§ Sir Fergus Montgomeryasked the Secretary of State for Transport, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale of 12 January, Official Report, column 23, if he will set out the timetable for the proposed fixed-link beneath the Channel; what further discussions he has had with British Rail concerning the London terminus and the possible dispersal of services; and if he will make a statement on the employment implications of such dispersed services.
§ Mr. David MitchellSubject to the Channel Tunnel Bill receiving Royal Assent, ratification of the Channel Tunnel treaty and the coming into operation of the concession agreement, we understand that Eurotunnel intend to start construction of the Channel tunnel in the autumn of this year and to bring it into operation in 1993.
British Rail's services through the Channel tunnel will not be eligible for Government subsidy, and it is for BR to determine on commercial grounds the pattern of services it will provide. Its plans for a passenger terminal in London are designed to accommodate those passengers likely to want to travel to and from London. It also plans to run direct passenger services between the continent and points north of London. It expects to run direct freight services between a pattern of points throughout Britain and centres in mainland Europe.
BR estimates that these dispersed passenger and freight services will create about 500 new jobs in the first year of operation. This figure is included in the total of 1,500 for the operational phase of the project which I gave in my reply to my hon. Friend on 12 January.