§ Mr. HowardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the rail links between Ebbsfleet and Charing Cross to carry both Channel Tunnel and other services between the completion of stages 1 and 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; and if he will make a statement. [48200]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonAfter completion of the first section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to Fawkham Junction, scheduled for 2003, Eurostar services will run not between Ebbsfleet and Charing Cross but via the Section 1 infrastructure and then existing domestic lines between Fawkham Junction and Waterloo. These domestic lines will have been subjected to upgrading works to increase capacity to 4 trains per hour in each direction and, as a result, there will be no adverse impact on existing domestic passenger services.