§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he had with professional railwaymen or their associates, or those of civil engineers, prior to drawing up his specification for the proposed London to Kent fast rail link; and what estimate he has made of the capital saving available from his specification compared to a three or four-line scheme, respectively.
§ Mr. FreemanThe paper "Channel Tunnel Rail Link: Design Standards Brief", circulated on 21 May 1992, was prepared after consultation with British Rail, which also took independent engineering advice. British Rail estimates that the additional cost of four tracks, compared530W to the proposal for a two-track line with a freight capability outlined in that paper, would be of the order of £2 billion. A three-track scheme is unlikely to have much practical advantage over two tracks with passing loops, and no cost estimates have been made of that option.