Channel Tunnel Rail Link: Greater London

Mr. Gordon Prentice
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect he expects the opening of the high speed Channel Tunnel Rail link into St. Pancras to have on capacity on the domestic network.

Mr. Tom Harris
Opening the Channel Tunnel Rail link into St. Pancras will improve the capacity of the domestic rail network by freeing up train paths used by Eurostar in South London, between Fawkham junction and Waterloo. The international platforms at Waterloo will also be available for domestic use from December 2008 and the new depot at Temple Mills will free up capacity on the west London line, previously used by Eurostar to access the international depot at North Pole. Additionally the Channel Tunnel Rail link itself will provide new capacity for high speed domestic services into London from North and East Kent, which are expected to be introduced in 2009.