To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has of the average speed of (a) passenger and freight trains running between Glasgow and the continent once the channel tunnel is open and (b) TGV trains between Lille, Lyon and Paris running to Britain.

The average speed for the proposed Glasgow to Paris night sleeper will be about 65 mph. Convenient departure and arrival times will matter more than speed. The average speed of passenger trains between Lille and London will be 90 mph, between Paris and London 100 mph, and on the daytime through service between Paris and Edinburgh will be 85 mph. SNCF do not propose to run direct services from Lyon to London. International freight trains will be able to travel both in the United Kingdom and in France at a maximum speed of 75 mph.