British gov't puts Channel Tunnel
Von mademms, 04:42The new British government announced on Monday that it will sell the high-speed rail line linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
Known as High Speed 1, it carries both passenger and freight international traffic between Britain and continental Europe as well as domestic passenger traffic from commuter towns in Kent.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the price is likely to be about 1.2 billion pounds (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars), adding that the money generated by this sale will make an early significant contribution to the crucial task of reducing the public sector debt.
"That's good news for the taxpayer. But the sale will also bring benefits to passengers as the successful private bidder will be incentivized to attract new operators serving new routes," he said.
"This is part of the Government's approach to making our national assets -- and every taxpayer pound - work harder. The government does not have to run everything directly -- we need to take prompt action where private enterprise can provide both a better deal and a superior service to the public," he added.
Hammond said he hoped to announce a buyer for the 30-year franchise before the end of the year. High Speed 1 will eventually be joined by High Speed 2, which will link London with major cities in the English midlands and the north of England. Construction of High Speed 2 is expected to start in 2015.
Construction of HIgh Speed 1 was completed in 2007 with a total investment of 5.2 billion pounds (about 8 billion U.S. dollars). As a world-class railway operating to international standards, it allows trains to travel at up to 300 km an hour.
As a national success story, the 108-km-long high speed line is the only main railway built in Britain for more than 100 years.
It was originally financed largely by private capital when construction began in the 1990s, but ran into financial difficulties in early 2009 and ownership was taken over by the government.
The British government faces a record public spending deficit of about 153 billion pounds (about 240 billion U.S. dollars) for this fiscal year from April 2010 to March 2011.
New Prime Minister David Cameron has made tackling this deficit the principal task of his Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.
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Known as High Speed 1, it carries both passenger and freight international traffic between Britain and continental Europe as well as domestic passenger traffic from commuter towns in Kent.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the price is likely to be about 1.2 billion pounds (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars), adding that the money generated by this sale will make an early significant contribution to the crucial task of reducing the public sector debt.
"That's good news for the taxpayer. But the sale will also bring benefits to passengers as the successful private bidder will be incentivized to attract new operators serving new routes," he said.
"This is part of the Government's approach to making our national assets -- and every taxpayer pound - work harder. The government does not have to run everything directly -- we need to take prompt action where private enterprise can provide both a better deal and a superior service to the public," he added.
Hammond said he hoped to announce a buyer for the 30-year franchise before the end of the year. High Speed 1 will eventually be joined by High Speed 2, which will link London with major cities in the English midlands and the north of England. Construction of High Speed 2 is expected to start in 2015.
Construction of HIgh Speed 1 was completed in 2007 with a total investment of 5.2 billion pounds (about 8 billion U.S. dollars). As a world-class railway operating to international standards, it allows trains to travel at up to 300 km an hour.
As a national success story, the 108-km-long high speed line is the only main railway built in Britain for more than 100 years.
It was originally financed largely by private capital when construction began in the 1990s, but ran into financial difficulties in early 2009 and ownership was taken over by the government.
The British government faces a record public spending deficit of about 153 billion pounds (about 240 billion U.S. dollars) for this fiscal year from April 2010 to March 2011.
New Prime Minister David Cameron has made tackling this deficit the principal task of his Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.
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