The following press statement has been issued by Eurostar UK:

Due to further engineering work in connection with the autumn launch of=20
the high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), Eurostar services will=20
not be running on 13 July 2003 due to circumstances beyond its control.=20

Eurostar apologises for the inconvenience caused to customers travelling=20
that day, and requests that all those who have already bought tickets for=
=20
13 July 2003 get in touch with the original point of sale, the Eurostar=20
Contact Centre on 08705 186 186, or for on-line bookings contact 08702=20
649 899. Arrangements will be made for a full refund or for travel on
another day.=20

The essential work, on the installation of new signalling equipment=20
unique to the UK, is being carried out by Union Railways (South) Limited=20
and its contractors who are responsible for the delivery of the first=20
section of the CTRL, the first major section of new railway in over a=20
century. The first section work is progressing on time and on budget.=20

Eurostar's Director of Communications, Paul Charles, commented:=20

"We apologise to passengers who were planning to travel on 13 July =20
however our research tells us that suspending our services the day before=
=20
Bastille Day is going to cause the least disruption to passengers. Many=20
travellers are heading for Paris on the Friday or Saturday before to=20
maximise their stay over the French public holiday.=20

It's never easy taking a decision which will affect customer travel plans=
=20
to and from the Continent. Yet, this short-term disruption will provide=20
long-term benefits through enhanced Eurostar journey times and=20
reliability, via the high speed link. Taking essential possession of the=20
railway for one day at the weekend is preferable to the greater=20
disruption that would be faced by thousands of commuters in the south-
east of England if this work was carried out on a weekday.

At a total cost of some =A35 billion, the CTRL is the largest rail=20
infrastructure project in the UK and we are determined to achieve the=20
highest engineering, technical and safety standards. For the first time,
Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Lille will be able to reach their=20
maximum speed capability of 186mph (300kph) on UK soil."=20

--=20
Phil Richards
London, N4

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:34:46 GMT, "cb"
wrote:

    >The last time I took Eurostar from London to Paris was in 2002 and at that
    >time, I was told the reason it could not travel at "full speed" on the UK
    >side is because the Eurostar tracks are close enough to the other tracks of
    >other slow speed trains, that if the do crank it up, the "wake", so to
    >speak, of the Eurostar could cause some perturbation of the slow trains.

The tracks in England weren't Eurostar tracks; they were ordinary
everyday tracks that couldn't be used at Eurostar/TGV speeds.

    >And
    >I did notice that once it crossed the Chunel to Calais, it picked up speed
    >in the French countryside where there were no other tracks alongside it.
    >This article seems to imply that they are NOT building new tracks and so I
    >was wondering how they solved the "wake" problem of the high speed Eurostar
    >as it travels alongside other trains.

They are building new tracks along a new routing.
http://www.ctrl.co.uk/route/default.asp?L=8


************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 21:27:00 +0100, Phil Richards
wrote:

    >On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:34:46 GMT cb said...
    >> This article seems to imply that they are NOT building new tracks and so I
    >> was wondering how they solved the "wake" problem of the high speed Eurostar
    >> as it travels alongside other trains.
    >The first phase of the UK high speed line (Channel Tunnel Rail Link or
    >CTRL) is but almost complete. The reason for services not operating that
    >day is to carry out safety and signalling checks where the new line meets
    >the lines entering the Channel Tunnel on the UK side.
    >The scheduled date for Eurostar services operating over the CTRL line is
    >late September 2003. This will cut about 25 minutes off the journey time.
    >We wait in anticipation if it opens up on time.

That will be nice; it seemed so silly rattling slowly through the
countryside on those ordinary tracks. What speeds will they
attain on the CTRL tracks?

************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 20:34:46 GMT cb said...

    > This article seems to imply that they are NOT building new tracks and so I
    > was wondering how they solved the "wake" problem of the high speed Eurostar
    > as it travels alongside other trains.

The first phase of the UK high speed line (Channel Tunnel Rail Link or
CTRL) is but almost complete. The reason for services not operating that
day is to carry out safety and signalling checks where the new line meets
the lines entering the Channel Tunnel on the UK side.

The scheduled date for Eurostar services operating over the CTRL line is
late September 2003. This will cut about 25 minutes off the journey time.
We wait in anticipation if it opens up on time.

--
Phil Richards
London, N4

The last time I took Eurostar from London to Paris was in 2002 and at that
time, I was told the reason it could not travel at "full speed" on the UK
side is because the Eurostar tracks are close enough to the other tracks of
other slow speed trains, that if the do crank it up, the "wake", so to
speak, of the Eurostar could cause some perturbation of the slow trains. And
I did notice that once it crossed the Chunel to Calais, it picked up speed
in the French countryside where there were no other tracks alongside it.
This article seems to imply that they are NOT building new tracks and so I
was wondering how they solved the "wake" problem of the high speed Eurostar
as it travels alongside other trains.

"Phil Richards" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
The following press statement has been issued by Eurostar UK:

Due to further engineering work in connection with the autumn launch of
the high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), Eurostar services will
not be running on 13 July 2003 due to circumstances beyond its control.

Eurostar apologises for the inconvenience caused to customers travelling
that day, and requests that all those who have already bought tickets for
13 July 2003 get in touch with the original point of sale, the Eurostar
Contact Centre on 08705 186 186, or for on-line bookings contact 08702
649 899. Arrangements will be made for a full refund or for travel on
another day.

The essential work, on the installation of new signalling equipment
unique to the UK, is being carried out by Union Railways (South) Limited
and its contractors who are responsible for the delivery of the first
section of the CTRL, the first major section of new railway in over a
century. The first section work is progressing on time and on budget.

Eurostar's Director of Communications, Paul Charles, commented:

"We apologise to passengers who were planning to travel on 13 July
however our research tells us that suspending our services the day before
Bastille Day is going to cause the least disruption to passengers. Many
travellers are heading for Paris on the Friday or Saturday before to
maximise their stay over the French public holiday.

It's never easy taking a decision which will affect customer travel plans
to and from the Continent. Yet, this short-term disruption will provide
long-term benefits through enhanced Eurostar journey times and
reliability, via the high speed link. Taking essential possession of the
railway for one day at the weekend is preferable to the greater
disruption that would be faced by thousands of commuters in the south-
east of England if this work was carried out on a weekday.

At a total cost of some £5 billion, the CTRL is the largest rail
infrastructure project in the UK and we are determined to achieve the
highest engineering, technical and safety standards. For the first time,
Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Lille will be able to reach their
maximum speed capability of 186mph (300kph) on UK soil."

--
Phil Richards
London, N4

On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 14:13:40 -0600 Hatunen said...

    > That will be nice; it seemed so silly rattling slowly through the
    > countryside on those ordinary tracks.

The CTRL took years to get planned and the money raised, considerably
more than the construction took. But as you say it will be a vast
improvement.

    > What speeds will they attain on the CTRL tracks?

186mph/300kph which is the maximum speed of the Eurostar on the French &
Belgian high speed lines.

--
Phil Richards
London, N4

As other replies have noted the new channel tunnel rail link will speed up
services by providing a dedicated track on the English side - the Channel
Tunnel Rail Link. There are many reasons that the service is quite slow on
the English side under current arrangements - the service has to share with
much slower trains, the track has much more curvature, but the main
limitation is the rather archaic power supply, which is delivered at only
750 volts DC through a third rail, and is incapable of delivering the power
requirements for high speed operation - it's 25,000 volts AC overhead on the
French side and will be the same with the CTRL . Another aspect to consider
at a later stage will be the new terminal arrangements at St Pancras, there
is a huge infrastructure project there under way, as I observed during my
recent visit to Britain.

Regards

David Bennetts
Australia

"Phil Richards" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 14:13:40 -0600 Hatunen said...
    > > That will be nice; it seemed so silly rattling slowly through the
    > > countryside on those ordinary tracks.
    > The CTRL took years to get planned and the money raised, considerably
    > more than the construction took. But as you say it will be a vast
    > improvement.
    > > What speeds will they attain on the CTRL tracks?
    > 186mph/300kph which is the maximum speed of the Eurostar on the French &
    > Belgian high speed lines.
But with only Section 1 of the project complete, there is a saving of only
15 min in the journey time, as the train joins existing track at Fawkham
Junction to the 'temporary' terminus at Waterloo International. When Section
2 is complete in 2007, with a tunnel from North Kent to the new Eurostar
terminus at St Pancras, the 70 miles journey to the Channel Tunnel will take
35 min, an average of 120 mph.
Details from www.ctrl.co.uk

Alec

The last time I took the Eurostar, the train was stopped for six hours in
the beautiful Kent countryside. Any improvements would be greatly
appreciated

"David Bennetts" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > There are many reasons that the service is quite slow on
    > the English side under current arrangements...

    > the main limitation is the rather archaic power supply, which is delivered
at only
    > 750 volts DC through a third rail..

Pun intended, David? Quite literally "current" arrangements, in fact. One
reason the acceleration of the Eurostar is so awful on the UK lines is the
awsome amperage that it tries to draw off the 750 volts DC. Third rail was
intended for suburban operation - hence its extensive use in the south-east
of England, to which (in fairness) it is well suited.

    > Another aspect to consider at a later stage will be the new terminal
arrangements at St Pancras, there
    > is a huge infrastructure project there under way, as I observed during my
recent visit to Britain.

Yes, Scott and Barlow's magnificent neo-gothic buildings and trainshed are
being properly restored with complementary extensions to create a huge St
Pancras to be used by Eurostar, Midland Main Line and a better-placed new
Thameslink station - but there will be a fair amount of chaos on the way,
including the severance of the Thameslink route in this area at some stage
for 6 months.

Regards

Jonathan

On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 00:14:16 GMT, Alec wrote

-snip-

    >>
    > But with only Section 1 of the project complete, there is a saving
    > of only 15 min in the journey time, as the train joins existing
    > track at Fawkham Junction to the 'temporary' terminus at Waterloo
    > International.

I've often wondered if they'll actually abandon Waterloo International
once the St Pancras terminal is finally finished, or whether there'll
be some sort of "dual destination" service.

As the Waterloo terminus is more accessible for Westminster-based
politicians and journalists, I'd not be surprised to see some of the
Brussels services, for example, still using Waterloo.

--
Cheers,
Harvey

For e-mail, change harvey to whhvs.