Deutsche Bahn HSR may serve London by 2013
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefGermany’s Deutsche Bahn AG has signed a cooperation agreement with High Speed 1 Ltd., the owner of the right-of-way linking London with the Channel Tunnel, opening the possibility of direct rail service between the United Kingdom and Germany, beginning in 2013.
The pact could allow DB to run Siemens AG’s InterCity Express trains through the tunnel in competition with Eurostar Group Ltd., which operates from London to Paris and Brussels. DB seeks to connect London with cities in western Germany, the company said Wednesday. But DB still must win authorization from the French and British governments to run passenger trains via Eurotunnel.
“We can now focus on joint working to ensure all safety, technical, and commercial requirements are met prior to operation,” Ulrich Homburg, Deutsche Bahn’s board member for passenger services, said in a statement.
Direct trains from London to Frankfurt might take about five hours, DB said, suggesting such travel time could be competitive with air travel given the increasing security measures and overcrowding at airports.
Deutsche Bahn will begin safety tests through the tunnelwith Siemens ICE rolling stock on Oct. 19. The European Union last January introduced rules requiring track owners to grant access to new operators for cross-border services.
Last month DB was one of several bidders submitting a plan to operate over the High Speed 1 route, seeking a 30-year franchise.
