Editing High Speed 1 (section)

== Project ==
As the [[Channel Tunnel Act 1987]] made government funding for a Channel Tunnel rail link unlawful,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=theyworkforyou dot com|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates?id=1990-04-23a.12.0|title=Channel Tunnel Oral Answers to Questions: Transport, House of Commons debates|date=23 April 1990|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306144316/http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1990-04-23a.12.0|url-status=live}}</ref> construction did not take place, as it was not financially viable. Construction was delayed until the passage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996,<ref name="ctrl act 1996" /> which provided construction powers that would run for ten years. The chief executive, Rob Holden, stated that it was the "largest land acquisition programme since the Second World War".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nce.co.uk/eastern-approach/821993.article|title=Eastern approach|date=23 March 2000|access-date=12 June 2012|magazine=New Civil Engineer|archive-date=9 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609004755/http://www.nce.co.uk/eastern-approach/821993.article|url-status=live}}</ref>

The whole route was to have been built as a single project, but in 1998, serious financial difficulties arose, and extensive changes came with a British government rescue plan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nao.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docId=4c41eba0-1c8f-4225-9961-599c13d69d44&version=-1|publisher=[[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]]|title=The Channel Tunnel Rail Link: Report by the Controller and Auditor General|access-date=1 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606062016/http://www.nao.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docId=4c41eba0-1c8f-4225-9961-599c13d69d44&version=-1|archive-date=6 June 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> To reduce risk, the line was split into two separate phases,<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.nao.org.uk/whats_new/0001/0001302.aspx|publisher=[[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]]|title=Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link|date=28 March 2001|access-date=1 August 2009|archive-date=6 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606062022/http://www.nao.org.uk/whats_new/0001/0001302.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> to be managed by ''Union Railways (South)'' and ''Union Railways (North)''. A recovery programme was agreed whereby LCR sold government-backed [[Bond (finance)|bonds]] worth £1.6&nbsp;billion to pay for the construction of section&nbsp;1, with the future of section&nbsp;2 still not settled.

The original intention had been for the new railway, once completed, to be run by Union Railways as a separate line from the rest of the British railway network. As part of the 1998 rescue it was agreed that following completion, section 1 would be purchased by [[Railtrack]] with an option to purchase section 2. In return, Railtrack was committed to operate the whole route as well as [[St Pancras railway station|London St Pancras International]], which, unlike all other former British Rail stations, had been transferred to LCR/Union Railways in 1996.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stpancras.com/about-st-pancras/about-us |publisher=HS 1 Limited |title=About St Pancras |access-date=9 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103141204/http://stpancras.com/about-st-pancras/about-us/ |archive-date=3 January 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2001, Railtrack announced that because of its own financial problems, it would not undertake to purchase section 2,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/may/30/7 |title=Railtrack funding of Channel rail link in doubt again |first=Keith |last=Harper |date=30 May 2000 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=1 August 2009 |location=London |archive-date=8 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508231457/http://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/may/30/7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/railtrack-could-ditch-new-channel-rail-link-702632.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201134427/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/railtrack-could-ditch-new-channel-rail-link-702632.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 December 2009 |title=Railtrack could ditch new Channel rail link |first=Michael |last=Harrison |date=16 January 2001|newspaper=The Independent |access-date=1 August 2009 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/railtrack-to-lose-its--newline-monopoly-689651.html |title=Railtrack to lose its new-line monopoly |first=Colin |last=Brown| date=1 April 2001 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=1 August 2009 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> triggering a second restructuring.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/phase-two-of-tunnel-link-need-not-be-built-by-railtrack-says-eurostar-703001.html |title=Phase two of tunnel link need not be built by Railtrack, says Eurostar |first= Michael |last=Harrison | date=17 January 2001 |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=1 August 2009 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The 2002 plan agreed that the two sections would have different owners (Railtrack for section&nbsp;1, LCR for section 2) but with common Railtrack management. Following further financial problems at Railtrack,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/oct/21/politics.Whitehall |title=Rail's shattered dream |first=Joanna |last=Walters |date=21 October 2001 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=1 August 2009 |location=London |archive-date=25 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825190516/http://www.theguardian.com/business/2001/oct/21/politics.Whitehall |url-status=live }}</ref> its interest was sold back to LCR, which then sold the operating rights for the completed line to [[Network Rail]], Railtrack's successor. Under this arrangement LCR became the sole owner of both sections of the CTRL and the St Pancras property, as per the original 1996 plan.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Amendments were made in 2001 for the new station at [[Stratford International railway station|Stratford International]] and connections to the [[West Coast Main Line]].

As a consequence of the restructuring, the LCR consortium in 2001 consisted of engineering consultants and construction firms [[Arup Group Limited|Arup]], [[Bechtel]], [[Halcrow Group|Halcrow]] and [[Systra]] (which form ''Rail Link Engineering'' (RLE)); transport operators [[National Express]] and [[SNCF]] (which operates the ''Eurostar (UK)'' share of the Eurostar service with the [[National Railway Company of Belgium]] and [[British Airways]]), the electricity company [[Électricité de France|EDF]] and [[UBS]].

There were several deaths of employees working on the CTRL over the construction period. One occurred on 28 March 2003 near [[Folkestone]] when a worker came into contact with the energised power supply.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 March 2003 |title=Engineer electrocuted on rail link |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2900293.stm |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040313204835/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2900293.stm |archive-date=13 March 2004}}</ref> Another death occurred two months later, in May 2003, when a scaffolder fell seven metres at [[Thurrock]], [[Essex]].<ref name="firms fined">{{cite news |date=4 October 2004 |title=Firms fined over rail link death |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3715208.stm |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107234850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3715208.stm |archive-date=7 January 2022}}</ref> Three companies were found guilty of breaching health and safety legislation by omitting to provide barriers, resulting in Deverson Direct Ltd. being ordered to pay a fine of £50,000, J.Murphy & Sons Ltd. £25,000, and Hochtief AG £25,000.<ref name="firms fined" /> Two more deaths resulted from a fire on board a train carrying wires, one mile ({{convert|1|mi|1|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) inside a tunnel under the Thames between [[Swanscombe]], [[Kent]], and Thurrock, Essex on 16 August 2005. The train shunter died at the scene<ref>{{cite news |date=17 August 2005 |title=Man killed in rail tunnel blaze |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4157924.stm |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205184720/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4157924.stm |archive-date=5 February 2006}}</ref> and the train driver later died in hospital.<ref>{{cite news |date=21 August 2005 |title=Channel Tunnel burns victim dies |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4171516.stm |url-status=live |access-date=14 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107234924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4171516.stm |archive-date=7 January 2022}}</ref> It has been suggested that a large amount of blame for accidents throughout the project lay with individual behaviour, becoming such a problem that an internal programme was launched to tackle problem behaviour during the construction.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=22 February 2001 |title=Case study: Channel Tunnel Rail Link |magazine=New Civil Engineer |location=London |url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/archive/case-study-channel-tunnel-rail-link-22-02-2001/ |access-date=6 Feb 2025}}</ref>