§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the fastest travelling time from(a) Chester, (b) Cardiff, (c) Newport, (d) Swansea and (e) Holyhead for (i) freight and (ii) passengers to the channel rail tunnel; and if he will make a statement.
99W
§ Mr. McLoughlinBritish Rail's current estimate of the fastest travelling times for passenger trains from the destinations requested to the United Kingdom portal of the channel tunnel is as follows:
Origin Time (hours) Chester 4¼ Cardiff 4¼ Newport 4 Swansea 5¼ Holyhead 5¼ These estimates may of course change between now and the opening of the tunnel in 1993.
British Rail does not have equivalent figures for freight trains, for which reliability of delivery will be more important than journey time.