In message ,
writes

Later this year Eurostar is moving from Waterloo to St Panc is there a
new bridge being built across the Thames to accommodate it

An entire new line has already been built from North Kent, passing under
the Thames near Dartford, and then mainly staying in tunnel as it passes
under east London, through Stratford, and coming to the surface just
outside St Pancras.
--
Paul Terry

In message ,
writes

I am quite looking forward to making this journey once Eurostar move
it will make a change from the mad dash Euston to Waterloo and return
I have to make in either direction.

On the other hand, those of us that live only 20 minutes from Waterloo
may decide that it will be quicker to fly to Paris from Heathrow than
treck across London to St Pancras.

OK, I know you can't please everyone ... but I thought it was a pity
that the original idea of continuing to run some Eurostar services from
Waterloo was abandoned.
--
Paul Terry

Paul Terry wrote:

In message ,
writes

Later this year Eurostar is moving from Waterloo to St Panc is there a
new bridge being built across the Thames to accommodate it

An entire new line has already been built from North Kent, passing under
the Thames near Dartford, and then mainly staying in tunnel as it passes
under east London, through Stratford, and coming to the surface just
outside St Pancras.
--
Paul Terry


It's called the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (or CTRL), though it's now
been branded as "High Speed 1" - but I ain't going to call it that
because it sounds like a space ship.

In fact the CTRL has been built in two phases - phase one, from the
coast up to Fawkham Junction in Kent has been in use by Eurostar
trains since September 2003. Phase 2, from Ebbsfleet in Kent to St
Pancras station in London is complete now and is being tested in
preparation for being put into full use in November of this year.

See this Wikipedia entry for mo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel_Rail_Link

The new line will also be used for fast trains from Kent into St.
Pancras - these are being called CTRL Domestic Services, or CTRL-DS.
For more on both the new line and these new services see this
comprehensive article on a well established transport developments
website:
http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/4

For a special report from the Guardian newspaper on the CTRL,
including some basic maps, go to:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,1048071,00.html

For photos of the new CTRL line see these two websites:

http://www.ctrlphoto.freeuk.com/
&
http://www.rail-net.co.uk/storypage.php?storyid=182

My experience to paris is
Plane
Leave house for 30 min journey to Luton and allow extra 30 min for M1 delays
at 11.00 am
Arrive Luton 2 hrs early
Plane leaves 50 min late
Arrive Paris (fly time only 40 min) add 1 hr time diff
Take Taxi to Central Paris 90 min
Finally arrived at Hotel around 7pm
Thats 7 Freakin hrs travelling (plus 1 hr diff) = 8 hrs


Eurostar
Leave at 11, take tube
Arrive Waterloo 12.00 for a 13.00 departure
Arrive Paris 16.30 (inclu time diff)
10 to 15 min taxi journey to hotel
arrive 16.45
Thats 4hr 30 plus 1 hr diff - total 5hr 30

Will NEVER fly to Paris from London ever again - also E* is much more
relaxing than fighting for seats and
going through the stresses and anxietiesof flying.

Have also noted that E* tend to drive on yellows when in UK ands only ever
attain high speed when across the water.

What allowance in Timetables are there as once missed the 5pm train and so
took the 6pm train which arrived in London just 30 min behind my original
arrival time and 30 mins BEFORE my my arrival time (if that all makes
sense)

Paul Terry wrote:
In message ,
writes

I am quite looking forward to making this journey once Eurostar
move
it will make a change from the mad dash Euston to Waterloo and
return
I have to make in either direction.

On the other hand, those of us that live only 20 minutes from
Waterloo may decide that it will be quicker to fly to Paris from
Heathrow than treck across London to St Pancras.

OK, I know you can't please everyone ... but I thought it was a pity
that the original idea of continuing to run some Eurostar services
from Waterloo was abandoned.

It may be just me, but I always had a chuckle at the thought of French
people arriving in London on the Eurostar alighting at a station
called Waterloo! St.Pancras just doesn't have the same ring to it.

On Wed, 14 Mar 2007, Stevo wrote:

Paul Terry wrote:
In message ,
writes

I am quite looking forward to making this journey once Eurostar move
it will make a change from the mad dash Euston to Waterloo and return
I have to make in either direction.

On the other hand, those of us that live only 20 minutes from Waterloo
may decide that it will be quicker to fly to Paris from Heathrow than
treck across London to St Pancras.

OK, I know you can't please everyone ... but I thought it was a pity
that the original idea of continuing to run some Eurostar services from
Waterloo was abandoned.

It may be just me, but I always had a chuckle at the thought of French
people arriving in London on the Eurostar alighting at a station called
Waterloo! St.Pancras just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I was campaigning for the Eurostar to run into Charing Cross, which of
course would be renamed Trafalgar Square Station - purely to reduce the
confusion to tourists, of course .

tom

--
NTK now entirely filled with google links -- NTK

Stevo wrote:

It may be just me, but I always had a chuckle at the thought of French
people arriving in London on the Eurostar alighting at a station
called Waterloo! St.Pancras just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I think there was a campaign to get it renamed London Agincourt station.
--
Michael Hoffman

On Wed, 14 Mar 2007 21:13:53 +0000, wrote:

On Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:54:11 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:


On the other hand, those of us that live only 20 minutes from Waterloo
may decide that it will be quicker to fly to Paris from Heathrow than
treck across London to St Pancras.

With the greater expense and danger ) flying entails and hanging
around in Heathrow and CDG on top Paul.
OK, I know you can't please everyone ... but I thought it was a pity
that the original idea of continuing to run some Eurostar services from
Waterloo was abandoned.

I don't know maybe it is me but considering the expense of the new
high speed line just to save around 30 minutes between London and
Brussels what is the point . I have now made around 10 round trips via
Eurostar and only once has the train been considerably late and the
hold up was on the French side not the UK and I got a free trip out of
Eurostar in compensation anyway.

You would not be asking about the benefit of the high speed line if you
had travelled on Eurostar when it trundled its way at 50 mph through
Kent.

I got to the point where I stopped travelling on Eurostar because I
could not stand the interminable delays and late running both in the UK,
the losing a slot at the tunnel and then losing a slot on the French
high speed line. I have had journeys that should take about 4 hours door
to door take nearly 6 hours due to the appalling operation pre high
speed line and then the knock problems of reduced evening frequencies
(due to a much later arrival) on the Paris suburban network for my
onward trip to final destination.

Usage of Eurostar has increased considerably even with only half a high
speed line on the UK side largely because delays have virtually
disappeared and thus the tunnel transit and slot in France are not lost.
It is certainly a far nicer experience now and I can't wait for the full
HSL to open. I also gain because I live north of the Thames on a direct
tube line to Kings Cross.

The easy of traveling via Eurostar has put me off flying these days
only half an hour check in no hassle with customs returning to
Waterloo it really is so easy it doesn't seem so when you are actually
en route but looking back it really is .

I cannot understand why anyone would fly to somewhere like Paris. I
cannot abide the ludicrous timescales to get through airports and I
actually think that Eurostar's policy is also daft even recognising the
security issues surrounding travel via the Tunnel. There is no
requirement to check in 30 minutes in advance for an international train
in Europe that might well pass through huge tunnels on its route.

The other point about the HSL being beneficial is that it will make both
transfer from UK domestic services onto Eurostar more convenient for a
fair slice of people - but obviously not everyone. I do think the
Eurostar decision concerning stopping services at Ashford is probably
wrong. The other aspect is that a quick journey from London to Paris /
Brussels makes interchange to other high speed rail in Europe a more
attractive proposition thus reducing the need for quite so many air
journeys on what are quite short hops. I'd almost certainly prefer to go
by rail than by air for a decent chunk of possible European trips. The
next problem they have to fix is being able to book tickets quickly and
easily and to get prices down.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

On 15 Mar, 22:21, Paul Corfield wrote:
by rail than by air for a decent chunk of possible European trips. The
next problem they have to fix is being able to book tickets quickly and
easily and to get prices down.

Through tickets (and prices, reservations and timetables too I know
bahn.de is helpful for times, but not for booking) are frightfully
important, although the cross-Paris transfer for heading to Italy
still puts me off.

Be nice if they intergrated the times with the Italy-Greece boats
too, although I doubt many people would go the whole hog by train.

In message , Paul Corfield
writes

I cannot understand why anyone would fly to somewhere like Paris.

Well, I'm glad I'm not currently expecting to travel by Eurostar, given
the continuity of cancellations over the next 18 hours.

OK, I grant you that the current type of extended cancellation is
unusual, but I've often experienced delays. Despite long check-in times
at airports, the air-travel time is obviously much shorter, and
Eurostar's prices are often not very competitive.

I'm putting myself up as a bit of a stalking horse, because I actually
prefer rail travel, but I don't think Eurostar has yet managed.

But my main point is that as a resident of SW London, I have generally
used Eurostar from Waterloo because of its convenience.

Having watched all of the expenditure on the new route into St Pancras,
I cannot help but reflect that few such expensive schemes could also
have resulted in potentially less convenience for a significant slice of
its customers (like it or not, SW London is full of rich folks jaunting
off to France, civil servants going on "a jolly" to Brussels, and city
businessmen needing to go to Paris). Many of these folk live closer to
Heathrow than St Pancras - time spent selecting the right tie and
sandwiches for trip, and doing a bit of telephoning and paperwork in the
departure lounge, might well seem more appealing than being jammed into
the Piccadilly line across London.

I would rather it were not so - only time will tell if cessation of
Eurostar services from Waterloo will be a nose amputation job.
--
Paul Terry