FOUR PIECES OF GOOD NEWS

(1) ONE STEP TOWARDS MORE ROOM AT ST PANCRAS:

HS1, the owners of St Pancras International station have signed a contract with “Active Thinking”(AT) to come up with recommendations for expanding the capacity of the station to cope with both more passengers and post Brexit passport controls. AT have a track record of similar work at airports, stations and the 2012 Olympics. It is expected that they will have a report ready this autumn. Click here for further information: https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/hs1-ltd-commissions-study-to-expand-st-pancras-international-station-12-07-2024/

(2) RE-OPENING OF THE GOTTHARD BASE TUNNEL:

Swiss Federal Railways have announced that the tunnel will fully re-open on 2nd September following the freight train de-railment that caused severe damage over a year ago. The one-hour reduction in journey times on this route through Switzerland will again provide much easier daytime journey options between the UK and Northern Italy.

(3) RE-OPENING OF THE MONT-CENIS ROUTE BETWEEN FRANCE AND ITALY:

This route has been completely blocked since a severe landslide in August 2023. Since then, there have been no through High-Speed Train services between Paris/Lyon to Turin & Milan in Northern Italy. It is expected that this “Transalpine” rail connection will finally re-open in November. Once this is route is back in operation, rail passengers from the UK will, once again, have the choice of 3 routes to Italy via the Swiss Alps: -namely the Gotthard, Simplon/Lotschberg and Mont Cenis routes. In the meantime, you could still enjoy one daily TGV Inoui from Paris to Milan using a rail-replacement bus from St Jean de Maurienne to Oulx . If this appeals to you have a look at this short video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45LJVBNaRHU

(4) RAIL/SAIL/RAIL returns to NEWHAVEN/ DIEPPE:

For a trial period of 6 months until 31st December DFDS Ferries have re-introduced a connecting bus service from the Dieppe Ferry terminal to the station which is one and a half miles away in the town centre. This has only been made possible due to support from local authorities in France. On the UK side the ferry terminal is right next to Newhaven Town station, which has a half-hourly service to London, Surrey and Sussex with a change at Lewes.