infrastructure – European Rail Campaign (UK)

HS1 – CONNECTING TO – HS2 – A PIPE DREAM?

Nigel Perkins — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 23:15:01 +0000

When HS2 was planned, there was always the option of connecting HS1 with HS2 in the centre of London. However, on grounds of cost it was decided not to include such a link when the HS2 route was finally agreed in Parliament. When HS1 reached London St Pancras in 2007, a connection had already been built from HS1 to the current West Coast main line.

Given the outrageous cost over-runs just for building a “truncated” HS2 from London to Birmingham, you might think that reviving such a link is a non-starter. However, Kayla Bibby -an Independent Traffic Planner thinks otherwise and has drawn up a plan. Tunnelling of the final section from Old Oak Common to Euston has only just begun and no final plan has been agreed for London Euston. She argues that there is still time to build this link as part of the Euston works for a cost of just £1.4 Billion – this is a small sum compared to the up to £90 billion total cost of building HS2. Opening up this link would make better use of HS2, as not just a London-Birmingham Shuttle but a strategic link from the Midlands and North to the expanding European High-Speed Network. Not building this link would relegate the UK to just remaining as a High-Speed branch-line from Lille. This is a plan for the long-term benefit of the UK economy and would help Liverpool & Manchester’s joint bid for the 2040 Olympics.

We strongly recommend that you have a look at her plan here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hs1hs2-connector-how-single-link-transforms-depots-services-bibby-jahfe/

EPF CONFERENCE 5th -6th JUNE in MAASTRICHT >>>>

Every Year the European Passenger Federation holds an Annual Conference in June. Last year it came to Swindon in the UK and this year it moves to The Netherlands. As many of you know, our campaign is one of 40+ EPF member organisations from 21 different countries. If you are a member of our campaign you can go to the conference for the much-reduced fee of 100 Euros – not bad for a 2-day conference?

To find out more about registration and the programme see here: epfconference.eu

AT LAST – SOME GOOD NEWS – PLANS BEGIN FOR MORE SPACE IN THE INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES AREA AT LONDON ST PANCRAS.

Nigel Perkins — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:27:52 +0000

Late last year we heard that capacity for passengers departing from the station could be increased. HS1 announced that “a modest amount of new infrastructure would ‘unlock’ most of the constraints currently hampering growth” at St Pancras. Then, back in January HS1(The owners of St Pancras Station and the High-speed line to the Channel Tunnel) announced that they were recruiting a design team for this work. They have now re-named themselves as “London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH)”. See here from the Architects Journal for further details about setting up the design team: –https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/competitions/competition-launched-for-st-pancras-reconfiguration

Last week we heard that LSPH and Getlink (The owners of the Channel Tunnel) have made an agreement to facilitate the expansion of passenger traffic along HS1 and through the tunnel to Europe. They hope to triple passenger capacity within the next 5 years. We also understand that plans are also being drawn up to expand capacity in the overcrowded international departures area at Paris – Gare du Nord. See here a recent report in The Guardian: –https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/21/st-pancras-and-channel-tunnel-plan-rail-routes-to-germany-and-switzerland

GOOD NEWS AT LAST – SPICE comes to LONDON St Pancras International.

Nigel Perkins — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:20:56 +0000

In case you wondered, SPICE stands for St Pancras International Capacity Enhancement. This is a project led by HS1(who own the station) to help determine the best way to expand the capacity for international train services serving the station. They plan to do this by producing 3 separate reports in June, July and August this year. This is something that we have been campaigning for in recent years – let’s now hope that the reports actually lead to some concrete action in the not-too-distant future.

AND ALSO – IF YOU LIVE IN KENT >>>

In case you missed it back in March there was a very informative webinar run by Bring Back Euro Trains at https://bringbackeurotrains.com/, discussing the campaign to re-instate Eurostar services at Ashford and Ebbsfleet. You can watch the full webinar at: BBET Anniversary Petition Webinar 2024 (youtube.com)

AND FINALLY >>>

You may want to have a look at this new site with an interactive map for some ideas when planning future trips around Europe at: https://trip-hop.info./

HAS GETLINK FINALLY “Got it” ?

Nigel Perkins — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:40:26 +0000

Since the opening of the Channel Tunnel almost 30 years ago, Getlink (Formerly Eurotunnel) may have finally understood the need to make it easier to run more passenger trains through the tunnel. Evolyn, Heuro, Swiss Federal Railways and Virgin all announced last year tentative plans to launch new services via the tunnel. HS1 who own St Pancras International Station and the high-speed line to the tunnel have also stated that they want to increase their income from track access charges paid by train operators. Will this mean that some of the many barriers for new entrants to this market will finally be removed?

Getlink plan to double the number of high-speed electric trains using the tunnel during the next 10 years, having recently boosted the power supply in the tunnel. They are even considering running their own services, as they have identified what they see as a profitable market between London, Cologne and Frankfurt. They are also hoping to “harmonise” the “tunnel-specific” regulations to bring them more into line with general EU standards for rolling stock.