskirts of Paris since the Tunnel's opening in 1994. This has enabled Eurostar rail services to travel at 300 km/h for this part of their journey. A similar high-speed line in Belgium, from the French border to Brussels, HSL 1, opened in 1997. In Britain, Eurostar trains had to run at a maximum of 160 km/h on existing tracks between London Waterloo International and the Channel Tunnel. These tracks were shared with local traffic, limiting the number of services that could be run, and jeopardising reliability. The case for a high-speed line similar to the continental part of the route was recognised by policymakers, and the construction of the line was authorised by Parliament with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996, which was amended by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Act 2008.

An early plan conceived by British Rail in the early 1970s for a route passing through Tonbridge met considerable opposition on environmental and social grounds, especially from the Leigh Action Group and Surrey & Kent Action on Rail (SKAR). A committee was set up to examine the proposal under Sir Alexander Cairncross; but in due course environment minister Anthony Crosland announced that the project had been cancelled, together with the plan for the tunnel itself.

The next plan for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link involved a tunnel reaching London from the south-east, and an underground terminus in the vicinity of London King's Cross station. A late change in the plans, principally driven by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine's desire for urban regeneration in East London, led to a change of route, with the new line approaching London from the east. This opened the possibility of reusing the underused St Pancras railway station as the terminus, with access via the North London Line that crosses the throat of the station.

The idea of using the North London line proved illusory, and it was rejected in 1994 by the then Transport Secretary, John MacGregor, as too difficult to construct and environmentally damaging. The idea of using St Pancras station as the core of the new terminus was retained, albeit now linked by 20 km of specially built tunnels to Dagenham via Stratford.

London & Continental Railways (LCR) was chosen by the UK government in 1996 to build the line and to reconstruct St Pancras station as its terminus, and to take over the British share of the Eurostar operation, Eurostar (UK). The original LCR consortium members were National Express, Virgin Group, SG Warburg & Co, Bechtel and London Electric. While the project was under development by British Rail it was managed by Union Railways, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of LCR.

Construction

As the Channel Tunnel Act 1987 made government funding for a Channel Tunnel rail link unlawful, construction did not take place, as it was not financially viable. Construction was delayed until the passage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996, which provided construction powers that would run for ten years. The chief executive, Rob Holden, stated that it was the "largest land acquisition programme since the Second World War".

The whole route was to have been built as a single project, but in 1998, serious financial difficulties arose, and extensive changes came with a British government rescue plan. To reduce risk, the line was split into two separate phases, to be managed by Union Railways (South) and Union Railways (North). A recovery programme was agreed whereby LCR sold government-backed bonds worth £1.6 billion to pay for the construction of Section 1, with the future of Section 2 still not settled.

The original intention had been for the new railway, once completed, to be run by Union Railways as a separate line from the rest of the British railway network. As part of the 1998 rescue it was agreed that following completion, Section 1 would be purchased by Railtrack with an option to purchase section 2. In return, Railtrack was committed to operate the whole route as well as London St Pancras International, which, unlike all other former British Rail stations, had been transferred to LCR/Union Railways in 1996.

In 2001, Railtrack announced that because of its own financial problems, it would not undertake to purchase Section 2, triggering a second restructuring. The 2002 plan agreed that the two sections would have different owners (Railtrack for Section 1, LCR for Section 2) but with common Railtrack management. Following further financial problems at Railtrack, its interest was sold back to LCR, which then sold the operating rights for the completed line to Network Rail, Railtrack's successor. Under this arrangement LCR became the sole owner of both sections of the CTRL and the St Pancras property, as per the original 1996 plan. Amendments were made in 2001 for the new station at Stratford International and connections to the West Coast Main Line.

As a consequence of the restructuring, the LCR consortium in 2001 consisted of engineering consultants and construction firms Arup, Bechtel, Halcrow and Systra (which form Rail Link Engineering (RLE)); transport operators National Express and SNCF (which operates the Eurostar (UK) share of the Eurostar service with the National Railway Company of Belgium and British Airways), electricity company EDF and UBS.

There were several deaths of employees working on the CTRL over the construction period. One occurred on 28 March 2003 near Folkestone when a worker came into contact with the energised power supply. Another death occurred two months later, in May 2003, when a scaffolder fell 7 m at Thurrock, Essex. Three companies were found guilty of breaching health and safety legislation by omitting to provide barriers, resulting in Deverson Direct Ltd. being ordered to pay a fine of £50,000, J.Murphy & Sons Ltd £25,000, and Hochtief £25,000. Two more deaths resulted from a fire on board a train carrying wires, one mile (1 mi) inside a tunnel under the Thames between Swanscombe, Kent, and Thurrock, Essex on 16 August 2005. The train shunter died at the scene and the train driver later died in hospital. It has been suggested that a large amount of blame for accidents throughout the project lay with individual behaviour, becoming such a problem that an internal programme was launched to tackle problem behaviour during the construction.

The cost of construction was £6.84 billion. At £62 million per kilometre, this was higher than other projects in many other countries. The French LGV Est, a line built largely through near-flat fields (save for the Saverne Tunnel) and which terminates outside its urban centres (Vaires-sur-Marne for Paris and Vendenheim for Strasbourg) cost £22 million per mile. Its phase one was completed in 2003 and phase two in 2007.

Ownership and operation

On completion of section 1 by RLE, the line was handed over to Union Railways (South), which then handed it over to London & Continental Stations and Property (LCSP), the line's long-term owners. Once section 2 of the line had been completed, it was handed over to Union Railways (North), which handed it over to LCSP. The entire line, including St Pancras, is managed, operated and maintained by Network Rail (CTRL).

In February 2006, there were rumours that a 'third party' (believed to be a consortium headed by banker Sir Adrian Montague) had expressed an interest in buying out the present partners in the project. LCR shareholders rejected the proposal, and the government, which could effectively overrule shareholders' decisions as a result of LCR's reclassification as a state-owned body, decided that discussions with shareholders would not take place imminently, which effectively backed shareholders' views on the proposed takeover.

On 14 November 2006, LCR adopted High Speed 1 as the brand name for the completed railway. Official legislation, documentation and line-side signage have continued to refer to "CTRL".

By May 2009, LCR had become insolvent, and the government received an agreement to use state aid to purchase the line and to open it up to competition to allow other services to use it apart from Eurostar. LCR's wholly owned subsidiary, HS1 Ltd, thus became the property of the Secretary of State for Transport. On 12 October 2009 a proposal was announced to sell £16 billion of state assets including HS1 Ltd in the following two years to cut UK public debt.

In November 2010, the HS1 concession was awarded for a duration of thirty years to an investment consortium bringing together two Canadian public pension funds: Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (through its subsidiary Borealis Infrastructure), and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for £2.1billion.

At the time, UK pension investors had generally limited interest in such long-term, illiquid, 'infrastructure assets'.

Source and attribution

Adapted from “High Speed 1” by English Wikipedia contributors. Main paragraphs and sections are retained; tables, reference markers and technical markup are omitted. This is an encyclopedic adaptation, not a personal review. Original revision and contributor history ↗. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗. Check current visitor access, tickets and transport with the relevant operator.