All Aboard

With the completion of High Speed 1, the UK has its first high-speed rail line.

By Amy Mason Doan

The UK’s first true high-speed rail line was an instant success when it opened in November 2007. Passengers stepped onto Eurostar trains in London, headed south at up to 186 miles (300 kilometers) per hour, zipped through the Channel Tunnel, and stepped off in Paris just two hours and 15 minutes later (or in Brussels in under two hours). The line, fittingly called High Speed 1, was a historic achievement, completing a fast, seamless connection between England and the European continent.

Bechtel worked with partners Arup, Halcrow, and Systra to form Rail Link Engineering, the consortium responsible for managing delivery of the ambitious $11 billion project. It took nine years and 50 million job-hours to complete 68 miles (109 kilometers) of high-speed railway, 150 bridges, three major viaducts, and 14 miles (23 kilometers) of twin-bore tunnel. An ultramodern, ultrasafe signaling system is in place, and the newly restored St. Pancras International station is now a luxurious passenger hub.

The challenges, including flooding in the project’s early days, stacked up along the way: The track crosses above and below rivers, and the final section winds through central London. Nevertheless, the UK’s first major rail project in a century was finished on time and within budget. It’s an impressive feat of engineering that has added convenience—and a bit of a thrill—to many lives.

Fast Start
The first section of High Speed 1 runs 46 miles (74 kilo­meters) between the Channel Tunnel and Fawkham Junction in North Kent.

In late 2000, just as grading and track laying were set to begin, England experienced its worst flooding in 200 years. Team members on what was then called the Channel Tunnel Rail Link worked up to 16 hours a day to stay on schedule. Historically significant buildings, including a 16th-century timber-framed home, were preserved. A team of 35 ecologists reseeded fields and moved ancient woods.

One of the biggest accomplishments along the route is the Medway Viaduct, a 0.75-mile (1.2-kilometer) bridge crossing the River Medway. It’s the longest high-speed rail viaduct in Europe. The span is so long that the roadbed had to be constructed in nearly two dozen pieces. The first high-speed train tunnel in the UK, the 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) North Downs Tunnel, was finished in 2001.

In 2003, a complicated process linked the new line’s 25,000-volt alternating current system with the existing railway’s 750-volt direct current system.

Section 1 opened in September 2003, cutting travel time between London and Paris by 21 minutes, to two hours and 35 minutes. And that was only the beginning.

The renovated Barlow Shed- once the largest enclosed structure in the world-- welcomes the first Eurostar train during testing prior to the opening of the station. Service between Paris and London began on November 14, 2007. Photo credit: LCR/Michael Walter/Troika

Tunnel Visionaries
High Speed 1’s second section runs 24 miles (39 kilometers) from Ebbsfleet in Kent to London’s St. Pancras station. On November 14, 2007, Eurostar trains began running on dedicated high-speed lines from St. Pancras, instead of Waterloo station.

While bridges are the standout features of Section 1, tunnels characterize Section 2. Most challenges resulted from the route’s location within (and often beneath) densely populated areas of North and East London. Roughly one-fourth of the route’s length is made up of tunnels, including a 1.6-mile (2.5-kilometer) stretch below the Thames near Dartford and a 12-mile (19-kilometer) stretch from East London to St. Pancras.

Crews used tunnel-boring machines to cut through the earth and excavate passages. The team took advantage of new technology, including GPS locating programs and scanning lasers that captured the tunnels’ exact size and position.

North of St. Pancras, a complex new junction serves trains connecting to the East Coast Main, North London/West Coast Main, and Midland Main lines.

Trains at peak speed are 50 percent faster than previous domestic lines. Trains closer to London will run at about 270 kilometers per hour. It’s no surprise that tickets for November 14 sold out in July.

Destination Station
St. Pancras station has been transformed from a beloved but age-worn building into a stunning new international rail terminal and London attraction. Built in the 1860s, the station was a marvel of mid-Victorian architecture, with a massive single-span roof. The train shed and Gothic details were carefully preserved. Because Eurostars are 656 feet (200 meters) longer than standard trains, an extension to the original train shed was added in complementary style.

St. Pancras is now home to 15 platforms, including six for international high-speed Eurostar trains. Above all, the station was designed to be the best-connected, most efficient station in London, serving more than 45 million travelers a year.

Planners have high hopes that the building will also become a meeting place even for those without a train to catch, much like Grand Central in New York. It holds the longest champagne bar in Europe; shops with a mixture of European retailers; a world-class brasserie; a concept store for famed English chemist chain Boots; and a fresh-produce shop recalling London’s early farmers markets, but with a modern twist.

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