§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the financing, development and operation of the proposed new 275W European high-speed train network; what is its estimated cost; if magnetic levitation technology will be incorporated into the high speed trains; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe Governments of France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have been examining a possible European railway network serving Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam, with a possible spur to Calais to allow a link with the United Kingdom system via the Channel tunnel. French Government estimates put the total cost of such a network on the Continent within the range FFr19–21 billion for trains using steel wheels on rail, and at about FFr35 billion for trains based on magnetic levitation. These figures exclude the costs of the spur to the tunnel, for which no estimate has been made with magnetic levitation technology.
The proposals will be discussed at a ministerial meeting at The Hague on 22 December involving the four countries mentioned, together with the United Kingdom and Luxembourg. Possible means of financing and operating such a system are among the matters to be covered at that meeting.