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London & Continental Railways |
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RAILWAY BRITAIN |
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European Passenger Services Ltd, with responsibility for controlling and developing business through the Channel Tunnel, was established in May 1994; and Union Railways Ltd was inaugurated on 1st April 1995 to bring the Channel Tunnel rail link to fruition; both of these were independent Government-owned companies. However Union Railways later ran into trouble and was rescued by Network Rail, the Government and London & Continental Railways. In 1996, London & Continental Railways (LCR) was selected by the Government to build and operate the high speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) now High Speed 1, and to own and operate the UK arm of the Eurostar international train service. As part of this deal the European Passenger Services (EPS) and Union Railways sections of British Rail were handed over to LCR as well as key pieces of railway infrastructure including London St Pancras and Manchester International and North Pole depots. EPS was the British arm of the joint Eurostar operation, along with SNCF and SNCB. LCR renamed EPS as Eurostar UK Ltd. The original shareholders of LCR were National Express Group plc, Virgin Group plc, SBC Warburg, Bechtel and London Electric. As part of the 1996 contract LCR were to finance and construct the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now High Speed 1) themselves, funding it from income received from the Eurostar operation. However the organisation and structure of London & Continental Railways was reorganised in 1998. London & Continental Stations and Property (LCSP) is developing the new international stations on the CTRL and is also the property division of LCR. The responsibility for the overall delivery of the CTRL lies with two LCR subsidiaries: Union Railways (South) Ltd (for Section 1) and Union Railways (North) Ltd (for Section 2). The whole line (Section 1 and Section 2) is now operated as a single entity by Network Rail, which will be able to integrate operations with the rest of the railway network. The project is funded through a combination of Government-guaranteed bonds, Government grants, bank debt and structured finance. LCSP has responsibility for the multi-billion-pound regeneration of land around the CTRL stations in partnership with developers and in close co-ordination with Government agencies, local authorities and communities. It is also playing a crucial role in enabling the London 2012 Olympics and in delivering homes and jobs in the Thames Gateway. In addition, LCSP has responsibility for the acquisition of land required for the CTRL and manages all of LCR's commercial and residential properties. On behalf of LCR, the new High Speed 1 line is being designed and project managed by Rail Link Engineering (RLE), a consortium of Bechtel, Arup, Systra and Halcrow, all of whom are also shareholders in LCR. RLE carries out design and procurement, and manages the contractors who are building the railway, to meet the overall requirements of Union Railways (South) and Union Railways (North), the client companies. Eurostar (UK) Ltd, another LCR subsidiary, owns and operates the UK arm of the Eurostar service. Eurostar (UK) is operated on LCR's behalf by a consortium of National Express Group, British Airways and the French and Belgian national railways (SNCF and SNCB). LCR's shareholders are the members of RLE (Bechtel, Arup, Systra and Halcrow), transport operators National Express Group and SNCF, electricity supply company EDF, and UBS investment bank. The current structure of LCR is complex due to numerous reorganisations, for example SNCF is involved in the Eurostar operation at three different levels. Current shareholders in LCR are:
Key Websites: London & Continental Railways (LCR) www.lcrhq.com High Speed 1 www.highspeed1.com London St Pancras International www.stpancras.com Eurostar www.eurostar.com Network Rail www.networkrail.co.uk Rail Link Engineering (RLE) www.rle-online.co.uk National Express Group plc www.nationalexpressgroup.com SNCF Participations Group www.sncf-participations.com SNCF www.sncf.com SNCB www.b-rail.com British Airways www.britishairways.com EDF Energy www.edf.com UBS Investment Bank www.ubs.com Bechtel www.bechtel.com Arup www.arup.com Systra www.systra.com Halcrow www.halcrow.com |