INFRASTRUCTURE
multi-modal containerised freight to cover a far wider range of manufactured goods , logistics chains and heavy product .
Further boosting rail is the recovering economy , leaving consumers with more disposable income , driving tourism and trade up , and raising freight figures .
London ’ s St Pancras station
HS2 Looking forward , plans to link the Tunnel to the UK ’ s much-debated HS2 rail service via the existing HS1 line at London have stuttered , with the HS2 Chairman recommending that dropping the proposal would save £ 700m .
Keefe however , believes this a mistake , noting the huge economic benefits high speed services can bring .
“ It would be folly not to link the two together and there are a variety of different routes you could use ,” he said . “ Cutting the line half way up makes London a barrier to trade with the rest of the UK . It satisfies a group of people in central London , but in reality you ’ re cutting off the rest of the UK from continental access . Another route must be found and HS2 needs to be linked to HS1 .
“ When the tunnel itself opened , there was no high-speed track in the UK , then half of HS1 was built so you had speed but it slowed into Waterloo and then eventually the second half was built to St Pancras in 2007 .
“ From 1994 to 2007 you finally got the complete run up to St Pancras , so it was a very long time after the tunnel
16 July 2014