...for Texas http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6977211.stm Eurostar sets Paris-London record Eurostar sets record Eurostar has set a record on its inaugural journey from Paris to London via Britain's new high-speed line. The train, carrying journalists and VIPs, arrived at St Pancras, instead of Waterloo, for the first time. It took two hours, three minutes, 39 seconds. The 68-mile line is expected to help cut Paris to London journey times by 20 minutes to two hours, 15 minutes, when it opens to the public on 14 November. Construction of the line and revamping St Pancras cost £5.8bn in public funds. The high cost of the project is partly due to some major engineering challenges, including laying track to pass over the River Medway, under the River Thames and through 11 miles of tunnels beneath London. PROJECTED JOURNEY TIMES London-Paris 2 hrs 15 mins London-Brussels 1hr 51 mins London-Lille 1hr 20 mins The train left central Paris at 0944 BST. The BBC's Nick Higham, on board the train, said a GPS device had recorded a speed of 202mph (325km/h) in France and 195mph in Britain. Trains will normally reach speeds of up to 186mph in Britain. The train joined the new 68-mile (110km) line, known as High Speed 1, at the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone, before arriving at St Pancras International at about 1148 BST. It passed through the new £100m Ebbsfleet International station near Dartford, in Kent. Ben Ruse, of London and Continental Railways, the company behind the new line, said: "It's an absolute milestone in the history of rail travel in the UK." It was a combination of the power of the train and "top-notch, specific engineering" of the track that had enabled the train to travel at the same speed on the continent and in the UK, he said. Seven services to Paris and five to Brussels will start running from Ebbsfleet from 19 November and a ticket office has been opened at Bluewater Shopping Centre two miles from the station. It's as quick and more frequent and we will be matching airline prices Richard Brown Eurostar chief executive Eurostar trains have always travelled along the French section of the route at high speeds, but were forced to slow down on the British side because they shared a track with commuter services in and out of London. Richard Brown, chief executive of Eurostar, said he hoped that by 2010 10m people would travel by Eurostar each year. "Today marks Britain's entry into the European high-speed rail club." He said journey times to Paris, even for people travelling from Yorkshire, would be broadly the same as for those flying due to lengthier check-in times at airports. "It's as quick and more frequent... and we will be matching airline prices." Nigel Harris, managing editor of Rail Magazine, said he was thrilled to be among the first passengers to travel on the new high-speed line. He said it would mean hundreds of thousands of people from north of London would be able to travel to Paris without facing the drag of travelling across London on bus, Tube or train to get to Waterloo. Critics though say that unless passengers start their journey in London, the cost of rail travel to reach St Pancras is prohibitive. But Mr Brown told BBC News 24 negotiations were under way with train companies which operate north of London to put in place "attractive through-fares" from Yorkshire, Scotland and the Midlands to Paris and Brussels. Eurostar tickets from London to Paris start from £59 return. HAVE YOUR SAY I'll be using the new service when I take my family to Eurodisney next year Michael D, Bucks Send us your comments London and Continental Railways said it was the first new railway for 100 years and Britain's largest single construction in history. Mr Ruse, of LCR, said it would be a "very powerful catalyst" for regeneration. He said LCR had a commitment to repay some of the £5.8bn in government money from profits generated from large areas of land bought around the track. Of the funding, £800m went on redeveloping St Pancras station, meaning the cost of installing the line was about £73.5m per mile. This compares with £28.4m to build a mile of a three-lane motorway in 2005, according to a Parliamentary answer from May last year. St Pancras station will eventually be linked to the site of the 2012 Olympics at Stratford, east London.
I want one of these for Texas, and I want convenient light rail in metro Houston as well. I also want world peace and a winning lottery ticket.
Eh, I don't think so. A trip from central London to central Paris by plane probably costs as much when you consider transit to and from the respective airports, and it's probably higher if you take taxis instead of public transit. I'd pay extra just for the convenience of being dropped off in the respective city centers, let alone having to avoid airport lines, security and other airport-associated hassles.
I agree that Texas needs one of these. I remember driving to Midland from where I am at in Arkansas. Took me 3.5 hours to get out of Arkansas. I drove almost 8 hours through Texas and still was several hours from being outside the state.
The US should be embracing a high speed rail system, but the air carriers lobby is strongly opposed to it.... Southwest Airlines does not want the competition. DD
These trains would be perfect across texas. So many major cities that are hours apart, Houston, Austin, DFW, SA. Id gladly ride a train than drive each time i travel.
The funny thing is that Continental and American are both in favor of rail in Texas, because having rail to Houston and Dallas makes it easier for passengers to get to their hubs in each city. It's similar to Germany - Lufthansa likes the high-speed trains there because it's easier to bring passengers to their main hub in Frankfurt, where the airport itself has a stop along the busiest rail line in the country. Southwest is the only airline that cares because short intra-state flights are their bread and butter.
Huge mistake not building the Houston to Dallas high speed rail -- would have been the start of something great for our state.
It would've been better if they a light rail from my house to U of H. I'd be at school on time and get 3 or 4 more hours of sleep a day while saving the environment by not driving my SUV all day.
Was that actually a thought? That would've been pretty nice. State will make money in the long run and idea of less deaths. Plus it's a faster ride to go see the cowboys.
why we couldn't have a rail run between houston/dallas/SA/austin seems strange to me. any one way trip would be ~200 miles. not like it's a long distance.
I am pro-train, and I like using them in the Bay Area, but riddle me this: If you take a train from Houston to Dallas... what then? You're going to use the bus system to get around Dallas, say to see a friend in the 'burbs? I fear both cities on a rail line need to have their own public transportation infrastructure. Sorry to add that not-positive thought.
