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30/07/2003
Eurostar smashes rail speed record
Eurostar, the fast train service linking the UK with France and Belgium, today shattered the speed record for the fastest ever train in the UK – achieving 208mph (334.7km/h) as it ran through Kent on the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
The record-breaking run took place during safety testing on CTRL Section 1. The driver was Alan Pears, 35, from Kent who has worked in the railway industry for 18 years and has been a Eurostar driver for the last eight years. The Eurostar train reached its normal full speed of 186 mph (300 km/h) near Nashenden Valley and then accelerated to 208mph (334.7km/h) to set a new UK record.
The previous UK rail speed record was set by the Advanced Passenger Train on 20 December 1979 at 162.2mph (259.5 km/h).
The first passenger-carrying trains will run on the CTRL Section 1 from September 28 and will reach speeds of up to 186mph (300 km/h) making the journey time from London's Waterloo International station to Paris, Lille and Brussels up to 20 minutes quicker than previously.
Eurostar's Director of Communications, Paul Charles, said: "It is a testament to the excellence in civil engineering that has been a hallmark of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link."
(GMcG)
The record-breaking run took place during safety testing on CTRL Section 1. The driver was Alan Pears, 35, from Kent who has worked in the railway industry for 18 years and has been a Eurostar driver for the last eight years. The Eurostar train reached its normal full speed of 186 mph (300 km/h) near Nashenden Valley and then accelerated to 208mph (334.7km/h) to set a new UK record.
The previous UK rail speed record was set by the Advanced Passenger Train on 20 December 1979 at 162.2mph (259.5 km/h).
The first passenger-carrying trains will run on the CTRL Section 1 from September 28 and will reach speeds of up to 186mph (300 km/h) making the journey time from London's Waterloo International station to Paris, Lille and Brussels up to 20 minutes quicker than previously.
Eurostar's Director of Communications, Paul Charles, said: "It is a testament to the excellence in civil engineering that has been a hallmark of the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link."
(GMcG)
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